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Battaglin Portofino R Reshapes Ultra-Modern Lugged Steel Road Bike, Custom-Made in Italy

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue
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Battaglin’s drool-worthy custom, lugged steel road bike goes next-level with a new, more-modern limited Portofino R edition that’s even more integrated than ever. We don’t often associate Italian lugged steel with such modern features as fully internal routing, dropped seatstays, integrated seatpost clamp, and a T47 bottom bracket…  but the craftsmen building bikes at Officina Battaglin continue to impress…

Battaglin Portofino R custom road bike

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue, details
c. Battaglin

Battaglin’s more conventional-looking diamond, yet thoroughly modern Portofino road bike already was a showstopper with tinted cromovelato mirror finishes, unique modern oversized polished lugs, disc or rim brakes, internal cable routing, and made-to-measure geometry designed for you by Giro-Vuelta winner Giovanni Battaglin. And that bike will still be available for cyclists looking for classic styling…

But for those hoping to blow minds in the group rides, the newly renovated Battaglin Portofino R is ever faster & sleeker than ever.

We had been feeling the need to push the Portofino toward the race side for a while, ” describes Battaglin CEO Alex Battaglin. “So, when the update project started, we focused on one single goal: achieving an increase in frame stiffness without compromising on comfort.”

What’s new?

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue, NDS frameset

To build a stiffer frame meant beefing up the bottom end, and a more compliant top end balances that out.

The most obvious changes in the new Battaglin Portofino R are those dropped seatstays and the resulting new seat cluster lug. Now, the bike hides a wedge-style seatpost clamp inside the new chrome seat lug, which Battaglin says actually allows for more post-clamping pressure with less bolt torque, too.

The new frame also gets a new alloy stem that Battaglin developed to allow for clean cable routing with conventional handlebars, a smooth transition to a new custom headset topcap & spacers, plus the option for custom lengths.

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue, T47 BB

Offering an improvement in overall stiffness, the new Battaglin Portofino R moves to a larger T47 threaded bottom bracket – with the added bonus of more space inside for cable routing – and it also scales up a larger seattube to match, now built for a 31.6mm seatpost. The new frame also gets larger diameter seatstays, and more prominently flattened chainstays to balance efficiency & comfort.

The Portofino R’s graphics also get shaken up, with a new smooth fade between two cromovelato colors, transitioning via hand-laid Battaglin filigree logos.

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue, new dropout

Just like the original, the disc brake version of Battaglin’s flagship road bike still features flat mount disc brakes,  12mm thru-axles, and official clearance for 28mm tires. But Battaglin’s Portofino R renovation gave them the chance to reoptimize new dropouts with better integration and sleek derailleur cable routing directly into the end of the chainstay.

Interestingly, all these performance upgrades to what was more of a classically-inspired bike, means that this new Portofino R will replace Battaglin’s conventionally welded & brazed Power+ EVO road race bike. (There are still a handful of those still available in 2022 build slots.)

Tech Details

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue, details

The new Portofino R frame is lugged & brazed in northern Italy from a custom set of oversized Columbus BG81 multi-butted steel tubing, based on Spirit HSS. Each bike is individually numbered, with a new badge below the new seat lug.

Like last year’s update, the new Portofino R still features a 1 1/8″-1 1/2″ tapered internal headset built into the chrome head lugs with a full carbon fork custom-made for Battaglin by WR Compositi with a D-shaped steerer to allow for fully internal cable routing with a relatively small outer profile.

Battaglin Portofino R – Pricing, options & availability

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue logo fade

Starting with pricing is simple, although it’s been going up every year.

The new fully-custom Battaglin Portofino R frameset compelte bikes starts at 8000€. That includes consultation with Giovanni Battaglin to dial in your custom geometry, the made-to-measure & individually-numbered steel frame produced in Battaglin’s Marostica, Italy workshop and full carbon fork also made in Italy, color matched in your choice of cromovelato color, plus a headset. Other color-matched components including handlebar, seatpost, saddle, brake levers, and Battaglin’s new integrated alloy stem are extras.

If you want to stick with the Portofino classic, it is still available from 6000€.

Options are limitless on the complete bike build. You can go rim brake or disc brake, and pretty much any build kit you want – but only electronic shift, hydraulic brake groupsets are routed fully internally.

