Earlier this year Signature became one the first US studios to offer the exclusive Italian bicycle line, Passoni. Passoni manages the details of finish and ride qualities that open a door to the possibilities of bicycle form and function that were never available before. Luxury, art, performance, the perfect dance partner…clearly it is Italian. We spoke with partner Matteo Cassina and Chief Operations Officer Danilo Colombo recently about what makes Passoni the experts in both elegance and high performance.

Cassina explained that well before he invested in Passoni, he had admired the beauty of their bicycles. As a 19 year old he remembered seeing his uncle’s Passoni and falling in love with it. He wanted one right then but his father said “When you have your own money, you can buy one for yourself.”

It wasn’t because his family couldn’t afford the bike, but more from growing up in a culture where nothing is wasted and appreciation for the good things in life is paramount. Rather than constantly buying everything new, you get a bicycle from your cousin, you take very good care of it and then you pass it down. Cassina says, “Every year I reaffirmed my love for this bicycle. I never gave up on this idea that one day I would buy one for myself. Ten or fifteen years ago I could have bought a Passoni but I felt I wasn’t ready, it was a little too much for me. Finally when I turned 40, I said – now I’m going to get a Passoni made for me – and having waited, I came to appreciate it differently.

This ethic of understanding the intrinsic value of a beautifully constructed, handcrafted product is part of the Italian heritage and Passoni bicycles are no exception. Cassina says. “We have more in common with the Italian designers who make $5000 custom suits, than with a company that makes race bikes in Taiwan. We know choosing to be so distinct, that a significant part of the market won’t want our product, but that’s ok. For us every single detail from the screws to the engraving are important, and we make no compromises on cost. We don’t want to be a slave to profits, we just want to have a healthy company that makes us happy.”

Coming from a background working with top international hedge funds, Cassina says a big reason he felt compelled to invest in Passoni was seeing customers share that passion and thrill to own a bicycle of this caliber. “Whether a customer was very wealthy or they saved for five years to get their Passoni, it was unbelievable to me how grateful and happy they were to buy this bicycle. You don’t get that excited at talking at dinner about banking and the stock market, but you do get excited about this piece of art.”

A big influence on the elegant style and image Passoni has created comes from partner Silvia Passoni. In a male dominated industry she has pushed the company to focus on minimalism, subtlety and an obsession with detail. Cassina says she is like a shopping assistant in a haute couture fashion house, educating customers on style, encouraging choices they later realize are perfect when they see the beautifully coordinated results.

With a pool of talent, many of whom have been with Passoni for twenty years and are competitive cyclists themselves, Cassina explains that they are a company focused on passing down a lineage of knowledge and craftsmanship. Emilio, a mechanic who started with founder Luca Passoni over 20 years ago, assembles the bikes and polishes their frames to perfection. Giuliano, an expert in working with titanium also helps keep Passoni’s talent and tradition of excellence alive. Cassina says, “It’s the people who make a difference. They pass down the know-how and they keep it growing.”

Signature Cycles was one of the first US companies to partner with Passoni. Cassina says, “The obvious reason we chose Signature is because they have an outstanding reputation in the industry. But more than that, we’ve always been very selective because we don’t want to lose control of how special our brand is and how we are represented. Paul has an exceptional customer service focus and attention to detail. The details go beyond the quality of the bicycle itself or even the detail of the interaction. He’s a person who will call you back within five minutes or who will care even about how a bicycle is wrapped inside the box. Those things matter – they make everything special. He manages his business the same way Armani manages a fashion brand. That doesn’t happen often in the bicycle business.”

Ultimately Cassina explains that it’s not about making a product more expensive or more elite, but caring about the details that make a difference. He sees customers who bought a Passoni 20 years ago, including his own uncle, and they are still riding that bike and still coming back to have it tuned and checked every year. If they need a component they want exactly the right one. Like a piece of fine jewelry, they want to take care of their Passoni, to enjoy it and pass it on to the next generation.

See Signature Cycles’ photo gallery of Passoni bicycles HERE