Viner Passo

Italy’s Viner have been building bikes and a high-class reputation over 60 years now, becoming one of the most prestigious and sought-after brands out there. The steel Viner Passo is from their new Cycle To Work range. As such, it’s designed with commuting in mind, but also for racking up the miles on big day rides and even lightweight touring.

Before we jump aboard, though, it’s worth mentioning that the £1,180 price tag puts the Passo outside the scope of most cycle-to-work schemes, like Cyclescheme, which top-out at £1,000. So, chances are you won’t be able to buy one tax-free – you’ll have to pay full whack.

The build

At the heart of the Passo is a frame that’s hand-built in Italy from a Dedacciai COM 12.5 steel tubeset. Yes, Italy. And yes, steel. Both are unusual in a bike world that’s dominated by aluminium and carbon fibre models made out in the Far East.

The top tube and down tube are both tear-drop in profile while the seat tube is round and the stays are ramrod straight – no bending, no manipulation, no nothing. All the tubes, which have walls of variable thicknesses to save weight without compromising strength, are pretty skinny compared to most. Along with the horizontal top tube, the traditional geometry and the understated paintjob, this gives the Passo’s frame a classy and classic look. The TIG welds are neat and tidy throughout and you get eyelets for fitting mudguards and a rear rack – very practical.

Dedacciai provide the fork in the shape of their carbon BlackRain model, along with the seatpost, stem and bar, and pretty much everything else on the bike is Italian too. The wheels, cranks and brake callipers – 57mm drop, so you get decent clearance for mudguards – come from Miche; the gearing is from Campagnolo’s Veloce range; and Selle Italia supply the saddle.

The ride

Tipping the scales at 9.45kg (20.8lb), the Viner doesn’t shoot off the mark like a lightweight road bike that you could get for this kind of money but, on the other hand, it’s not especially tardy either. You get a stiff frame here that converts your effort into forward speed with very little wastage and the Miche Race M707 wheels, although not particularly light, don’t bend much when you put the hammer down. It might take a little coaxing and persuasion, but it gets up to speed soon enough.

Once you get there, the Passo cruises along happily, providing a stable ride with the minimum of fuss, and it’s sturdy enough to hold its line when poor road surfaces and strong winds conspire against you.

The one aspect of this bike we just couldn’t learn to love was the saddle. We found the Selle Italia Filante too hard for long-ride comfort, but that’s always a matter of personal preference. Once we’d swapped it for an old favourite, we were racking up the miles without worry.

Even with our new perch fitted, we still found the rear end of the bike pretty firm, though. There’s really not much flex in the tubes back there. We’re not saying that this is a harsh frame by any means, but you do know when you hit sections of poorly surfaced roads. So if you’re after a cushion-soft, yielding ride, or if you want to head off the beaten track and tackle mixed surfaces, this isn’t the best option for you.

In contrast, the carbon Dedacciai fork adds loads of damping up front while tracking through the corners just fine – it’s a real star – and the anatomically shaped Deda bars provide an excellent compromise between stiffness and comfort. We like both of them a lot.

Unlike many bikes designed for clocking up the big miles, the Passo has a fairly short head tube –14.5cm on our 57cm model. You get a big old stack of spacers on top to raise the front end up and you can always flip the stem if you want even more height, but if you lack flexibility just check that the ride position suits you before you splash the cash. Us, we really got on well with the ride position, finding it comfortable enough to stay in throughout our longest stints in the saddle and aggressive enough to keep ticking off the miles at a decent clip.

The Campagnolo Veloce gears shifted as silky-smooth as ever throughout testing, and Miche’s compact crankset (with 50/34 chainrings) matched up with a 12-25 cassette provided an ample range of options for most situations. The Viner is a pound or two too heavy to really shine on the climbs but those gears will let you hoist yourself up even the steepest stuff without too much trouble.

Verdict

The Passo isn't the lightest bike out there and some won't get on with its firm ride, but it's a good-value steel commuter that'll easily handle big rides at the weekend and some lightweight touring. If you're going to make the most of its versatility, it's a great buy.