For those who are considering this bike:
The bike is quite light (~24lbs) and looks cool. It comes with a number of sizes, and is especially good for shorter people (mine is a 47cm).
It does NOT come with pedals.
For my bike (hopefully just an exceptional case), the front quick release was missing so I needed to request for it again.
It does NOT come with instructions to show you how to assembly the bike, I didn't find any video online from Tommaso showing how to do so neither. The bike is not hard to assembly but you might just not do it right if you DIY.
After putting everything together, be sure to take it to the bike shop for a checkup. For my bike, what the bike shop's comments were:
-The tires were flat
-The back wheel was a bit bent
-The back derailleur were poorly built and needed to be rebuilt
-The brake needs to be adjusted
Updated review after riding the bike for 1.5 weeks:
Technically speaking, it has only got 4 days X 2 miles + 3 miles i.e. 11miles of track record. 97% on paved road + 3% on dirt road. However, I got a flat tire on the back wheel right after I left home for work today. The bike shop guy said that the tire is thin and the quality was so-so, he recommended me to replace it. It turned out I replaced both tires and paid a hundred bucks. I am not asking for a super bike, just really hope that's all for all the fixing/replacing work. I can't help but to give it a 3 star instead of my previous 4 star rating..
Again if you are considering this bike, think about you might probably need to pay for another $150 just to fix and tune stuff, especially if you are like me who doesn't know how to deal with the repair work.
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For the price, this ride is hard to beat. I am totally addicted to road biking now because of this machine.
It's fast and comfortable.
The components are crappy and wheels are cheap, but they'll get you to the next level.
I have upgraded mine with lighter wheels, a full carbon fork and seat post and had it professionally tuned by my LBS.
It's a real joy to ride. I still love my full suspension mountain bike which costs about 4 times as much as this thing, but for zipping around town and the occasional group ride, this is the answer.
Word of warning, it's light for it's price but heavy for a road bike. Component upgrades will shave a lot of weight off this thing but then you get into dumping just as much money into it as a higher end stock bike.
Best Deals for Tommaso Imola Road Bike (Sport Alu)
Let's face it right up front If you are thinking this bike will be as good as a bike that cost 2xs, 3xs, or 4xs as much forgetaboutit.
What this bike is, is a very good starter all aluminum frame road bike. It will require fine tuning and with some upgrades it can be a very good bike.
I own a bunch of bikes and this bike was bought to fill a very specific role: mountain road riding on poor road surfaces. I did not want another carbon bike or any carbon in the bike. I wanted to know that the poor roads and any crashes would not result in a cracked frame.
Here is the first items, in my opinion, that will require upgrade:
Tires change them immediately I had a set of Conti Grand Prix (not my favs I usually use Vittoria kevlars) so they went right on as for flats the guy who said he got a flat because the tires were thin probably didn't have the pumped up to the right pressure the person who said the bike came with the tires flat has to understand that when you ship a bike they don't completely fill the tires and besides ties lose air over the course of even 2 days
Stem the one that comes on the bike is way too long you will have to get one that fits your body size and riding style
Wheels change them sooner than later I had a Shimano 500 wheelset in my parts inventory so they went right on
Seat another immediate preference in my case I actually use the San Marco saddle that this bike used to come with (I have it on all my bikes), so that was my first upgrade
BB and crank arms I had a Octalink Shimano Ultegra crankset and Dura ace BB in my spare parts inventory so I immediately threw them on
The brakes, derailleurs (the guy who said his wasn't put together right sounds like he got taken by the LBS wrench as they come preassembled from the factory and there really isn't any way to take them apart and rebuild them right maybe he meant it wasn't adjusted properly), and shifters are all ok until you are ready to spend big money. If you do, and have made the changes I already described, you will have basically upgraded your bike from a $400 bike to a $1500 to $2000 bike depending on the components you choose to use.
I have built plenty of bikes I bought this one with the Giantnerd Genius build, and I get the similar package with every bike I buy off the internet because otherwise unless you take the bike to a LBS and get them to build it you void the warrantee.
As for the ride I haven't yet I'll come back and edit in my opinion after I have had a chance to take it on a ride.
RE-EDIT AFTER FIRST RIDE
Ok, I took her out today for a very short ride, so short it really can't be considered a ride, but, it was up and down and back up the hill in front of my cabin which is a pretty steep grade. They are in the process of redoing the road and it is now crushed and packed grave. The bike handled on the upgrade through the packed gravel section but not well. I had to crawl down that same section. The bike handled well on the sections that haven't been worked on yet and really handled nice up the grade. I was able to easily power up in gears much larger than expected. MAIN NOTE: I absolutely have to change the stem, at 110mm it is way too long (be forewarned these bikes have 26.0 mm diameter handlebars not oversized 31s). I am thinking of going down from 110 to either 90 or even 80 I will repost after I have made that determination.
Honest reviews on Tommaso Imola Road Bike (Sport Alu)
I bought this bike from amazon and opted for the genius build option which means the bike arrives at your door pretty much assembled in a pretty spiffy bike box. I spoke to a guy on the phone from giantnerd . com to get the genius build (think his name was Chris) as the genius build isn't an option through the amazon store. Overall I have to say I am really happy with the purchase, I was looking for an entry level road bike to complete RAGBRAI, a 7 day bike ride (not race) across the state of Iowa which was around 420 miles this year. I didn't really make any additional purchases for the bike or upgrade any components and I was just fine.
If I were to update any components I would probably suggest some gator skin tires which will gives you a bit more protection against flats. However, I will say that over the 7 days and 420 miles of RAGBRAI I didn't get a single flat. I pumped up my tires every morning, the tires seemed to lose a little air after a full days riding (around 80 miles)but this seems to be standard on all bikes. I will probably get the gator skins at some point and will have a bike shop give it a maintenance check up once a year or so but overall I am impressed.
If you are looking for an entry level bike but dont want to spend upwards of $1000 then this is a great choice.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tommaso Imola Road Bike (Sport Alu)
Tommaso Imola great bike for anyone. i riding bout 3 years by now, i rode GIANT, TREK, SPECILIZED, FUJI and Now i got a full carbon FELT for triathlon so i was looking for a 3 bike so ican use it for training, Tommaso Imola is a great high quality bike for such a cheap price im in Puerto Rico were road are not well pavemented and this bike take the hit as a high price bikes....
Pros, shimano Claris components, free tommaso bottle cage, very light SLA 6061 FRAME ( compact geometry for perfect fit ), and the fork do the job,
on 60 miles on my frist week....tires are Kenda not bad for the price, training wheels are good, confort seat memory gel, for the price is perfect...
Cons. It comes in a box if you are not good handling Ass.with bikes you will has to pay for at your local bike shop, usually charges from $80 to $100 in my case i did my self just took it for true the wheels and few tune up for only $40 dolars other than that....its great bike ( B.T.W its not hard at all to putt it together )
Shipping, comunication and shipping was great and super fast shipping to P.R. only took 4 days....
WELL FOR ME THIS IS A GREAT BIKE FOR THE PRICE....IF YOU AE NEW AND DONT WANT TO INVEST IN $3,000 BIKE THIS IS FOR YOU.....IF YOU ARE A CYCLIST / TRIATHLETE LIKE ME AND WANT A TRAINING BIKE THIS ONE IS PERFECT AFTER TRAINING FROM 22lbs. AND JUMP IN A 17lbs. BIKE YOU WIL FLY..
FINALLY GIANTNERD.COM IS A TRUSTED COMPANY AND HIGH QUALITY BIKES
