Torelli Back In The Day
 

So in early times in the '80s did Torelli market any low line bikes or were they all pretty much decent quality products?

Thanks

...
...you'd need to define "low line" and "decent quality". The whole concept was Italian contract built frames at more reasonable prices. The lowest in the hierarchy I've seen and experienced was built from Columbus Aelle, and there might have been one that was only three tubes Aelle. Still a pretty good frame, IMO.

I don't know much about their product line over the years. There were some nice frames. I was fond of one of their tires... very much like the "open tubulars", in that they were supple and light and rode great.

Looking through my magazine clippings, I did find a very brief road test of a Torelli Corsa Strada. It was built from Oria vanadium steel tubing, with some combination of lugs and tig welding.
Here's the road test (which looks a lot like a press release)....

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...816d48_b_d.jpg

another ad does list some of their models .....
This was the era when adding carbon fiber seat stays to a metal frame was some sort of compromise to get part of the ride characteristics of carbon at a fraction of the cost.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...45afc2_b_d.jpg

Steve in Peoria

When I dealt with them ‘89-‘93ish they just had Torelli, as stated good frames on a budget, and the Mondonico line which was their high end. They didn’t really sell bikes so much as frames and “kits”

Aren't Torelli frames Mondonico built?

This road test does mention that it was built by Mondonico...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bc30bc_b_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...666a8e_b_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...59bab4_b_d.jpg

Steve in Peoria

That was my understanding back then. Torelli imported the Mondonico line and contracted to them for their budget bikes.

The earliest Torelli frames (early 80's) were not Mondonico built. Early Corsa Strada and Super Strada with Oria tubes. I have an early Super Strada with Oria tubes, which appears to be seamed tubing. I'm pretty sure the builder was Vicini.

The 1986 Torelli Corsa Strada was built with Mazzicato straight gauge hi-tensile carbon steel tubing. All European components. $420.

I have it on good authority that Faggin built some Torelli frames. The good authority was Cristina Faggin.

I think someone had previously posted this advertisement showing the lineup.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a877fb75a.jpeg

The Countach is where they mention pinned construction, so its possible thats the level (and above) where Mondonico was builder.

The Mondonico bottom bracket stamping is unique and easy to spot, with a tall “M” in the middle.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b194c7ad0.jpeg


I have a Nitro Express in EL-OS, and every time I ride it I re-affirm that it is my best ride!

Nothing to add about Torelli, but I did feel the need to comment on the Bicycling '99 image. I loved those reviews during that time frame! Something about the photography, and the way they broke down the review into little bite-sized paragraphs - but particularly the "Buy It If/Forget It If" bottom line. Just a simplified, but informative and cool, way to get the pertinent info out to the prospective buyer. Only a couple years or so later I stopped reading cycling periodicals completely, having found/established my bike niche.

Thanks for posting this! Took me back, if only for a moment.

DD

Glad that it was a pleasant, if brief, jog down memory lane. :)

I do think these reviews were invented for the TL;DR crowd. Nothing wrong with that, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I think I was pretty devoted to Bicycle Guide by this time, what with their relatively deep reviews and outstanding photography!

as a quick example, here are two pages from a 4(?) page review of a Waterford 1200....

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5acb1f_b_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b2e9e5_b_d.jpg

It's like a proper meal instead of quickly choking down an energy bar (imho, etc)!

Steve in Peoria (a firm believer in making time for a proper meal)

Bicycle Guide was another mag I perused regularly during this time frame, and yes, they did some fantastic reviews - and of course they were more in-depth. I enjoyed them, too, and up until a year or so ago when I passed my mini-collection to a friend, they were some of the few bike mags I kept down through the years. My favorite was one celebrating Italy and the contribution to cycling made over the years by the artisans there.

For the later Bicycling reviews, just something about the general, no-nonsense, bullet-point review catered to a certain sense of efficiency, I suppose. Whatever it was, the format spoke to me - not that I ever remotely considered buying any of the bikes reviewed, mind you. Heck, it wasn't until 2011 that I finally built a bike with modern clicky-shifting :)

DD

I recall Torelli selling several other brands: Mondonico as we have said, as well Guerciotti. I recall there may have been others, but I don’t recall exactly. We had a LBS here in Ann Arbor which carried Torelli, but he had not studied the company and was willing to let me sit and read the catalog. Clearly he would order anything I asked him to, but did not in my recollection display any frames.

