Steve's Bossi Strada Classic
The ultimate classic
The brief
Steve was looking for a bike to replace his old roadie.
It needed to be comfortable, smooth to ride, and able to handle the leverage of a fit rider with long arms and legs.
(Steve is tall. Really tall. Hard-to-find-bikes-that-fit-properly kinda tall.)
The bike
The Strada is Bossi's road series, and was the obvious choice to start.
As Steve was looking to contain the budget, we opted for the Strada Classic frameset instead of the regular Strada or Strada SS. The Strada Classic is a simplified version of the regular Strada; while it still uses excellent quality frame tubes, it drops some of the refinements of the higher-spec frames, like using a traditional press-fit bottom bracket shell instead of T47 and a simplified head tube design to keep it at a lower price point.
This is a great example of the many advantages of having a custom-built bike. The individual components can be picked and mixed to suit exactly what you want. You can save money in one area (e.g. the frame) so you can spend it in other areas (in this case, a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and carbon Bossi wheels). Bossi rims have proven themselves to be extremely well-made, with a lovely ride quality, so mating them to DT350 hubs and Sapim CX Ray spokes gave Steve the performance and reliability he was looking for. Conti GP500 tyres complete the wheel package to ensure the highest level of performance for this bike.
To continue getting the most out of the budget, we went with Easton EA70 alloy handlebars, a Pro Road PTL headstem (one of the very few models still offered in a 130mm length, which was needed for this build) and Easton Microfibre bar tape -- all excellent, durable choices but at a practical pricepoint.
Steve's favourite saddle is the SMP Glider, which topped off the build. After all, once you've found a saddle you love, you don't mess with it.
And here it is: a practical, beautiful road bike that ticks all the boxes and is a classic in more ways than one.
Want a custom-built titanium bike of your own? That's what we're here for.
