Throwdown: First Impressions... Torelli's Montefalco Frame/Fork

I spent my lunch hour at Torelli's World Wide Headquarters in North Hollywood yesterday while I was dropping some product off to the product manager. While I was milling around I happened across a frame/fork that was half wrapped in foam wrap and sticking out of the box. "Is that what I think it is?" it was...

Yes. This was the Montefalco, not the prototype that has been seen around L.A. harassing Mini-Cooper Drivers and lounging by the pool in Studio City, nay... this was the yet to be released production model that will be introduced at Interbike this September. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but you can see the spy shot I posted earlier this summer by clicking here. Now it's just a frame/fork combo (With FSA integrated headset) so I can't tell you about ride quality, but I can say that is was very light to hold and it seemed to be very stiff. The stays are beefy and utilize a split wishbone configuration. The downtube and bb assembly look as though they would give a lot of the lateral stiffness that's needed to transfer power efficiently and the steer tube is a 1.25-1.5" taper. The bike is angular and modern, a stark contrast to Torelli's well known traditional steel frames.

I've always liked Torelli for their steadfast adherence to traditional framebuilding in the Italian fashion, but as technology moves forward it's important to offer something for the modern crowd. There doesn't seem to be anything traditional about this bike, but it's a welcome change.