Italy’s Cinelli has been busy launching new bikes over the past few days, including what it describes as its “fastest road bike ever”, but it’s the Speciale Corsa XCR that really caught our eye, handmade in Milan from Columbus stainless steel.
At the heart of things, you get a Columbus XCr tubeset. Columbus describes XCr as “innovative, high-grade, stainless seamless steel tubing”. The tubes are “made starting from a solid billet, machine-perforated and cold drawn countless times, to obtain the final required thickness”.
XCr has high fatigue resistance. It is also extremely resistant to rust and corrosion.
Cinelli has matched up the XCr tubing with 3D-printed stainless junctions at the seat cluster and upper head tube. It’s TIG-welded and brazed, then hand filed, the idea being “to create a smooth, continuous visual flow”, according to Cinelli. It certainly looks that way.
While the use of steel nods to Cinelli’s heritage – the company was founded back in 1947 – other design features are decidedly modern.
“The Speciale Corsa XCR was engineered exclusively for electronic groupsets, with complete cable integration through the new Columbus Spirit integrated cockpit and ACR standard internal routing,” says Cinelli.
The Speciale Corsa XCR is UDH compatible and is available as a frameset with a Columbus Trittico carbon fork at prices from £5,000.
> What is UDH and is it the future of all bikes? SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger explained
Complete top-spec builds start at £11,000. That gets you a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut 55mm wheels. That’s quite a spec for a range-opening model. SRAM Red AXS and Campagnolo Super Record WRL wireless builds are available too. It’s top-end all the way, then.
All complete builds come with 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres, although there’s space for 32mm (measured) if you’d like to go a little wider.
Cinelli claims a frame weight of 1,990g (+/-5%) in a size medium, with 392g (+/-5%) for the painted fork with an uncut steerer tube. It reckons you’re looking at a complete bike weight, with a SRAM Red AXS groupset and DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut wheels, of 8.1kg.
Cinelli also launched the Aeroscoop (below) last week, a very different model that it describes as “an unapologetic reimagining of the ultimate carbon road racing machine, infused with rebellious Cinelli design DNA”, building on the existing Pressure 2.
Cinelli reckons that the Aeroscoop is a touch stiffer around the bottom bracket for more efficient power transfer, and a little more compliant at the head tube to smooth the front end.
The Aeroscoop is “the most aero road bike Cinelli has produced to date”. Cinelli reckons that it “beats the Specialized Tarmac SL8 in frontal flow with identical wheels”.
“Perhaps the most striking difference, both visually and in terms of performance, is that [we] split the seatstay at the seatpost junction, to reduce turbulence and guide airflow around the frame and rear wheel,” says Cinelli. “Independently wind tunnel-verified by Tour, the Aeroscoop [placed] firmly inside the top 10 of all aero road bikes ever tested.
“Much of this improvement comes from a 4% reduction in frontal area [compared with the Pressure 2], smoothed cockpit transition and integrated fork, and revised down tube shaping to shield bottles and mounts.”
Cinelli claims a 6.98kg complete bike weight for a build with a SRAM Red AXS groupset and Fulcrum Wind 57 wheels.
A frameset, including a carbon fork and seatpost and a Columbus Spirit Carbon integrated cockpit, will set you back £3,999 while complete bikes start at £5,299.
8 thoughts on “Check out the new Cinelli Speciale Corsa XCR: stainless steel and seriously stunning”
Serious question: apart from
Serious question: apart from the opportunity to use alliteration, which should never be passed up, what is “seriously stunning” about the bike? It looks very nice but no different to a hundred other fast road bikes apart from the head tube badge (which is a nice retro touch, I admit). If you were just shown it without the Cinelli logos and without being told what the material is, would you still say it was “seriously stunning”?
I’ve always found Cinelli the
I’ve always found Cinelli the blandest of the Italian makes.
Personally I think covering up that shiny stainless with a paint job is sacrilegious.
Personally I think covering
Personally I think covering up that shiny stainless with a paint job is sacrilegious
While I’m not quite so ‘Nobody expects the Spanish…’ about it I, too, am enthusiastic about the stainless, no-paint-no-logo-no badges look. It does seem to be possible to build an all-953 frame/ fork
Bland? Cinelli?
Bland? Cinelli?
They don’t have that stereotypical ‘Italian design’ esthetic but their bikes and parts have always had quirky design at its center, with bold graphics and colours. Also, some of their frame designs have been pretty wild, like the Laser Evoluzione.
You don’t have to like their style, but calling it bland really doesn’t do them justice.
Bland? Cinelli?
Bland? Cinelli?
They don’t have that stereotypical ‘Italian design’ esthetic but their bikes and parts have always had quirky design at its center, with bold graphics and colours. Also, some of their frame designs have been pretty wild, like the Laser Evoluzione.
You don’t have to like their style, but calling it bland really doesn’t do them justice.
TBF you are assuming they are
TBF you are assuming they are referring to it being visually stunning, the word also applies to being ‘powerfully impressive’ – e.g. a good set of financials could be called stunning. The article mentions 3D printed joints, steel construction and a top end aero performance, so perhaps these are stunning features. Or maybe you answered your own question with your critical comment and the term was used for effect, with perfect legitimacy.
It also has the meaning of
It also has the meaning of ‘rendering insensible’, which I’m sure it could be if dropped on someone’s head from a great enough height.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Mirror-polished stainless steel and the curves of that seat tube/stay/toptube junction.
Agree, not wildly different from e.g. a Condor Super Acciaio or a Saffron with their integrated seat clamp, but then I think they’re stunning too.