Bianchi Aria

First published 20th August 2017

The new Bianchi Aria is an efficient aero road bike that's more accessible than any of the brand's Oltres. It's responsive and direct and handles sharply.

Bianchi's Oltres have always done really well in road.cc reviews. The only issue is that the cheapest complete Oltre XR1 is £2,699.99, the Oltre XR3s start at £2,799.99 and you won't get an Oltre XR4 for less than £5,200. The Aria is hardly a budget option but it does bring Bianchi's aero bike range down to a more affordable (yes, it's all relative) level.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The first thing you notice when riding the Aria is just how punchy it is and how ready to respond to increased effort. I went back and double-checked the weight of our 57cm model – 8.25kg (18.19lb) – because in use it feels a lot lighter and more chuck-aroundable than that.

The oversized bottom bracket shell (it's home to a press-fit 86.5 x 41 BB) holds everything in check well when you crank up the power, while the tapered head tube (1 1/8in upper bearing, 1 1/4in lower bearing) and full-carbon fork prove similarly solid at the front end. I couldn't detect any flex either when cornering hard or throwing the bike around on steep climbs.

One of the Aria's other attributes is easy manoeuvrability. Some aero bikes are good for straight-line speed but they're single minded and don't much like to deviate from that. The Aria is more than happy to flick from one line to another to navigate through a group or avoid something unexpected in the road.

Drag reducing

The Aria boasts many features designed to reduce drag, the most obvious being the fork legs and frame tubes that are slim and deep-section. The fork crown is integrated into the frame, the down tube is dropped with a slight cutaway around the front wheel, and the seat tube is cutaway around the rear wheel.

Bianchi says that the design of the slim seatstays was inspired by that of its Aquila time trial bike. These meet the seat tube low down to reduce the frontal area and manage the airflow in the rear brake area. The seatpost has an aero profile and comes with a wedge-type clamp that's recessed into the top tube.

Bianchi says that the bike 'has been heavily inspired by our extensive wind tunnel testing and cooperation with pro riders', although it doesn't say whether the Aria itself has been subject to CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis or taken to the wind tunnel, and doesn't put any specific figures on the bike's aero performance.

We don't have access to a wind tunnel and we're not in the business of guessing, so the furthest I'll go is to say that lots of tried and tested aero features are present and correct here.

With most of the drag when riding coming from you, the rider, rather than the bike, it's important that you get into an efficient riding position, and the Aria is designed to help you do that. Clearly, there wouldn't be much point going to the trouble of developing aero tube shapes and then having the rider sit bolt upright in the saddle.

The Aria is available in eight different sizes from itty bitty 44cm right up to a big ol' 61cm. I've been riding the 57cm model (I'm actually between Bianchi sizes; I could do with a 58cm Aria but there's no such thing) which has a 570mm effective seat tube (it would be 570mm if the top tube was horizontal) and a 560mm effective top tube. The head tube on this model is 155mm, which is certainly short.

The stack on this model is 557mm and the reach is 395mm. To save you the trouble of translating all those figures into something that actually makes sense, the bottom line is that the Aria puts you into a low, flat backed riding position when you're down on the drops, which is exactly what you'd expect.

All of the Aria's figures are the same as those of Bianchi's top-level Oltre XR4, as ridden by Team LottoNL-Jumbo in the world's biggest races, so you know what you're going to get here. This is a racing geometry aimed at riders with a need for speed. If you want a high front end for comfort, well, you can run a few spacers underneath the stem but, really, this isn't the best setup for you.

> 10 of the best £2,000-£3,000 road bikes

The Aria provides quite a firm ride, which isn't a euphemism for harsh – it's certainly not that. There's not a whole lot of up/down frame flex but the 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyres offer a decent level of road buzz damping while the flat San Marco Quadra saddle comes with a generous amount (by race bike standards) of Biofoam padding. There's a lot of flex in the glass-fibre-reinforced shell too. Taken as a whole, though, the Aria feels more solid and sturdy than soft and yielding. I didn't feel the ride was as smooth as that of the (much more expensive) Bianchi Oltre XR4, for example.

Centaur back

We told you previously that Campagnolo was bringing its Centaur groupset back from beyond the grave and this is the first bike we've had in for review with the new version fitted. It's now 11-speed and features technology that has trickled down from the brand's higher level groupsets.

It's worth saying that the Ergopower controls provide all the comfort of Campag's top-level levers and the Vari-Cushion natural silicone hoods are grippy even when rain or sweat has made them wet.

The other key feature, as far as I'm concerned, is that the dual pivot brakes (front and rear) are good. Really good. I rode a bike fitted with the Centaur groupset when Campag took me out to the launch and I've ridden the Aria with a couple of different wheelsets fitted, and the brakes have bitten hard on all of them. Seriously, you'll be surprised. It's particularly impressive given that Centaur is Campag's fifth-tier groupset.

The one groupset component choice I had an issue with was the compact chainset (50/34-tooth chainrings). An aero bike necessarily has an emphasis on speed – that's in its DNA – so I'd rather have a 52/36-tooth chainset (Centaur isn't available in a 53/39-tooth option) to keep piling on the power that little bit longer on the descents. That's an individual preference, obviously.

The Aria is available in two other builds: Shimano 105 (£2,299.99) and Shimano Ultegra (£2,649.99), although it's a 50/34-tooth chainset whichever option you choose.

The Vision Team 35 Comp alloy clinchers (the 35 refers to the millimetres of rim depth) aren't especially lightweight but they're competent and strong. The hubs are CNC machined and fitted with sealed cartridge bearings. Despite some wet miles, no water or grit has got in and that bodes well for their durability. Personally, I'd go with something offering a higher level of performance for racing, but these should see you right for training rides in all weathers.

Speaking of racing, Bianchi bills up the Aria as being suitable for triathlon if you fit some clip-on aero bars. Of course, you could fit aero bars to any road bike with a suitable handlebar, but I guess the point Bianchi is making is that an aero frame with a short head tube has better tri credentials than most. Fair enough. That said, the seat angle on our 57cm review bike is 73.5 degrees which is well short of what you'll find on a dedicated time trial/triathlon bike, so getting into a full aero tuck will always be more of a strain.

Overall

The Bianchi Aria might not have quite the glamour of the Oltres, but it's still a solid proposition. It comes equipped with tried and tested aero features, handles sharply and reacts fast. If you're after something relaxed for getting in the big miles in comfort then this isn't the best choice for you, but if you're performance-driven and you're looking for a like-minded bike, the Aria is definitely worth checking out.

Verdict

A fast-reacting aero road bike in a race geometry for those with a need for speed