Tommaso Fascino Review ( The Good and The Bad )
A good road bike should balance between functionality and purpose without burning a hole through your pocket. We looked through online stores that stock different kinds of road bikes and found one bike that really looked promising; the Tommaso Fascino Road bike.
Our team took the time to inspect the bike’s features and assessed whether the bike works as advertised. The sections below contain what we found. Read on to find out if the Tommaso Fascino is the road bike for you.
In a nutshell, Tommaso Fascino is an excellent affordable road bike for beginners. For less than $900, you get an iconic Tommaso aluminum frame, strong wheels, decent components, and a most importantly great ride.
But let’s dive into more details:
Frame | Tommaso 6061 SLA Aluminum Semi-Compact Road Frame |
Fork | Tommaso SST Steel with Aluminum Steer Tube |
Sizes | XS, S, M, L, XL |
Headset | Integrated 1-1/8″ Threadless |
Shifters | Shimano Tourney Shifters |
Front Derailleur | Shimano Tourney (3-spd) |
Rear Derailleur | Shimano Tourney (7-spd) |
Brakes | Tommaso Freno Dual Pivot Brake Calipers |
Brake Levers | Shimano Tourney |
Tires | Kenda K152 700x25c |
The tech behind the design of the Tommaso Fascino
First, it is worth noting that the designers of this bike draw inspiration from the number 1 selling Imola road bike from the same company. As a result, this road bike features a similar frame and fork to the Imola but improves performance drivetrain.
All this has been done without affecting the price by a significant margin, thus making the Tommaso Fascino one of the best budget entry road bikes you can buy. The bike promises to give riders what they demand in terms of performance, durability, and reliability.
In fact, the bike’s marketing focuses on the promise that it will fulfill every road biker’s dream. So, does the cycle deliver on the promises, or is this another marketing gimmick? To answer this question, let us look at the features that make this bike what it is.
Tommaso Fascino Features
Specifications
The Tommaso Fascino comes with a lightweight aluminum frame with enhanced geometry meant to increase performance off the road bike. It carries a maximum load of 230 pounds and comes in extra small, small, large, and extra-large sizes.
Moreover, the bike is able to optimize various aspects of ride quality while remaining economical for the consumer. However, to achieve this, some of its parts, such as the brake calipers, are not the best the market has to offer.
This means that some users might find the bike less appealing when compared to some of its competitors. In our opinion, however, the parts that make up this bike perform pretty well, given their low price.
Frame, frameset, and geometry
We think that the frame is a steal considering the low pricing of this bike. The Tommaso 6061 SLA Aluminum Semi-Compact Road Frame is made to last and closely match frames on higher-priced road bikes.
The Tommaso SST Steel Fork is fortified with Aluminum Steer Tube to make it more robust and flexible. The design of the frame and fork also seem like they can outlive any other parts on the bike, which is something we like about the bike. The fact that the manufacturer provides such a frame on a low priced bike also works to boost its reputation.
Read more: Tommaso Sentiero Review
You will also love the frame’s shape if you are one of those riders who like their bikes to stand out from the crowd. This is because the top part of the frame has a thicker front, grows narrower towards the center, and becomes thicker to the rear end.
This design is only seen in the top of the range roadies and will have your peers amazed at your bike. The best part, it comes without costing extra. Note that this frame design is not only for aesthetics. The shape of the frame enhances flexibility and optimizes ride stability.
This allows you to accelerate and reach top speeds within record-breaking timelines.
Ride sizing
The Tommaso Fascino road bike is not your typical one size fits all kind of bike. The designers have catered for riders of different height and body size when constructing this fantastic ride. The specifications for each bike size are as follows:
Frame Size | Rider’s Height |
XS | 5’2″ – 5’6″ |
S | 5’6″ – 5’8″ |
M | 5’8″ – 5’11” |
L | 5’11” – 6’2″ |
XL | 6’2″ – 6’5″ |
From the above specifications, it is clear that every adult rider will find the size of the Tommaso Fascino road bike that suits them perfectly. Riding on the right-sized bike helps the ride feel more comfortable and gives you the ability to maximize power output from your feet to the pedals.
DriveTrain
When riding this bike, you get to choose a speed boost from both the rear and front Derailleurs. The front derailleur is the renowned Shimano Tourney derailleur with three-speed options, while the rear is also a similar Shimano Tourney derailleur with seven-speed options.
A remarkable KMC Z-51 nine-speed chain connects the two and enables smooth shifting between the gears.
The uniquely designed Shimano Tourney Shifters control shifting while the Shimano Tourney 12-28t Cassette that allows up to seven different speeds holds the gears in place. The whole drive train setup allows up to 21 different speeds achieved by combining varied front and rear derailleur setups.
With the different speeds, you can ride up a steep hill comfortably without breaking a sweat or cover long distances on the flat roads in a short time.
We really love the excellent combination of parts from the same brand on the drive train because it ensures everything is in sync at all times. Although the components are not ideal for competitive racing, we think a non-professional road biker can benefit from the drive train on this bike.
The Shimano parts are also found in most midrange and low budget bikes, which eases the maintenance and parts replacement if any part of the drivetrain breaks down and has to be replaced.
Braking system
So, this ride does well to pick up speed, but what about stopping?
The braking system features rim brakes that we believe are a letdown because they don’t stop quickly when cruising at high speeds. As such, you have to give some allowance for a gradual stoppage when stopping or limit yourself to lower speeds.
One thing that works to your advantage with the brakes is that the manual lever operation makes it easy to maintain and tune the braking system’s intensity. Replacing the brakes is also cheaper and requires less time to achieve. For a leisure road bike, however, the Tommaso Fascino braking system works fine.
Wheels
This bike comes with the Tommaso TC-20 Wheelset attached to a 23mm rim on both front and rear wheels. The front wheel features 20 spokes while the rear wheel has 24 Spokes. The wheels are wide enough for speed optimization but limit the amount of weight the bike can haul to a maximum of 230 pounds.
The original Kenda K152 700x25c tires are filled by 700 x 25c Presta tubing in the interior but can be swapped for performance tires if you want to carry a greater load with the bike.
Other Components
The other parts on this bike optimize ergonomics and make the ride very aerodynamic, allowing you to go uphill or downhill with minimal wind resistance.
The handlebars are thick enough for a comfortable yet firm grip all day long and drop to 125 millimeters, allowing you to ride with a low profile and minimize wind resistance. They are covered with Black Tommaso Cork Tape that works to eradicate sweaty hands when riding the Fascino road bike.
The comfy Tommaso Saddle is padded for extra comfort and rests on the Tommaso TRS Ultralight Race Series Aluminum seat post that is 27.2 millimeters thick. This allows the saddle to fit tight with no chances of fidgeting in the middle of the ride.
The deep black color of the fabric on the saddle exterior also matches with the rest of the components on this bike and cleans easily.
Pedals are made in the composite flat design that optimizes power conversion from your feet, thus giving you the best output with every pedaling cycle.
Tommaso Fascino Pros and Cons
PROS:
- Fairly Priced
- Available in many sizes
- Durable frame and fork
- Strong wheels
- Easy to maintain brake parts
CONS:
- Brake levers take longer to engage
- The wheels used will limit the weight that the bike can carry to 230 pounds