Battaglin Portofino R, custom-made-in -Italy modern integrated steel lugged road bike, cromovelato blue, frameset

As for availability, only 99 will be made for 2023, and that’s spread across all Portofinos – classic rim, classic disc, R rim & R disc. The breakdown between different variants will depend on demand, but suffice it to say that the Battaglin Portofino is still very much a limited edition. Find out more and start customizing yours at:

OfficinaBattaglin.com

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38 Comments
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Saul Martinez
Saul Martinez
1 year ago

Beautiful craftsmanship is what I expect from Italian frame makers. I would buy one if I could afford it.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago

It’s a steel frame. Get rid of the carbon fork. I don’t ride carbon fiber anymore after my $7000 Colnago catastrophically broke in half in a 5mph turn. After 2 surgeries I am left maimed for life. When I contacted Colnago they said all carbon fiber frames, no matter who makes them, must be destroyed after 2 years or you ride them at your own risk. I also have a friend whose carbon fork exploded without warning while riding thru a park. He is now on anti seizure meds for the rest of his life. If you make a steel frame, please make it all steel.

Robin
Robin
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Sorry your irrational fears do not facts make. That’s BS about CF forks being destroyed after 2 years. It makes me laugh. I don’t think anyone is buying the crap you spew.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

It is very hard for me to recognize my “irrational fears” every time I look at my distorted right hand.

Robin
Robin
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

So you claim. You’ve presented only claims, no facts. And reality is not congruent with what you claim. You’ve presented zero evidence that is verifiable. As it stands, there’s no reason for anything to believe that you actually had a crash or that your crash, if it happened, wasn’t the result of something entirely different like neglect of your bike, damage from something else that you ignored, and so on.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

So what do you want????? I have told you that it happened. I gave you the name of the Colnago attorney that I was in contact with. If you don’t believe what I have to say, then why should anyone believe what you have to say? It is the same thing.

No matter how much proof exists, there will always be the naysayers. “Yes Mrs. Hitler, I’m sure your son would never do that”…

Broken frame.JPG
Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

More proof…

Bandage.JPG
Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Even more proof…

Bandage change.jpg
Jackson Ellis
Jackson Ellis
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

I am a retired engineer, and my comments come from that.
#
#Carbon fibre itself isn’t the issue in your photo.
What I observe a “tension failure” of a “CF Lug”.
#
#My 92 Look KG 176 has straight tube carbon fibre tubes
bonded into heavy Aluminum Lugs.
# At 5000 miles per year, and 200 lbs body weight
the frame has lasted OK.
30 years * 5000 mpy is a long daily ride on a CF frame.
#Admittedly, my Look frame is on old style construction style,
with heavy metal lugs, and should be strong.
Point is, the Look Carbon-into-Aluminum lug
has been working well, for this 200 lb rider.
#
#My 93 Trek 5200 has a different construction,
and all this discussion makes this engineer wonder
about frames made to a price mark and a weight mark.
#
#Please address the issue of light-weight CF Lugs
or some other mode of failure with CF frames.
#
# Sorry for your injuries. I am sensitive to your issues.
At 78 years, I do not want a fall nor have a frame failure,
so I have a very personal interest in a sturdy bike !
#
# Good posting by you,
I look forward to more posts about sturdy bike design.
###

Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Jackson Ellis

Aren’t the lugs made of carbon fiber too? They sure looked like it from the broken ends. And it seems very strange that both lugs would sever completely at the same instant. Aren’t the lugs a much stronger part of the frame? They are certainly thicker than the tubes.

Trailzrock
Trailzrock
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

Every bike or wheels I see break, are made of carbon. Just watched Tom Pidcock walk his bike off the course in the cyclocross race in Hulst because his rear carbon wheel broke. In the 2022 Paris Roubaix two of the Jumbo Visma riders broke their carbon wheels. Carbon is more brittle and will break a lot easier than aluminum wheels. That’s a fact.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

Robin, carbon fiber FRAMES not just forks might break after simply 2 years. Trek realizes that people who buy top end carbon fiber framesets are performance oriented and so are likely to replace their framesets every couple of years and hence void the lifetime warranty that they offer to the original owner. So you xan’t use them as an example of the safety of carbon fiber. You CAN make a reliable carbon fiber frameset but you cannot make them light. And that is what everyone is going for. Look around on the Internet and you’ll find all of the top end brands with instances of breaking and seriously injuring their riders. Companies are using carbon fiber forks because they are cheaper to make. And I happen to be the man that Mike is talking about who has to take anti-seizure medication for the rest of my life. I have no balance and I cannot feel the front halves of my feet and I still get partial seizures which feel awful. I still ride but I ride steel. If you are willing to take your life in your hands you might live the rest of your riding life without a problem. But you might not and might just as easily die as I came so near. Milke was a cop and a federal agent and saved my life when I was mere days from dying. So he is hardly an extremist. It is difficult to think of carbon fiber as safe when they have a sweep wagon following the peloton picking up the broken frames so that they aren’t photographed. Not to mention racing team suing their suppliers for giving them dangerous framesets.

