“To My Friend Alex:

In December of 2018, I went on a group ride and saw my friend, Allen McKay, on this stunning bike.  

I rode up to him and told him that’s the third different bike I’ve seen you on in the last 3 rides together and that is the most beautiful of the 3. 

It was his new Officina Battaglin Power+.  

At the ride stop I got to talk with Allen more, lift the bike and take a quick spin on it, it was wonderful.  

Allen told me the story of Officina Battaglin and his experience in purchasing the bike and he gave me the link to your website and how best to contact you. 

I knew I needed to find out more, I had been thinking about having a custom bike for a while, but I hadn’t had the impetus to move forward, now I did. 

I looked over the website and read some articles/reviews and purposely made myself slow down, this would be a big commitment, to design and buy a bike from someone I wouldn’t be able to meet.  

I knew the North American Handmade Bike Show was going to be in March. To be sure I wasn’t being too spontaneous and see what else is out there for handmade bikes, I decided to go and make it a father/son weekend trip with my adult son. 

We had a glorious time and we must have looked at a couple of hundred bikes, talked to maybe 15-20 of the artisans but I didn’t see anything that could compete with Allen’s Power+ or the other bikes on the Officina Battaglin website. 

So, I contacted you in April.

In that first week, I got an email from you and we scheduled a call. I thought the call and process were fantastic. 

You interviewed me to get a sense of what I’m looking for, how I ride and make suggestions.  

I wanted something special and unique so, we decided to move forward with the Portofino Premium, fully built and I sent you payment for the frame. 

Within a couple of weeks, we had another long call and went over what to build the bike up with. 

I wanted a clean a build, with as few wires seen as possible, so yes, we went away from creating an all Italian bike and chose the new SRAM Red eTap AXS 12 speed wireless electronic shifting. 

Since I’ve had 9 orthopedic surgeries, including 2 significant back surgeries, we chose all carbon bars, seat post, and went with Campagnolo’s new wheel BORA WTO 45’s to ensure as smooth a ride as possible over the naturally smooth ride of a steel bike.  

Time came to discuss some of the custom touches for the bike, nameplate and paint scheme. 

I wanted something unique and that required lots of back and forth discussions/texts and you were wonderfully patient, guiding and always put my wants first. 

I didn’t want to do the standard name, date of build or, birthdate name plate. 

I wanted to use a nickname I’ve had since college and a quote from Star Wars. Although I thought I had counted the letters correctly versus other nameplates I’d seen on the website, you had to have it done a second time since it didn’t all fit the first time, but this was never an issue, thank you so much. 

I wanted a custom paint scheme, I wanted the bike to look like an Italian flag flying, so red, white and green.  “No problem” was always the response.  

This was the first time you’d done a paint scheme this way and painting didn’t go as anticipated and had to be redone a couple of time but always the reply was, “no problem.”  Again, thank you!

I received a WhatsApp message from you that the bike shipped and in less than a week it went from Italy, through customs and delivered to California.  

It was packed with care, almost completely fully assembled.  When I got it unpacked and fully assembled, it was jaw-dropping. 

When I lifted it and compared it against my 2015 Cannondale Hi-Mod EVO SuperSix with Di2 and ENVE wheels, it wasn’t much heavier.  

When I rode it, WOW, it was smooth, quiet and fast. I don’t know if I’m faster on it but sure does seem that way and ride is better than my current carbon bike. 

The power transfer is outstanding, you were correct in suggesting the longer 172.5 cranks and the bike just absorbs virtually all road vibrations. 

It has been joyous to have a bike that is more visually stunning than I hoped, lighter than I thought it would be and rides so much better than dreamed. 

I don’t know if all steel is real, but the custom tubing, oversized lugs and craftsmanship of the Portofino Premium sure are real!

The price was very competitive and certainly an incredible value considering the custom nature of the bike designed by a 2-time Grand Tour Champion rider and 2-time Grand Tour Champion bike builder.

Alex, thank you for a wonderful experience and a magnificent bike.  

I have a new friend and company I follow and will recommend.  All the best to you, your father and all the employees, looking forward to seeing you at 2020’s NAHBS in Dallas.”