Battaglin Portofino R, cutting-edge steel

If steel bikes had continued to evolve, they would surely look like this Battaglin Portofino R, the latest generation technologies applied to the most classic material in bike manufacturing to create a bike with great performance and exquisite taste that will make you forget about modern carbon frames.

Portofino R, Battaglin's most modern classic

Steel has been the most widely used material throughout history for the manufacture of bicycles, but the arrival first of aluminium and later of carbon fibre frames, which allowed previously unimaginable designs to be implemented, relegated this traditional material to the background, only for nostalgics of cycling in the past.

However, steel is experiencing a second youth thanks to the artisan manufacturers who continue to build this type of bike with the added attraction of being able to have a custom-made bike and the tube manufacturers, where Columbus takes the lead, who provide them with the material necessary to make these classic style bikes.

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But there are those who have decided not to remain traditional. Brands such as the Italian Battaglin have chosen to follow the path of innovation, trying to take the use of steel one step further, as if carbon had not invaded everything. The result of this process is impressive bikes like this Battaglin Portofino R, which completes their offer.

Back to the roots

Giovanni Battaglin, founder of the brand in 1982, was a notable professional cyclist in the 1970s and early 1980s, with a remarkable track record that includes the winning of the Vuelta a España and Giro d'Italia in 1981, a year in which there were barely three days of rest between the end of the Spanish round and the start of the Giro.

During the 1980s, the brand began to grow, supplying its machines to the Carrera team and being the bike on which Stephen Roche achieved the milestone of winning the Giro, the Tour and the World Championship in 1987. The brand was not unaffected by the crisis that the arrival of carbon technology meant for traditional firms. However, in 2014, Giovanni Battaglin decided to give a turn to the brand that would allow them to differentiate themselves and recover the lost legacy.

They dusted off the old machines and went back to their roots to recover steel craftsmanship, seeking to offer bikes that were different but with the clear intention of extracting from this material all that it could give. This brings us to their latest creation, the Battaglin Portofino R.

Classic material, cutting-edge technology

The first thing that strikes us about the Battaglin Portofino R, apart from its characteristic decoration using the chromovelato technique, which achieves an unequalled aesthetic, is the large section of its tubes, which makes us wonder if we are really looking at a bicycle made of steel.

The Battaglin Portofino R is manufactured entirely at its factory in Marostica, in the industrial region of Veneto, an area where a large number of bicycle manufacturers are concentrated.

The raw materials used are tubes supplied by Columbus, from their GB81 series, but with specifications exclusive to Battaglin. Added to this are oversized steel fittings, which they make in their own factory, and a carbon fork, also made in Italy for Battaglin, which has a D-shaped head tube to allow internal cable routing.

The frame combines several manufacturing techniques, with fittings being used at the joints between the head tube and the diagonal and horizontal tubes, and also for the seat and horizontal tubes. However, brazing is used on the tubes that meet at the bottom bracket shell, where we find another nod to the present day with the use of an oversized T47 axle and in the new seat stays of this model, which opt for a modern low anchor design in the middle part of the seat tube.

This solution allows the Battaglin Portofino R to have thinner sections in the rear triangle to increase comfort without affecting stiffness. A general solidity that is guaranteed in the front triangle by the generous sections of its tubes.

Luxury details

We can simply marvel at the finishes of this Battaglin Portofino R, starting with the true masterpiece that are its fittings, especially the saddle fitting which, in another display of modernity, integrates the saddle lock as we can find on the carbon bikes of the moment.

The control frame is also Battaglin's work in terms of the aluminium stem which is integrated into the lines of the frame, designed to accommodate internal cable routing as is the norm on today's bikes. All this, as well as the handlebars, and even the gear levers to match the decoration of the frame.

A decoration that is a true work of art, using the classic chrome-plating technique. A classic finish on steel bikes that consists of painting a thin layer of paint on the chrome tubes so that the shine of the chrome is visible. Battaglin takes it a step further and the Portofino R also has a pattern of tiny filigree patterns that reproduce the brand logo all over the surface.

Also exquisite are the frame's rear dropouts, also made by Battaglin instead of the standard models supplied by the tube manufacturers, which provide the flat mount anchorage for the rear disc in the same piece.

Of course, being a handcrafted steel bike, it is made to our specifications. An exclusivity and a level of quality that, of course, comes at a price. 8.000 € is the basic price to pay to own this 100% Made in Italy piece of craftsmanship.