Torelli Verde LTD.

[madcow]

Recently one of our regular customers returned from a trip with a new carbon Torelli, which he brought to us to have built. viewtopic.php?f=102&t=6465 My first thought was, "carbon Torelli?" This was odd, because for the last couple decades Torelli has been about importing Italian steel frames and finishing them here in the U.S. Once he brought the frame in, my next thought was, "Wow, what a pretty frameset." I built the bike for him and then took it for a ride. After only a short ride on the bike, I knew I needed to have one for myself. So as soon as I returned from riding the bike, I contacted Torelli.

It turns out the Torelli Verde is a Ltd. Edition. Only 25 were produced. We managed to secure a good percentage of those, and will shortly make them available to our customers(mostly bb30 versions). Now that mine has been here for a little while, I've decided that it's a keeper and have already made arrangements to get rid of my Storck.

Frame weight for a Sm (52 TT). 957grams. Not the lightest, but not too bad for a fully painted carbon with an ISP.
Fork weight: 318.4 cut to fit.
MSRP: $2000
Available in BB30 or BSA
1.5" lower headset bearing.

The overall ride of the bike is very nice. Light and stiff, but not buzzy or overly stiff. It seems there is very little movement at the bb shell or headtube, probably due to the large tube diameters. I'm sure the 1.5" lower bearing in the headset does not hurt the stiffness either. Descending is quite stable and it inspires lots of confidence in the high speed corners. Unlike my Storck, I can see this as being a frame I could spend all day on. If I had to compare it's overall performance to another of my bikes, I'd say it's closest to the Parlee Z4. A really nice all-around performer. Basically what you get with this frameset is a frame that to me is worth more than they charge. That's a pretty big deal with the escalating prices we're seeing in this industry over the last couple of year. This will certainly become one of my recommended frames, though with such small numbers available I guess I can't recommend it to too many people.

I've been impressed enough with it, that I'm also going to build up the normal production model called the montefalco, which looks to be the same but without the ISP.

In terms of looks, I think this is one of the best looking production frames I've ever seen. I also greatly appreciate the pricing. I'd certainly have expected this frameset to be far more expensive than $2000, even for a far east frame. What's nice about the pricing is that even with a bargain price, they didn't overlook the details. I love the pass through headtube for the shifter housing. The included bottle cage bolts are aluminum, granted that's a minor detail but one that many manufacturers overlook. Integrated mount for a chain catcher. Obviously a cutting guide would have to be included, but the saw blade is also present. Different clamps are included for saddles with different size rails as well.

Overall the complete bike weight with the 68 clinchers was still down at 13.3 pounds complete.

The removed piece of seat mast made a nice custom headset spacer.

I'll update this review as I get more rides on the bike.

[jjmstang]

Nice tube shapes and good review Jason. Any other color besides green available ?

Thanks,
John

[allerge99]

Thanks for another great review.

It would be interesting to ride the ISP frame and non ISP frame back to back with the same build to see if you could notice a difference.

[Just Todd]

Hi all.

I've finally registered.
I'm a long time listener, first time caller.

The Torelli looks really nice in that paint. Anyone else who wants one sooner than Torelli will put them out (apparently) can get them direct from Tiawan here: http://shop.cycletaiwan.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=gk_flypage.tpl&product_id=217&category_id=22&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53 .

I've thought seriously about buying one of these for most of this year. It's nice to actually read a post-ride review of one. Thanks!

[alienator]

No, I don't believe it's the same frame. The chainstays are the wrong shape. Besides, in Torelli form it's finished so nicely, especially the British Racing Green part.

[Just Todd]

Mmmm, if you enlarge the photos on the Taiwan Shop site and compare with enlarged shots of the Torelli, the rear dropouts (and assembly) are the same, the top/down/head tube joint is the same incl. the cable routing, the ISP clamp itself is the same, the upper double seat stay and joint w/ the seat tube is the same, the tapered head tube is the same...it's all the same (w/o actually taking caliper measurements here on my coffee table).

The chainstays are actually the same shape; the apparent visual difference is due to camera angle + the compound curves of the stays.

The b.r. green is definitely nice.

[sramjunky]

who makes the pedals you are riding?

[Boonen]

They are M2-racer pedals, unfortunately not made any more.