Robin
Robin
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Did you ever ask yourself a painfully obvious question: if what you claim is true, why is that not in the paperwork that comes with every Colnago, and why is not in big bold letters on their website? After all, if what you claim about destroying forks after 2 years is true, wouldn’t it be legally stupid to not make sure every customer knew that? And how would a company like Colnago end up with attorneys so incompetent that they wouldn’t make sure such a “safety notice” wasn’t in the paperwork for every Colnago with a CF fork and was easily found on their website? The very absence of such safety notices raises a lot of questions about what you claim Colnago said.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

That is exactly what I asked Colnago. I was in direct contact with their attorney, Gilberto Gentilli, Esq. He said he wrote the manual. But he did not say why that information was not included. I, too, find that odd.

Dinger
Dinger
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Subpoena him to a courtroom and have a judge ask him why it wasn’t included.

Jackson Ellis
Jackson Ellis
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

Attorneys are paid to maintain “Plausible Deniability” for their clients.

Robin
Robin
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Further, wouldn’t the EU have a mandatory statement about CF forks and likewise have regulations mandating their destruction after two years of use? After all, the EU is pretty darn quick to regulate products considered dangerous. In fact, it’s arguably true that the EU is too quick sometimes to regulate products that might cause harm to the public (ex: cell phone radiation and GMOs).

Bob
Bob
1 year ago
Reply to  Robin

How many carbon products have been recalled by major brands in the last decade? Too many.
I won’t own a bike that uses the stuff. Carbon fibre itself isn’t the issue – the bike industry, what seems to be a lack of proper FMEA type forward thinking and all the contract manufacturing add up to be a liability though. Very few brands I’d trust.

Technician
Technician
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Not sure why you get downvoted. CF frame riders, who paid $7000 for a frameset, must be mad at the truth you are stating. Bad for them, I guess.

I agree: steel frame MUST come with a steel fork. Period.

Robin
Robin
1 year ago
Reply to  Technician

Steel frame must come with a steel fork? That’s laughable. It should only come with a steel fork if that’s what the customer wants or if that’s what the builder does.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Technician

I cannot tell the difference between a 16 lb bike and a 20 lb bike when I am sport riding. If you race I suppose you are paid to take chances but I don’t race. I am 78 years old and so far this year I have put in over 4,000 miles of riding and over 100,000 feet of climbing. When Mike still lived here in the San Francisco bay area we would ride 7,000 miles a year and 250,000 feet of climbing. I wonder what Robin does? By the way – most of the amateur races down in Alviso ride steel bikes. They take ENOUGH chances the way it is without adding more.

Dinger
Dinger
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

It is odd that a representative of Colnago would say such a thing when they warranty their frames for 3 years. If that came in a reply to an email (in writing) then you have a strong case to sue them.

FWIW, your bike did not catastrophically fail randomly, it did so from some other damage that it incurred unbeknownst to you. Carbon fiber is not delicate of fragile, it’s as strong as its engineer designs it to be. I’m sorry for your accident but it is not indicative of carbon fiber’s quality as a material. It is unlikely in this day and age that you can find a steel bike product that’s as well tested and proven as an equivalent carbon product because the companies (people) still building steel frames can’t afford to properly test them. Best advice – buy products from companies you trust.

Bob
Bob
1 year ago
Reply to  Dinger

“It is unlikely in this day and age that you can find a steel bike product that’s as well tested and proven as an equivalent carbon product because the companies (people) still building steel frames can’t afford to properly test them.”

Do you know how little frame testing actually costs?
Do you know that virtually no CF companies in the bike industry have or use foolproof QA equipment?
And testing is very little to do with this, QC process is everything. A good expert witness can make a mockery of the production QC processes used by the majority of bike brands selling CF frames, forks and bars etc. Not all, but far more than you realise. You pass EN tests, you can sell the bike. But EN testing does almost zero to ensure safe production and production variables in CF are more complicated to control than in steel frame building techniques.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Bob

I think you’re correct to an extent. The latest fad is superlight bikes. You simply cannot have a superlight bike made from any material and have it safe for any period of time Though steel tends to be miles safer than anything else because there is 300 years of experience with it.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Dinger

Do you own a Colnago and have you attempted to collect on a warranty? Excuse me, but if you don’t and you haven’t, why are you talking about it?

