Italian stallion
Wilier SLR Zero £11,100 Super-light 6.5kg disc-braked road bike
The handling is sharp with direction changes from the integrated one-piece cockpit virtually instantaneous
Wilier’s SLR Zero tallies up all the tech watchwords for today’s toproad bikes in one incredibly classy-looking package.
At this year’s launches greater integration, asymmetry, aero features, low weight and disc-brakes were all the rage. And the SLR Zero certainly cuts a stylish swathe, Wilier describing it as ‘the first ultralightweight racing bike with disc brakes and fully integrated cables’. The high-modulus carbon frame incorporates a liquid crystal polymer within the resin, which Wilier says improves frame damping.
As you’d quite rightly hope for from a proquality bike that was debuted by the Total Direct Energie team at this year’s Tour de France, the handling is razor sharp with direction changes from the integrated one-piece cockpit virtually instantaneous and the ride is never less than lively. The Zero SLR’s acceleration and its ability to hold speed is astonishing. It’s a pretty aggressive climber, too, thanks to a sub-800g frame that still has a 24 per cent greater stiffness-toweight ratio than its Zero.7 and Zero.6 predecessors. Dropped seatstays and the new carbon seatpost manage to keep the comfort reasonable with 28mm tyres adding cushioning.
We were lucky enough to get the kilometres in over the Dolomite foothills with followup miles on broken British road surfaces on the rangetopping model. Great braking, great shifting and no surprises from Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 complemented a fantastic ride.