Eric's first Prova began with something quite simple: he liked the way it looked.

The frame brought together classic forms with modern manufacturing. Clean 3D-printed connections, carefully blended tube junctions and a carbon fibre seat tube. It looked familiar, but with enough that was different to make a closer look worthwhile.

The ride confirmed the interest.

Compared with other titanium bicycles he had ridden, the Prova felt particularly nimble. The craftsmanship caught his attention, but the experience on the road gave him a reason to keep thinking about it.

So when Eric decided to build another bike, he came back to Prova.

Not because the first one had failed. Quite the opposite.

It had worked well enough to make him want to explore the idea further.

The first Prova was also Eric's introduction to a disc-brake road setup, arriving around the time he was returning to riding after ankle surgery.

His riding had changed, and so had his preferred position.

The integrated seat mast on the first bike made it difficult to make further adjustments to the fit. Rather than move away from a bicycle whose ride characteristics he already enjoyed, Eric chose to build another Prova around his new fit.

This time, fit came first.

Smooth handling and comfort followed, with the aim of creating a solid platform for everything else he wanted to explore.

The geometry changed. The character did not need to.

That sense of exploration runs through the rest of the build.

Eric wanted to experiment with some of the developments that had emerged across modern road cycling: narrower handlebars and different flare, shorter cranks, wider tyres, T47, new wheel technologies and, most notably, Campagnolo Super Record 13.

The Prova provided the foundation.

With the frame already offering the ride quality and craftsmanship he valued, the rest of the build became an opportunity to see how these different choices would come together.

It was not about following trends simply because they were new. It was about understanding them.

That curiosity extends to the smaller details too.

Eric points to the way the tubes blend at the joints, the slender seat stays and the clean execution throughout the frame. A threaded bottom bracket is another detail he considers essential.

After years of riding different bicycles and experiencing different builders, his priorities have become clearer.

A threaded bottom bracket matters. Tyre clearance matters. Aggressive race geometry matters less than it once did.

The bicycle still needs to perform, but it also needs to make sense for the way he rides today.

Despite the changes in geometry, the second Prova retains much of what made the first one special.

The ride quality, handling and comfort remain familiar, now paired with a more compact fit that better suits Eric.

On longer rides, the difference becomes particularly apparent.

The bike feels well damped without becoming dull, responsive without feeling nervous, and significantly less fatiguing as the kilometres accumulate.

It also feels immediately familiar.

Fast descents come naturally. The response requires little adjustment.

In that sense, the second Prova achieves something quite specific. It gives Eric something new to experience without taking away what he already knew he liked.

Eric describes his approach to bicycles as an ongoing search for a combination of artistry and performance.

Even after owning and riding a wide range of bikes, there is always something else worth exploring. Another builder, another material, another component, another way of putting a bicycle together.

He compares it to looking for the best char kway teow.

There cannot be only one.

That philosophy explains why Prova continues to have a place in his collection. Its craftsmanship and clean execution give him the foundation he appreciates, while the bicycle itself leaves room to explore.

And perhaps that is the real connection between the two Provas.

The first gave him a ride he wanted to remember.

The second gave him a chance to experience it again, from a slightly different perspective.

As Eric puts it:

“It would somehow be like reliving a favourite memory with something new.”

Sometimes, building another bicycle is not about finding something completely different.

It is about discovering what you already loved , all over again.

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