Wow! Check out Astana Qazaqstan’s new-look Wilier Filante and Zero race bikes

Astana Qazaqstan’s Wilier Zero SLR and Filante SLR race bikes have been given a ‘chrome-plated graphite’ makeover for 2023 and we reckon they’re right up there among the best-looking models in the pro peloton. In fact, if push came to shove and we had to make a decision, we’d say that these take the prize for the WorldTour’s prettiest bikes. If rumours are true, these could be the bikes that Mark Cavendish races on this year.

Astana Qazaqstan says that the new finish, officially unveiled earlier today, “is obtained with a sophisticated hand-painting process”. The rear of the frame is silver on the Filante SLR and a darker and more intense blue on the Zero SLR.

Underneath those finishes, the bikes themselves are unchanged. The aero Filante was unveiled towards the end of 2020 and introduced in Wilier’s 2021 range. It’s a disc brake bike for electronic groupsets only, and Wilier claims a frame weight of just 870g and 360g for the fork.

Wilier uses truncated NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) airfoils as the basis for Filante SLR’s tube profiles, as it did for its Cento10Pro previously. The difference, though, is in the cutoff at the rear of the tube. Whereas the rear of the Cento10Pro’s tube was cut off square, Wilier designed a more rounded cut on the Filante with the aim of making the boundary layer – the air particles closest to the frame – stick more to the profile in real-world conditions in order to reduce drag.

Wilier also widened the fork legs on the Filante to reduce turbulence and to hide the rear triangle when viewed from the front. Again, the idea was to minimise drag.

The Filante puts in a superb performance out on the road. In fact, it’s just gorgeous. In our review, we praised it as a “lightweight aero road bike that offers a reactive performance, quick handling, and a surprisingly comfortable ride.”

Weight is far from everything, especially when it comes to an aero road bike, but our XL test model tipped the scales at just north of 7kg. There’s no getting around the fact that it’s expensive but the Filante is simply a fabulous face bike.

> Check out our Wilier Filante SLR review here

The Wilier Zero SLR is a little older than the Filante, having been introduced in 2019 – the brand’s first superlight road racing bike with disc brakes and fully integrated cables.

The medium version of the frame (in a matt black finish with white graphics) has a claimed weight of 780g (+/-5%). The fork, again in a black/white finish, has a claimed weight of 340g (+/-5%). The complete XL bike we weighed, with a Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 Di2 groupset and Mavic wheels, was a whisker over 6.8kg (including pedals).

Wilier reckons that a large part of the Zero SLR’s high stiffness-to-weight ratio is down to the HUS-Mod blend of fibres used in the frame’s construction.

“We also included a highly resistant multi-directional fibre mesh to increase rigidity in every direction and liquid crystal polymer [in certain unspecified areas of the frame and fork] woven to improve impact resistance and vibration absorption,” said Wilier. It has been cagey about the exact nature of that liquid crystal polymer.

We’ve never had the Wilier Zero SLR in for a full review but we were certainly impressed when we took it out for a couple of rides at the launch in Italy. The overriding characteristic is the high level of torsional stiffness. Get out of the saddle and sprint and you can barely detect any sideways movement at all through the centre of the frame. 

The Zero SLR’s other key characteristic is the smoothness of its ride. The frame absorbs vibration beautifully.

Here’s the complete spec list for Astana Qazaqstan’s Wilier Filante SLR:

Frame Filante SLR - Carbonio Monoscocca HUS Mod + Crystal Liquid Polymer
Fork Filante SLR - Carbonio Monoscocca HUS Mod + Crystal Liquid Polymer
Handlebar Filante Bar Integrated Carbon
Seatpost Filante SLR Carbon, Wilier Custom Made
Wheels Corima 47WS Black
Headset FSA
Shifters Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 ST-R9270
Brakes Shimano Dura-Ace BR-R9270
Rotor Shimano Dura-Ace RT-MT900 Center Lock 160/140
Front derailleur Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-R9250
Rear derailleur Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-R9250
Pulley SLF Motion Speed System
Chainset Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9200 + Shimano Powermeter
Bottom bracket SLF Motion BB86
Cassette Shimano Dura-Ace CS-R9200 12S
Chain Shimano Dura-Ace CN-M9100 12S
Tyres Vittoria Corsa Speed 700x28
Saddle Prologo Scratch 2
Bar tape Prologo
Bottle cage Tacx
Pedals Look Keo Blade carbon

Wilier doesn’t offer the Filante in this precise build but a Shimano Dura-Ace equipped model (with Wilier’s own SLR42KC wheels and a standard Dura-Ace chainset) is €11,300 (about £9,940).

Here’s the spec for Astana Qazaqstan’s Wilier SLR 0:

Frame Wilier 0 SLR - Carbonio Monoscocca HUS Mod + Crystal Liquid Polymer
Fork Wilier 0 SLR - Carbonio Monoscocca HUS Mod + Crystal Liquid Polymer
Handlebar 0-Bar Integrated Carbon
Seatpost Wilier 0 SLR Carbon, Wilier Custom Made
Wheels Corima MCC 32
Headset Wilier Triestina integrated headset
Shifters Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 ST-R9270
Brakes Shimano Dura-Ace BR-R9270
Rotor Shimano Dura-Ace RT-MT900 Center Lock 160/140
Front derailleur Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-R9250
Rear derailleur Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-R9250
Pulley SLF Motion Speed System
Chainset Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9200 + Shimano Powermeter
Bottom bracket SLF Motion BB86
Cassette Shimano Dura-Ace CS-R9200 12S
Chain Shimano Dura-Ace CN-M9100 12S
Tyres Vittoria Corsa Speed 700x25
Saddle Prologo Scratch 2
Bar tape Prologo
Bottle cage Tacx
Pedals Look Key Blade carbon

Wilier doesn’t offer the Zero SLR in this precise build but a Shimano Dura-Ace equipped model (with Wilier’s own SLR38KC wheels and a standard Dura-Ace chainset) is €11,300 (about £9,940).

Do you agree that Astana Qazaqstan has the best-looking bikes in the pro peloton or are we way off target? 

wilier.com