Officine Mattio LEMMA RT Road Disc Frameset

TL;DR

Named for the Alpine climb on which its prototype forbears helped to craft its form, the Lemma RT from Officine Mattio is a true all-rounder. This is a rare beast that delivers everything we love most about cycling: Speed, reactivity, confident descents, multi hour climbs - but also long days soaking up our surrounds; be that in the mountains or on the flat and regardless of whether the surface is corrugated or silky smooth. All with a race-forward approach and fit that is sustainable over many hours.
This truly capable creature is a dream to ride with a balanced geometry that make it adroit anywhere, and with impeccable manners to boot. Laterally rigid, the ride is confident and controlled with exceptional power transfer to keep you in the game even when you’re flagging. All the while, its deftly delivered compliance tempers the aggression just enough to ensure you never tire of the ride.

I love this bike.

In this job it is often easy to become numb to the marvels of high-end road bikes - being as I am, immersed in it daily.

This 'bike blindness' has been difficult to shake in recent years with much of what I have been exposed to and ridden being all a bit same same.

Am I fussy? Absolutely.
I'd have it no other way. I have no desire to offer my customers beige products as I suspect they are as discerning as I am. When spending armfuls of cash on premium products, I demand something that will excite and delight clients as they take on their own challenges on two wheels - no matter what form that takes.

Officine Mattio are one of the first brands in recent times to instantly ignite the cycling fire in me - one that if I'm honest, has dwindled of late.

And the Lemma RT is that bike.
I first rode one in a pair of flat shoes, perched on some Speedplays around Windsor, and I was immediately impressed.
The Lemma RT excites. It is agile, VERY quick out of the blocks, tight, nimble and hungry.
It wants to go. Anywhere.

The same, only different.

Talking about carbon material and construction has become rather repetitive. While progress is undoubtedly being made all the time, the techniques and materials used in the upper echelons of bike frame manufacture are similar, if not the same, as you move from brand to brand. It is refreshing that the likes of SWI and OFFICINE MATTIO then, approach things differently.

As you would expect then from a premium frame builder, OM places a strong emphasis on the use of high-quality materials and processes - not only for their carbon frames, but across aluminium and steel too. The Lemma RT employs the finest lightweight 3K and UD carbon fibres and includes Torayca's top-notch T1100, to deliver light, durable and elegant frames - but it is their approach to construction that differentiates them.

OM use a proprietary carbon frame forming process called IWS or Internal Wrap System. IWS is unlike traditional moulding where ‘bagged’ frames have pressure and temperature applied externally. Using autoclaves (very high pressure and temperature ovens) the IWS allows the carbon fibre to run uncut through the junctions on OM frames, reaching deep into each tube section - and as you will know from Enve, the strength of the fibre comes from its length.
Ultimately the ability to employ long runs of fibre is achieved through precisely controlled temperatures and high-forming internal pressures that press the carbon out towards the mould . The result is an incredibly consistent structure with the strength and streamlining qualities of monocoque moulding but that which also allows full custom frame geometry – a key point of difference for Officine Mattio and a genuinely bespoke approach.

With high integrity comes strength and with carefully considered carbon lay-ups, OM are able to dial their frames to deliver a truly exciting ride. The Lemma RT is the epitome of this philosophy and the proof is most definitely in the pudding.

Unquestionably the enjoyment of your ride comes from the geometry - and more crucially, your ability to sustain your position. We are not all racers and for the most part we ride a variety of terrain at varying paces and for varying time frames. An out-and-out race position is likely not the whip on which to do the bulk of our riding. Neither is it one that is upright.

To this end, Officine Mattio - like all progressive brands - deliver all-round geometry (think Dogma F10/12 and X, Supersix Evo) the raciness or otherwise of those frames being derived from carbon layup, materials choices, fork geometry and stay mount positioning. While the Lemma geometry is shared by both models as well as the new SL (the stack and reach measures of both are the same) they are engineered to behave differently based on their intended usage.

As stated, the soul of the machine comes from the layup, and if you are looking for an aggressive beast, then the Torayca T1100 build of the RT will be your foil, with the Lemma 3.0 / 4.0 being the same in form but more compliant in construction, thanks largely to the Torayca T800.
Likened to Lions - I'm feeling zoological - the Lemma RT may savage you for looking at it, while the 'tamed' Lemma 3.0/4.0 might take your arm off if you antagonise it. The more feral Lemma RT has additional Grrr!

For most riders, the stock geometry of the Lemma RT will likely serve, it being a modern approach to performance cycling. That is, it's racy but not too racy. But if it doesn't you have the option - as with all their bikes - for a full custom geometry.

But it's more than just custom geometry. Almost every aspect of your frame can be determined by you. You can customise your layup to fully refine your ride for the purpose for which you intend to use it: weight, stiffness, comfort and robustness are all definable by you. Along with Groupset specific routing, headtube size, Bottom Bracket standard, ISP Seat-tube.... There are a plethora of options for you to get your teeth into. All of which we can go through and explore with you.