Roberto
Roberto
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike

Really?? You are funny guy!! We should recall all Carbon Fiber bikes due to weaponization of material.

lukeeee
lukeeee
1 year ago
Reply to  Roberto

I am not sure of the specifics of his failure, but fork failure has happend with no warning. In our shop we had to deal with two such crashes. One customer had an orbea tri bike and both legs snapped on a rumble strip. he face planted and suffered neck damage. The other one was a woman in her fifties, one year old giant, riding at ragbrai talking to a friend at 15mph, both legs broke and she suffered massive spinal damage. Neither bike was sold by us, both ended up in huge lawsuits.
There was a big discussion a few years back in the industry that bad handling in shipping could cause microfractures in fork legs that would never be found till they failed. Cervelo was nickel dipping forks as a way to combat it. Not sure if that is still a thing.
Fact is, it happens so little that manufacturers do write in loopholes to protect themselves from such failures. I need to look at colnago warranty to see. Carbon frames are meant to be thrown away, most brands list a lifetime warranty for the life of the bike. Speaking with warranty guys from big companies like trek, specialized and cannondale most brands view a high performance bike lifespan as 3-5 years. That is one reason that disc is being sold so hard, it is a great way to force 60+ years of bikes out of usage. The next gen of bikes will be arriving with 180mm front rotors but everything up to this point is limited to 160mm. So most brands will void your warranty if you bump rotor size up. So two years from now all these current bikes will be outdated.
.

Bob
Bob
1 year ago
Reply to  lukeeee

“There was a big discussion a few years back in the industry that bad handling in shipping could cause microfractures in fork legs that would never be found till they failed. Cervelo was nickel dipping forks as a way to combat it. Not sure if that is still a thing.”

Well if a carrier stacks boxes on their side and walks on top of them the fork legs get damaged. Can happen to any brand. The problem is CF damage can’t be seen but a bent steel fork can be. And the steel fork will give you a lot more warning before giving way whereas the mode of failure of CF is terrible for bike use, imho.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Bob

I HAVE seen steel forks fail. But only on cheap junk bikes using water pipe tubing.

Marc
Marc
1 year ago
Reply to  Tom

My steel fork on my 80’s Bianchi failed (in the 1980s). It developed a crack right through the fork crown. I could hear creaking but assumed it was coming from the BB. One day while adjusting the front brake caliper, I saw the hairline crack right through the crown. The bike shop that sold it to me did not believe me when I told them I didn’t have an accident, even though my front wheel showed no damage — just like in this series of photos. I was only 16 years old and didn’t know better to keep the fork and get Bianchi to replace it. Years later, I learned that this can happen if the crown is overheated during brazing or if the steel is of inferior quality.
Now, I ride a Columbus Spirit custom frame with a lacquered strong carbon fork, with rim brakes. I inspect the fork often, and can check for signs of delamination, since it is not painted but just clear coated. I do understand the concerns about the reliability of carbon frames and think that they are warranted, especially in light of the trend to make lightweight frames as cheaply as possible. I’ll stick to steel or titanium.

Last edited 1 year ago by Marc
Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  lukeeee

Mike showed a picture of his C40 which had the entire head tube break completely off of the top and downtubes. Colnago was entirely aware of this weakness because they constructed the C50 differently. While the failure of my fork was horrible QC by IRD, I was chasing Mike down a 40 mph twisting descent when MY C40 began steering itself and steered me off of the road. That was a month of physical therapy. I haven’t had my Tomassini or my Aliverti do that. My Basso Loto from a German pro team is steel and rides perfectly. Young people tend to take chances until it is too late. Now my Time VX was reliable. But it was not light. My Look KG585 was superlight but it would steer itself as well. Why should I take chances to go 2 seconds per mile faster when it doesn’t make a hill of beans?

Billyshoo
Billyshoo
1 year ago

That finish must be all sorts of awesome on a sunny day.

Jason DW
Jason DW
1 year ago

Beautiful bike! Truly a wonderful piece of art. Wow, doesn’t come cheap for entry.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Jason DW

Waterford is making a superlight steel bike for racing.

Alan
Alan
1 year ago

Love this. Takes me back to my youth when I’d drool over “bike porn” in Bicycling magazine when they’d review Italian bikes (or a 3 Rensho…my favorite).

Will Ferrule
Will Ferrule
1 year ago

I finally figured out (I think) how to pronounce it: Bah – ta – leen.

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Will Ferrule

bah Tag Lin

Incognito Rouler
Incognito Rouler
1 year ago

One day I hope to have a Battalign, a Ti-Carbon Firefly, and a a first gen Hyabusa in bikes section of my garage.

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