A Prova is always going to be something special
The ultra-talented two-person Australian team produces a very limited, very coveted, amount of frames a year. A scant 35 minute drive from Melbourne, you'll find Mark and Kelly Hester (yes, same last name, brother and sister that get along well enough to work together, wow...) carefully hand-crafting these titanium beauties.
This week's exquisite machine belongs to Above Category's own Julius Berith. Does that name seem very familiar? You might remember that last week Julius shared his stoke on his steel, disc brake, fantastically-fendered Scarab Apuna all-road bike. Today, he waxes lyrical on this dream build of his titanium, rim brake, Prova Speciale road bike.
Julius' dream bike build thought process
"For this dream build I wanted to combine the aesthetics and performance of classic parts with elements of modern technology for an exceptionally sophisticated rolling work of art. The frame model is fittingly named the Speciale. The aim for this model is to create one of the lightest metal road frames while delivering functionality and stiffness where it is needed. Mark Hester is a master at innovative use of material and the latest in 3D printing technology.
The cockpit
For the cockpit I chose the Bjorn Setka 3D printed saddle, not only to pay homage to Mark and his 3D printing prowess, but also for comfort. I think every one of my colleagues at the Above Category studio has this seat and absolutely loves it. It is touted as the world's lightest 3D printed saddle and the shape works really well for me. To complement the saddle, I went with Bjorn's Skoba bottle cages and Bjorn's 40cm Rool road handle bar in matte finish similar to the frame's carbon seat mast and wheels. If you look closely you'll also notice that the weave matches!
The bars are held in place by Darimo's aluminum stem in brilliant silver to match the Chris King headset and Cane Creek's Limited Edition EE brakes. The idea was to pair the silver components, but in a way that doesn't take away from the Prova Speciale's hand polished (many, many hours of hand-polished) rear triangle. Rim brakes you ask? Yes, they are still well loved."
Chad chimed in here with "Julius' bike is one of the most gorgeous, beautiful bikes out there, thanks to the simplicity afforded in part by the rim brake setup. And no, rim brakes have not fallen by the wayside just yet. Despite the fact that apparently no world tour bikes will feature rim brake bikes this year, we put 6 brand-new rim brake bikes out the door in the last 6 weeks alone."
Back to Julius and his wheel selection...
"When it came time to spec the wheels, there was only one choice in my mind: Lightweight. A few months earlier, I had a chance to put a bunch of miles in on one of our demo Meilenstein Lightweight wheels, and was blown away. The stiffness and acceleration that Lightweight manages to achieve, without sacrificing comfort, meant I knew I had to have them. I went all out on this bike, so Schwartz Edition was a given.
And what about the stats?
"Final weight: 15.65 pounds (7..09kg) with pedals and a power meter. This came as quite a pleasant surprise as I'm a bigger guy (6'4" and 200 lbs). I had not believed I could experience a bike this light, in my size, without compromising on the ride quality.
Ride feel: the bike is just a dream; whereas some bikes take a bit of figuring out and getting used to (in terms of where to shift your body weight while descending or cornering) the Prova handles naturally. While a Prova is designed to be made dirty and not to be treated as precious, for now I'm reserving it for special occasions. Luckily it's not raining tomorrow so I think it is a good day to commute to work at AC on my Prova."
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