Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from the affiliate links in this article. Learn more
Custom steel bike builder Officina Battaglin is making a big leap into new materials with an all-new Roma carbon and steel road bike. Combining a lugged steel backbone with lightweight forged carbon tubing, the Battaglin Roma promises that classic steel feel at a lighter weight, made entirely in Italy and finished with their amazing custom cromovelato finish.
Battaglin Roma lugged steel and bonded carbon road bike (complete).
With the new Roma, Officina Battaglin wanted to “redefine what is possible with steel,” combining the pleasant, smooth ride quality of classic lugged steel with the reduced weight benefits of contemporary carbon fiber. The idea was to replace the more vertical elements of the frame with lighter carbon, while keeping the more horizontal elements made of steel to maintain the steel damping character.
“Traditionally, the unparalleled comfort of steel comes with some weight loss, a trade-off that we have embraced as a dedicated steel bicycle manufacturer. However, with the Roma project we wanted to redefine what is possible with steel, while staying true to the material’s roots. We challenged ourselves to see how much weight we could eliminate without compromising the exceptional ride quality that only steel can provide.”
– Alex Battaglin, CEO of Officina Battaglin
The end result is a mixed material frame that is comparable in weight to a titanium frame, but with the distinctive, lively feel of a steel frame.
Steel + carbon construction
The new Battaglin Roma frame is built entirely by hand in batches in Marostica, Italy.
The frame starts in two halves – top and bottom – and connects a Columbus GB81 steel tube set custom drawn for Battaglin with proprietary 3D printed stainless steel lugs. Using specially developed frame jigs in the Battaglin workshop, the frame builders braze the lugs to both ends of the top tube and build the entire lower back – dropouts, chainstays, bottom bracket, down tube and lower head tube lug. Battaglin mirror polishes these finished steel assemblies and then fully chrome-plates them in the classic silver chrome that forms the basis of their cromovelato finish.
Next, Battaglin connects the full set of Italian-made T1000 ultra-high modulus forged carbon fiber tubes to complete the Roma frame. Only after you choose the final finish does Battaglin add the final color tint layers of paint to the finish. Finally, the whole thing is finished with logos and a deep gloss clear coat, while the forged carbon tubes remain raw.
Technical details and stock geometry
- Straight 1.5″ headset for fully internal cable routing with the tapered full carbon steerer tube
- wireless electronic groups only
- disc brake only, flat mounting 140/160 mm
- T47 threaded bottom bracket
- Round seat post of 31.6 mm
- plus a maximum tire clearance of 700c x 35mm
- and then 12 vibrant cromovelato colors to choose from, plus this new Rose Gold nod to Giovanni Battaglin’s victory in the Giro d’Italia
The new Battaglin Roma racing bike is available in seven standard sizes (XS 48 – XXL 60 cm). It is suitable for all roads and has a large, modern tire clearance. But it’s meant to feel fast, with all-day endurance road geometry, a modern long reach and a reasonably low stack.
Battaglin Roma – Prices, Cromovelato for you options & availability
Officina Battaglin is selling the all-new carbon and steel Roma allroad bike as a frameset, through their growing dealer network. For €5500 they supply a standard Roma frame, custom finished in the single cromovelato deep chrome color of your choice, plus a matching carbon fork, headset, seatpost clamp and thru-axles. Frames are made to order and are new like their others Cromovelato for you semi-custom bikes. And Battaglin says they’ll ship your bike in just four weeks.
And of course, one of Battaglin’s new global premium partner bike shops will take care of your custom build. They turn your new Roma frame into a completely modern racing bike.
OfficinaBattagglin.com