Officine Mattio OM1 S review

The Officine Mattio OM1 S is a carbon monoque frame designed and built in Italy which combines performance with panache.

The chunky tubes are aero profiled and provide a stiff platform for a bike that is fast on flat roads yet can still climb well thanks to a 7.75kg overall weight.

The big trade-off is comfort, although there's plenty of scope to add more thanks to clearances that permit 36mm tyres, and the tubeless-ready OM Cinquanta wheels provided.

The Officine Mattio website is handy. It breaks down its entire range of bikes into a Top Trumps-style scoring system, which rates characteristics out of 100 using buzzwords such as ‘KOM Performance’ and ‘Driving Pleasure’.

According to no less an authority than itself, the Officine Mattio OM1 S scores 90 for ‘KOM Performance’, ‘Driving Pleasure’ and ‘Elegance’. Its lowest ranking is 80 for ‘Lightness’, followed by 85 for ‘Comfort’. ‘Acceleration’ gets an impressive 95, but its highest score is reserved for ‘Aerodynamics’, for which it receives a perfect 100.

So there you have it: the Officine Mattio OM1 S is an outstanding aero race bike that sacrifices a bit of comfort for outright speed. Simple. Review done. Next bike please.

But wait, there’s more.

Officine Mattio OM1 S frameset

There are a good number of artisan bike makers scattered around Italy, from Sarto to Cicli Barco, Passoni to Pegoretti, so how does Officine Mattio aim to stand out from this distinguished crowd?

‘In Italy, brands like Sarto and Passoni create good bikes, but they are all tube-to-tube custom and cost a huge price. In the OM1 S, we wanted to create something different, which is a carbon monocoque frameset but manufactured in Italy, in Saluzzo near to our home in Cuneo,’ says Michele Bertaina of Officine Mattio.

While tube-to-tube construction allows for custom geometry, the benefit of a monocoque frame (where sections of a frame, e.g. a head tube, down tube and BB, come out of a single mould) is that manufacturers can make more elaborate tube shapes, potentially allowing frames to be lighter, stiffer and more aerodynamic. 

Bertaina admits that the OM1 S has not been wind-tunnel tested, but Officine Mattio clearly borrowed the aero cheat sheet when it created that chunky down tube and clean, cable-free front end.

Interestingly, the large down tube and bottom bracket area were not initially designed for their stiffness benefits but rather so the OM1 S platform can be developed to fit a new motor system that’s in the pipeline from FSA. However, combine these standard design cues with the classic racing geometry and in-house 50mm deep tubeless-ready Cinquanta wheels, and the result is a cut-and-dry aero race bike.

This is a bike that begged me to get low, pedal hard and ride fast. And acceleration is there too. That substantial down tube and bottom bracket area provided me with a phenomenally rigid platform from which I could thrash the pedals like hellfire without the worry of undue flex wasting any of my precious watts.

The result is a fast bike. I have no scientific numbers to supplement this claim beyond some decent personal times on my local loops and an unexpected Strava top ten on a hotly contested flat segment, but take my word for it: it moves.

Officine Mattio OM1 S weight and comfort

Historically, the tradeoff for stiffness and aerodynamics has always been weight. The OM1 S uses Toray’s mid-range T700 yet still claims a respectable frame weight of 920g (medium, unpainted). This particular build – helped by wheels that come in at 1,575g for the pair – hits 7.75kg (large) on the scales, which is Trek Madone territory.

This made a noticable difference climbing on those shallow gradients where aerodynamics come into play, although when the gradients did tip into double figures I was forced from the saddle earlier than I’d like. Luckily the bike’s stiffness meant that wrenching on the bars was rewarded with speed, but there was no sign of that magic invisible winch that comes with dedicated climbing bikes.

Downhill I felt the OM1 S was sure of itself, bordering on cocky. It dived into corners with an aggression that could either reward or punish, depending on the skills of its pilot.

In terms of comfort, the dropped stays and skinny seatpost help absorb the worst of the road vibrations, and with space for massive 36mm tyres there’s scope to build in more compliance, but the OM1 S is not the most forgiving of rides. Long term I’d almost certainly swap out the provided 26mm Pirelli P Zero road clincher tyres for something closer to the 30mm mark. 

Officine Mattio OM1 S verdict

Criticising the OM1 S on comfort, though, is to miss the point. Even Officine Mattio rated comfort the second-lowest attribute. This is a bike designed for you to ride around at eyeball-drying speeds while putting a big, beaming grin on your face. And, boy, does it do that.

• For more on the Officine Mattio OM1 S, visit the Officine Mattio website here.

Pick of the kit

Albion Insulated Gilet 3.0

Gilets worn with salmon slacks at Henley Regatta are bad; gilets worn for spring cycling in the UK are good.

Albion’s Insulated Gilet 3.0 stuffs recycled insulation into a packable shell with a water-repellent coating for a layer that can be a godsend on those four-season rides.

The side panels are mesh, which aids breathability and provides stretch for a racy fit, and the zip is two-way, meaning the bottom zipper can be pulled up to allow easier access to jersey pockets beneath. The pièce de resistance for me, though are those two front chest pockets.

• Buy the Albion Insulated Gilet 3.0 from Albion (£140)

Officine Mattio OM1 S alternatives

Officine Mattio SL Disc

The SL is Officine Mattio’s featherweight offering, coming in at a claimed 690g for a disc frameset (54cm), which can comfortably be built under 6.8kg. It will cost you €8,900 (approx £7,410) though.

• See the SL Disc at Officine Mattio

Officine Mattio Classica

If your taste in bikes is based on aesthetics, meet the Classica. Traditional geometry, external cabling, Columbus Spirit custom steel tubing, rim brakes – it’s a retro bike with a modern-day groupset and wheels.

• See the Classica at Officine Mattio

Officine Mattio OM1 S spec

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