Fogerson
Former Resident Nerd
Well, my disease has struck again. I'm the proud parent of a brand new Torelli Montefalco. Over the years I've very much enjoyed my Columbus EL-OS tubed Torelli, so when I got the carbon jones, back to Torelli I went.
WTF is a Torelli? Well, Torelli has been around for the better part of 30 years and is ran by a total bike nut name Bill McGann (aka "Chairman Bill"...learn more here if you care). Most of their bikes are built by Mondinico, which is probably a name you're familiar with if you're an Italian bike freak or raced when you and your buddies dreamed of Colnagos, Tomasinni's, DeRosa's, and the like. If I'm not mistaken, Mondinico also made a lot of the Masi's.
Anyway, back in late '93 I was in desperate need of an upgrade from my ill-fitting Shimano 105 equipped Diamondback Master TG. Rode some of the early OCLV Treks; they rode like a sofa but I could flex the BB and grind the chain into the front derailleur in any and every gear combo--maybe not the best thing for a masher. I rode a bunch of aluminium bikes; speedy and stiff. But ya' know, I liked keeping my fillings in my head. Steel was the right way to go for me back then...
A buddy of mine turned me on to Torelli. I called them to find a dealer and got Chairman Bill on the phone. This guy was an over-the-top and enthusiastic bike nerd..it was game over. And I liked the idea of riding around the Twin Cities where biking is HUGE (LeMond effect), likely never seeing another bike like mine. In fact, I never saw another bike like the steel Torelli until a month ago; a frame went on e-bay for nearly 60% what they were new (retail) in 1993/4.
I was living in Minnesota at the time and the closest dealer was in Bryn Mawr, PA. Really. In spite of the distance 'had a really good experience, so when it was time to get another Torelli, I went to the same place--except this time I could actually go there for the fitting
The steel Torelli was a mid-range build for the time; Ultegra 600 (2nd or 3rd year for STI) & Campy rims (don't remember what they were called...tall profile semi-aero rims), with Kalloy and (mostly) Cinelli parts scattered here and there. The bike weighed in at a not-too-bad-for-the-time 21 lbs and change ready to roll. Really. 19 lb bikes were *really* lite back then...and the few that were in the 18 lb range were the "OMG that's unreal!" category. Since then, I've put on FIR rims, swapped out seats (a few times), a carbon fork, and FSA bars to adapt the fit from 28 y.o. hammer-head Tim's body to 44 y.o. chubo-wubbo-slow-guy Tim's body.
She was, and still is, a great bike. 'Always thought the Ultegra 600 stuff sucked, though; the older 105 stuff I had on my Master TG worked better. I thought about junking everything but the frame and modernizing her--the frame is still in excellent shape. But then I got up close to Jake's Madone. Damn, that carbon is sexy. And so light. And now they ride like sofas and are stiff where they need to be. Well, sh!t, if I'm gonna' do all that to the steel Torelli, I might as well leave it be and get a whole new bike!
So nearly 16 years later after buying my *last* road bike, here is the Torelli Montefalco. This is a Toray T-800 tube-to-tube carbon frame with a paint job on it that the pictures don't do justice.
I was having an e-mail conversation with the head of product development for Torelli and it got oddly quiet when I asked him if the Montefalco was a Ridley Damocles (Belgian) built to Torelli specs. Hmm. Weird. Anyway, take a look at the Damocles and the Montefalco...no doubt about it. The Montefalco looks like a Damocles with a shorter top tube (which is good) and slightly shorter chainstays. Dunno' if anything else is different.
No matter, the Ridley Damocles is a well regarded bike, so it's all good...
My Montefalco is equipped with 2010 SRAM Force. I *almost* went with Red, but reconsidered the day I placed the order. All of the reviews of 2010 SRAM Force basically say that one can't tell the difference functionally from Red. The graphics of the 2010 Force stuff is almost the same as Red (Red just has the little Red hash mark added). The 2010 Force group only weighs 160 grams more than '09 Red. The little red hash mark graphic and 160 grams wasn't worth the $600-ish delta.
For wheels, I was planning on something a little lighter and hi-zoot, but decided that my 200+ lb carcass needed a strong set of hoops for some of the crappy roads up here. Ended up deciding on the Mavic Kryserium Elites. Strong rims, but still only 1580 grams for the set.
A set of white Look Keo Sprints, FSA SLK seatpost, Dedo and 3T parts taking care of steering duties, red Michelin Pro3s, and Sell Marco saddle take care of the rest of the build. I thought a white saddle and HB tape would look the best, but I figured they wouldn't stay looking that way, so I went black. Swapped out the stock black hood covers for some Hudz red covers when I got her home...not so sure 'bout that.:hmmm:
It is a size Medium frame (54cm C-t-C, 55.5 ETT) and altogether she hits the scales at 16 1/4 pounds ready to roll, pedals and all. A little heavier than I'd calculated...like that matters...
It is a *real* trip picking up the steel Torelli in one hand and the carbon Torelli in the other. They're only 5-ish pounds a part, but the steel bike feels more like 20 lbs heavier. Amazing.
And if the weight delta isn't enough, just contrasting 16 years of bicycle technology changes is quite a trip as well. I spent over an hour in the basement this evening sitting on the floor between the two bikes comparing and contrasting...cool stuff if you're an equipment whore like me.
The most amazing thing of all, to me, is the cost. Sure, the Montefalco cost 35% more than the steel Torelli...but the steel Torelli was bought with 1993 dollars!!! I don't know how much 1993 dollars are worth in 2009 dollars, but I'd hazard to guess that these two bikes effectively cost the same.
