Titanium road bikes have many qualities that can't be matched by machines made from other materials. Founded in 1989 by Luciano Passoni, Passoni was one of the first manufacturers to produce titanium road frames anywhere in the world and continue to pioneer their use.
Why should you use a titanium bike?
Professional cyclists have used a titanium frames for decades. Among our earliest customers were professional racers unhappy with the products supplied by their sponsors. They would come to us to create custom bicycles with characteristics that could only be achieved through the use of titanium. These unbadged titanium bicycles proliferated through the peloton during the nineties as riders sought out bikes whose strength-to-weight ratio exceeded that of the steel frames available at the time. Yet, while titanium frames were prized for being both lightweight and incredibly strong, they were also comfortable and provided unparalleled dampening properties. It was also possible to form the material into shapes capable of allowing intense power transfer. In short, our first titanium bikes offered a race-winning difference, even if their use often upset the teams sponsors.
Nevertheless, despite these qualities, titanium road bikes enjoyed only a brief period at the head of the professional peloton. By the turn of the millennium, theyd been largely replaced by mass-produced aluminium and carbon models. However, what's best for professional teams and their suppliers isnt the same as what's best for individual riders. Titanium still has many qualities to recommend it. Today, the best titanium road bikes continue to offer many riders a perfect balance of weight and ride characteristics. Many riders, at the end of their career choose to buy a titanium bike, for the better comfort they can find with it. Check the stories of Filippo Pozzato, Juan Antonio Flecha and Andrea Tonti, and why they chose to ride a Passoni bike.