Monday, October 26, 2009

Torelli Selvino Review

Late last year I managed to acquire a Torelli Selvino road frame. The previous owner is much taller than me and could not ride the size Medium frame. Brand new and never built up, I spent the next several months assembling it into a bike as finances would allow and component deals would present themselves. Late this past summer after checking and re-checking measurements & torque settings, I took the bike for a few short spins around the neighborhood before it made an official debut at one of our Tuesday evening hammer sessions.

While the Torelli Selvino is a compact frame it has different dimensions than my Giant TCR. The biggest differences I noticed are that the bottom bracket is slightly higher and the seat tube angle is a bit different. In order to postion the saddle equal to the TCR relative to the BB, the saddle sits slightly more forward on the seat post. The handlebar stem is a few mm’s longer than on my TCR in order to have the same reach.

I have always been pleased with the performance of my TCR, but the stiffness of the Torelli Selvino translated into noticeably improved acceleration. The Selvino handles very well and is very comfortable to ride, although the stiff frame and oversize carbon tubes make road bumps a bit more noticeable. Weighing in around 1000 gm, the frame is quite light. Weight for the entire bicycle is ~ 16.5 pounds.

The more I ride the Torelli Selvino the more I enjoy it. I would recommend this frame to anyone looking for a high quality, good looking, cost effective road racing frame.

Torelli Selvino component highlights:

Frame --- Torelli Selvino - Medium

Drive Train --- Dura Ace 10 Speed

Wheels --- Easton EA90 SLX

Tires --- Continental Grand Prix 4000

Handlebars --- Torelli Aspect

Saddle --- Selle Italia SLK

Seat post --- Easton EC 90

Pedals --- Look Keo Carbon

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there I was thinking of upgrading to one of these as well from my Mondonico, can you report on the bike now since you've had it for a few months?


Thanks,
Mark

Sprocket said...

Hi Mark,

I still love this bike! The more I ride it the more happy I am with the feel, fit and all around rideability.

As time goes on I ride my old bike les and less.

John Clark said...

I am thinking of buying this bike for my son.He is a junior racer, do you think this bike is good for racing?

Sprocket said...

Hi John,

Thanks for visiting. I feel the Selvino is a great frame for racing. Some friends of mine race this frame and have been quite pleased with it. In my opinion stiffness, responsiveness and light weight are among it best attributes.

It is also hard to beat the price of this frame compared to the competition.

I wish your son the best of success with his bike racing!