Passoni Cicloprato Gravel Frame

Unleash Your Cyclocross Adventures with the Passoni Cicloprato

If you know your Latin, you’ll recognize that the Passoni Cicloprato says what it does. “Prato” being from the Latin meaning meadow or field and “Ciclo” of course being Italian for “cycle”, this is the elite titanium cyclocross bike that will be a perfect match for you and your gravel grinds or forays into the forest.

Passoni uses grade 9 titanium for their tubing, which means that it contains 3.0% aluminum and 2.5% vanadium that allows them to find that perfect mix between an easily weldable material and a super strong alloy. They can make it work according to different thicknesses, rigidities, and compliance. That will mean that they can give the frame a ride quality that will make you want to head out on long, rugged rides and know that you will not feel that buzzing vibration in your hands and bum at the end of the ride from the rough roads chattering up the tubes all day. But then for those areas that will take the brunt of the heavy cycling forces, like the bottom bracket, headtube and the dropouts, Passoni have used a CNC machined grade 5 titanium, which gives the frame builder the very desirable combination of strength, weldability and corrosion resistance.

The trade of the master frame builder must be to know just how each tube, each shape, each weld will impact the ride quality. Since the Passoni frame builders have decades of experience and a desire to make every detail perfect, you will be able to feel the proof of their expertise in the ride. Passoni believe that by doing the welding in a vacuum using a secret mixture of gases, not only is the integrity of the weld upheld but the beauty as well. A huge down tube meets the PF30 bottom bracket to keep the power channeled through the pedals to speed on the ground. The round, small s-shaped seatstays work to absorb the road vibrations channeling up from the ground, while the seat clamp can be a customized Passoni aluminum clamp, a customized Passoni titanium clamp or a grade 5 titanium bolt in titanium grade 5 with a ti screw. The expert workmanship and attention to detail is evident in everything down to the dropouts, which have been made from the seriously strong CNC’d grade 5 titanium while retaining a pleasing shape and working with a replaceable hanger so that you can be sure any untoward tumbles will not result in the hanger damaging the frame.

Customized Fork and Front-End Setup of the Cicloprato

The fork has been supplied by Columbus and customized for Passoni and can offer quick release or 100x12 through axle options. Topped off by the beautifully CNC machined head tube that has been tapered from 1"1/8 to 1"1/2, the front end setup will ensure solid handling and crisp responsiveness. This gravel or cross bike is nothing short of being among the most elegant and beautiful you’ll likely find on any road or trail. The tubes have been hand glazed and the graphics are sandblasted directly on the tube, which makes a seriously stunning effect.

It’s hard not to get excited about a bike this beautiful. But the Passoni Cicloprato is not meant to be hung on a wall as art, but rather ridden hard over the muddy fields of your local cross events or dusty gravel trails on your favorite gravel Gran Fondo.

Also check Cinelli Gravel & CX Bikes.