Passoni Top Force W

Passoni b Bikes
Passoni
Top Force W
At this price you’d expect something incredible.
As Cyclist discovers, that’s exactly what you get
Words james spender
‘Rumours circulate
that the Carrera team –
whose riders included
Marco Pantani – rode
rebranded Passonis’
The spec
Model
Passoni Top Force W
Groupset
Campagnolo Super
Record EPS
Deviations
Columbus Fel fork
Wheels
Passoni carbon tubular
on PMP titanium hubs
Finishing kit
Cinelli Neos stem and
bars, PMP carbon seatpost,
Veloflex tubular tyres
Price
£6,995 (frame, Columbus
Genius fork, headset); test
build approx £13,000
Contact
cyclefit.co.uk
178
cyclist
I
have to come clean: I didn’t know anything
about Passoni until now. Well, that’s not
entirely true. If someone had asked me what
Passoni was, I would have said, ‘Custom
Italian bike brand,’ in much the same way as if I’d been
asked to explain the plot of The Goonies I’d have said,
‘Adventuring kids in coming-of-age tale,’ even though
I’ve never actually seen it. But now that I have experience
of Passoni, it’s a brand that I will be following closely.
Quite simply, the Top Force W is just that good.
Storyville
Like any self-respecting Italian bicycle maker, the
Passoni brand comes with its own romantic back story
of chapels, chance encounters and tragedy. I had
actually assumed the name Passoni was a marketing
man’s attempt to blend the concepts of ‘Italian’ and
‘passion’, but it turns out that these bikes bear the
name of their founder, Luciano Passoni.
Born in a small town outside Milan, Luciano was one
day pedalling up the Ghisallo to the church of Madonna
when he saw a vision. Although not quite an apparition
of the Virgin Mary (from which the church takes its
name), it was just as inspiring – a fellow rider astride an
exotic-looking bicycle. It turned out to be a gentleman
by the name of Amelio Riva, and the bike he was riding,
designed and built by himself under the name Trecià,
was made from titanium. Luciano was so impressed with
the bicycle that he convinced Riva to build him a frame
(or in some versions of events, two, saying, ‘Well, what
if the other one were to get stolen?’). That was the late
1970s and by the early 80s Luciano, together with his
son Luca, had bought out Riva and was constructing
high-end titanium frames under the family name.
Passoni’s reputation grew to the point where the
company found itself making frames that would feature in
the pro peloton, albeit disguised (rumours circulate that
the Carrera team – whose riders included Marco Pantani P
custom cables
Passoni’s attention to
detail and uncompromising
approach extends to
more than just the frame.
Check out the tricolore
customisation of the Nokon
cables, which, just like the
rest of the Top Force W,
probably cost more than
your first bike.
Passoni b Bikes
P and Claudio Chiappucci – rode rebranded Passonis).
But in 2006 came a massive blow when son Luca, by then
the chief driving force behind the outfit, suddenly passed
away. Luca’s wife, Silvia, kept things going, but it was clear
the Passoni brand needed reinvigoration.
That injection came from hedge fund manager Matteo
Cassina, who when out on a ride happened upon his
uncle, a friend of Luciano. Just like before, Cassina’s
uncle was riding a Passoni, and just like Luciano, Cassina
was so enamoured with the bicycle that he just had to
have one. In 2011 he bought the company too.
precision welding
Exquisite is not normally
a term associated with
welding, but the tube
junctions on the Top
Force W are as artistic
as they are functional
Sleekness of design
Cassina is now majority stakeholder in Passoni but still
shares ownership with Silvia Passoni. Despite being top
of the boutique titanium tree, the brand remains true to
its roots, operating out of its workshop in Vimercate, Italy
with only nine employees. Every year they turn out just
500 frames, with each frame taking around 60 hours.
And boy does it show.
At first glance the Top Force W is understated, almost
muted. Its clear-coat finish is elegant but unassuming,
with the colour-matched components hinting, but never
‘Look closely and you’ll find
a frame so exquisite it would
better suit a gallery than a
pot-holed British road’
screaming, class. But look more closely and you’ll find
a frame so exquisite it would better suit a gallery than
a pot-holed British road. Smoothed welds are nothing
new – Cannondale has been doing it with its aluminium
frames for years – but in titanium, a much more difficult
metal to work with, they are rare indeed. The fact that it
takes around another 30 hours to finish a Top Force W
even once the welding is complete gives some idea why.
