For this brief, we used the very best combination of steel tubing. The top and down tubes are from Columbus’ Spirit HSS range. HSS stands for High Strength Shaped and the tubes all have a unique shape designed specifically for improved ride characteristics. It is made in Italy, cold drawn from triple butted OMNICROM alloy and at their centre are just 0.45mm thick but owing to the large diameter, they’re plenty stiff. As well as the “D” shape of the down tube, it tapers to a wide ovalised shape at the bottom bracket giving the BB area extra bracing from the lateral forces of pedalling.
The chainstays are Columbus XCR stainless steel and the seatstays are skinny, lightweight tubes also from Columbus but usually intended for Keirin track bikes in Japan. This combination offers light weight and some slight compliance which still gives the rider some feedback through the bike but takes the sting out of the road buzz.
We opted for the carbon integrated seatpost (ISP) which reduces the weight of the frame further but also offers a degree of increased comfort through the saddle. It being one single continuous tube, it is allowed to flex both above and below the junction of the top tube and stays meaning that the saddle is actually afforded a short amount of fore and aft travel. It is only slight but it can make a big difference after hours in the saddle.

At just the right time of day, as the sun is setting on the Dolomites, they often appear pink rather than the orange one might expect. The sky turns a deep purple as day turns to night and this fantastic spectrum of colours appears briefly until the end of the next day of good weather. In the winter snow clings where it can to the dramatic sheer rock formations that top the mountains.
Our paint wizard Tom spent weeks discussing different ideas with Eugenio and they settled on this hand brushed fade of day into night on the Dolomites, reminding Eugenio of his days racing up and down those mountain roads of home.

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