Until this thread I never saw information released by Torelli which indicated that some Torelli-branded bikes were made by Mondonico. It was amazing to me howThe Torelli catalogs usually contained a geometry chart for Torelli road bikes and another for Mondonico bikes. My recollection was that they were the same or nearly so. More supposition, but this suggested to me that at least there is an understanding with Mondonico, permitting Torelli to direct Contract Builders A through Z to “Please follow the attached Geometry Chart.”

Agreed. I hate reviews geared to the short-attention-span set. I want to sit down and read a review!

Torelli took over the Masi name for three or four years after TSD quit.
Their first tier Masi were Billato built and the upper were Mondonico.
My 1989 Torelli-Masi-Billato Nuova Strada
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...527a5a3f13.jpg

I have a Torelli Corsa Strada frameset that I believe dates to ~1986. It has the Oria tubing decal. I put a borescope down the tubes and there is evidence that they started with seamed tubing and then through their additional drawing pretty much worked it out. I can see a tine of lighter material running down the inside of the tubes, but there is nothing you could feel with your finger. This is much like True Temper's approach for all their tubing, from what I understand. I also have a Masi Nuova Strada from the same time frame and the two frames look identical, though the Masi has a Columbus decal. It is obvious to me that the two frames came off the same production line. Most cyclists of the era didn't know that stiffness is a result of the diameter and thickness of a steel tube, not its material. Higher quality tubing is stronger, which allows thinner tubing to be used, making the frame lighter and changing the ride characteristics. You can build quite a decent riding bike out of quality, straight-gauge tubing, if that's your goal, though it might buckle a bit quicker in a crash compared with more expensive tubing of the same gauge. I haven't built this one up, but the tubing appears to be relatively thin-walled, and I have no reason to disbelieve that the positive road tests from the era. The workmanship is fine, but I got it with an Ofmega BB and headset and both are classic Italian crap.

I think Cromor is flat-rolled-seamed-drawn tubing from Columbus.

I have seen some nice Torelli for sales onEbay
Torelli Super Strada Columbus Zona, Torelli Super Strada Columbus Zona 2, Torelli Corsa Strada Oria (almost bought this frame but the lack of the decal of the tubing manufacturer ,the costs of import duties and shipping as well as unfinished tig welding made it a no), Torelli La Bicilcetta Che Vince Columbus SL, Torelli Corsa Strada Oria Vanadium, Torelli Corsa Strada Columbus Steel .
Exception made of the two first which have very high quality tubing, Oria was never rated as high as Columbus or even Dedacciai or Reynolds but it was used in the80's-90's by Guerciotti, Tommasini, Montagner, Olmo, Dancelli, Daccordi, Ciocc and Pinarello and more on Oria history, Even the complete tubesets from Oria always weighted way more than what the competition proposed, not sure if Oria still exists.

There's been a pair of these listed locally for a couple of years now.

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/67774822

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...01f4a4da9d.jpg


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f4a1423bc.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...157aad0b06.jpg

Having an Oria (seamed) tubed, gios blue, Super Strada, the one with the pantographed stem, chainring, and seatpost, I keep my eyes open for information about them. At some point I acquired a copy of an email to someone, purported to be from Chairman Bill, regarding an early Torelli Corsa Strada, one that was of the same era as the Super Strada I have. So take it at whatever value you care to assign it. I did go looking at Vicini frame pics from the same era, and was convinced that was the origin of my frame. Email follows:Original owner selling prestine 1981 Torelli Corsa Strata Bicycle. In original condition. Seldom ridden. Stored in garage for years. Included original water bottles and leather toe straps. $675 Or Best Offer.

See statement below from Torelli.com:

Sent: Tue, Mar 31, 2009 2:25 pm

Subject: RE: Torelli Bicycle

John,

I forwarded you email w/ pictures to Bill McGann the founder of Torelli. Only he knows the vintage product. You have yourself a very special frame in that old Corsa Strada. Below I've pasted his response...


My goodness! I had to do a double take when I saw those pictures. This bike was made around 1981. It is the first production Torelli bike made in the shop of Mario Vicini, who got second place in the 1937 Tour de France.

It is indeed a Corsa Strada. We made only a few of the pearl yellow ones. The Ciclolinea tape on the stem has nothing to do with identifying the bike. That is a sticker from the maker of the handlebar tape that came with the bike.

The bike looks to be in terrific condition given that it is almost 30 years old.

Cordially,

Bill