The 1.25in-1.5in head tube flows seamlessly into the
Columbus Fel fork (though as standard the frame comes
with a Columbus Genius), while the other joints have a
smoothness reminiscent of the iconic Cinelli Lazer. This
latest iteration of the Top Force gets its ‘W’ suffix from
the electronic-only routing (it stands for ‘wired’), but
unlike the straight up Top Force, the W features an
oversized 48mm diameter down tube as opposed to
41mm. The upshot, claims Cassina, is increased stiffness
that makes the Top Force W ‘the stiffest titanium bike
on the market, even stiffer than all of last year’s ProTour
bikes’. It also makes it suitable for heavier riders (the
non-W Top Force is better suited to sub-75kg riders).
On paper, it’s a blend of traditional craftsmanship
and modern race machine. So how does it ride?
You pay your money…
This is a £7,000 frameset. Yep, that’s just the frameset.
Stick on even mid-level components and you won’t
get much change from 10 grand. But, says Cassina, not
one of the builds the company has ever done has left
the premises with anything less than Record or Dura-Ace
groupsets. And frankly, if you’re considering this sort of
cash, you’re unlikely to want to compromise. P
cyclist
181
Bikes b Passoni
P Given all that, I was expecting amazing things from
the Top Force W, and I’m pleased to report it delivered
on every level. The main triangle and fork provided
a tautness that gave absolutely precise handling and
responsiveness, without feeling twitchy. I might have
preferred a slightly stiffer stem than the Cinelli Neos, but
that was only when I was wrenching it in the drops. But
where the Top Force W really shone was at the rear end.
Somehow, despite not having a large press-fit bottom
bracket (it uses a threaded BB shell, although Passoni
offers other BB options) or thick chain stays, the rear
end is comparable to the stiffest bikes out there, even the
carbon ones. Off the mark, the Top Force W absolutely
flies. Yet where super-stiff carbon frames are often
skittish and harsh, the Passoni still manages to harness
the plushness that’s made titanium so famous. It has a
nigh-on perfect balance between subtle manners and
out-and-out raceability, like a leather-clad supercar.
‘The W absolutely
flies, yet harnesses
the plushness that’s
made titanium
so famous’
matching parts
Passoni has a deal going
with Cinelli that allows it
to order custom-matched
parts, such as these Neos
handlebars and stem.
Similar things can be done
with a range of bespoke
Selle Italia saddles.
Alfred, I’ve punctured
If there are any downsides with the Top Force W, I’ve
yet to find them. I’m not much of a Campophile, but
in its EPS format with slightly extended thumb-shift
levers I grew to like the Super Record gruppo’s smooth
yet snappy shifting. The damping of the PMP carbon
seatpost just adds to the comfortable miles (which for
potential customers would be even more comfortable as
all Passoni frames are sold as custom fits), while the Neos
handlebars’ shallow drop and sweep suited me perfectly.
If there was a gripe, it was with the tubular wheels.
In themselves the Passoni-branded carbon hoops
on PMP hubs were fast, light and easy on the eye, but
I quickly swapped them out for a pair of Campagnolo
Bullets, which were clinchers. I simply can’t offset
the various merits of tubs against the fact that if you
puncture you’re potentially left hoping you’ve got a
mobile signal and enough in your wallet for a taxi. Then
again, if you can afford the Top Force W, your butler is
probably following you round Surrey in a support car. ]
The detail
No matter what your view of brands
such as Passoni, it’s hard not to get
hung up on the price tag. However,
if you deconstruct what’s gone in to
the Top Force W it’s clear Passoni
isn’t just overselling for the sake
of appearing premium. The grade
9, 3Al/2.5V titanium tubesets
are sourced from Reynolds in the
UK, and reputedly run into the
thousands of pounds. The head tube,
bottom bracket shell and dropouts
are custom-machined from much
harder grade 5, 6Al/4V in a lengthy
and time-consuming process that
produces a lot of waste material.
To achieve quality welds, special
oxygen-free inert gases are used,
while the blades that cut the tubes
and do the engraving add to the list of
expendables that must be routinely
replaced, again at significant cost.
182
cyclist