I have a feeling that the real shocker has yet to come...the maiden voyage
WTF is a Torelli? Well, Torelli has been around for the better part of 30 years and is ran by a total bike nut name Bill McGann (aka "Chairman Bill"...learn more here if you care). Most of their bikes are built by Mondinico, which is probably a name you're familiar with if you're an Italian bike freak or raced when you and your buddies dreamed of Colnagos, Tomasinni's, DeRosa's, and the like. If I'm not mistaken, Mondinico also made a lot of the Masi's.
Anyway, back in late '93 I was in desperate need of an upgrade from my ill-fitting Shimano 105 equipped Diamondback Master TG. Rode some of the early OCLV Treks; they rode like a sofa but I could flex the BB and grind the chain into the front derailleur in any and every gear combo--maybe not the best thing for a masher. I rode a bunch of aluminium bikes; speedy and stiff. But ya' know, I liked keeping my fillings in my head. Steel was the right way to go for me back then...
A buddy of mine turned me on to Torelli. I called them to find a dealer and got Chairman Bill on the phone. This guy was an over-the-top and enthusiastic bike nerd..it was game over. And I liked the idea of riding around the Twin Cities where biking is HUGE (LeMond effect), likely never seeing another bike like mine. In fact, I never saw another bike like the steel Torelli until a month ago; a frame went on e-bay for nearly 60% what they were new (retail) in 1993/4.
I was living in Minnesota at the time and the closest dealer was in Bryn Mawr, PA. Really. In spite of the distance 'had a really good experience, so when it was time to get another Torelli, I went to the same place--except this time I could actually go there for the fitting
The steel Torelli was a mid-range build for the time; Ultegra 600 (2nd or 3rd year for STI) & Campy rims (don't remember what they were called...tall profile semi-aero rims), with Kalloy and (mostly) Cinelli parts scattered here and there. The bike weighed in at a not-too-bad-for-the-time 21 lbs and change ready to roll. Really. 19 lb bikes were *really* lite back then...and the few that were in the 18 lb range were the "OMG that's unreal!" category. Since then, I've put on FIR rims, swapped out seats (a few times), a carbon fork, and FSA bars to adapt the fit from 28 y.o. hammer-head Tim's body to 44 y.o. chubo-wubbo-slow-guy Tim's body.
She was, and still is, a great bike. 'Always thought the Ultegra 600 stuff sucked, though; the older 105 stuff I had on my Master TG worked better. I thought about junking everything but the frame and modernizing her--the frame is still in excellent shape. But then I got up close to Jake's Madone. Damn, that carbon is sexy. And so light. And now they ride like sofas and are stiff where they need to be. Well, sh!t, if I'm gonna' do all that to the steel Torelli, I might as well leave it be and get a whole new bike!
So nearly 16 years later after buying my *last* road bike, here is the Torelli Montefalco. This is a Toray T-800 tube-to-tube carbon frame with a paint job on it that the pictures don't do justice.
I was having an e-mail conversation with the head of product development for Torelli and it got oddly quiet when I asked him if the Montefalco was a Ridley Damocles (Belgian) built to Torelli specs. Hmm. Weird. Anyway, take a look at the Damocles and the Montefalco...no doubt about it. The Montefalco looks like a Damocles with a shorter top tube (which is good) and slightly shorter chainstays. Dunno' if anything else is different.
No matter, the Ridley Damocles is a well regarded bike, so it's all good...
My Montefalco is equipped with 2010 SRAM Force. I *almost* went with Red, but reconsidered the day I placed the order. All of the reviews of 2010 SRAM Force basically say that one can't tell the difference functionally from Red. The graphics of the 2010 Force stuff is almost the same as Red (Red just has the little Red hash mark added). The 2010 Force group only weighs 160 grams more than '09 Red. The little red hash mark graphic and 160 grams wasn't worth the $600-ish delta.
For wheels, I was planning on something a little lighter and hi-zoot, but decided that my 200+ lb carcass needed a strong set of hoops for some of the crappy roads up here. Ended up deciding on the Mavic Kryserium Elites. Strong rims, but still only 1580 grams for the set.
A set of white Look Keo Sprints, FSA SLK seatpost, Dedo and 3T parts taking care of steering duties, red Michelin Pro3s, and Sell Marco saddle take care of the rest of the build. I thought a white saddle and HB tape would look the best, but I figured they wouldn't stay looking that way, so I went black. Swapped out the stock black hood covers for some Hudz red covers when I got her home...not so sure 'bout that.:hmmm:
It is a size Medium frame (54cm C-t-C, 55.5 ETT) and altogether she hits the scales at 16 1/4 pounds ready to roll, pedals and all. A little heavier than I'd calculated...like that matters...
It is a *real* trip picking up the steel Torelli in one hand and the carbon Torelli in the other. They're only 5-ish pounds a part, but the steel bike feels more like 20 lbs heavier. Amazing.
And if the weight delta isn't enough, just contrasting 16 years of bicycle technology changes is quite a trip as well. I spent over an hour in the basement this evening sitting on the floor between the two bikes comparing and contrasting...cool stuff if you're an equipment whore like me.
The most amazing thing of all, to me, is the cost. Sure, the Montefalco cost 35% more than the steel Torelli...but the steel Torelli was bought with 1993 dollars!!! I don't know how much 1993 dollars are worth in 2009 dollars, but I'd hazard to guess that these two bikes effectively cost the same.
I have a feeling that the real shocker has yet to come...the maiden voyage
