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TECH NEWS

First Look: Bianchi Oltre XR4 CV

Take a look at the brand new aero road bike ahead of its official release

We’re expecting Bianchi to make an official announcement on the launch of its Oltre XR4 CV aero road bike any day, and in the meantime we can have a good look at the models ridden by the Lotto NL Jumbo team in the Tour de France.

sep vanmarcke oltre xr 4 .JPG

The Oltre has been in the Bianchi range for a few years now, and we’ve reviewed each of the previous versions on road.cc in the past. We’ve always been hugely impressed.

Review: Bianchi Oltre XR 

Review: Bianchi Oltre XR1

Review: Bianchi Oltre XR2 

One of the big differences with the XR4 – there is no XR3 – is that this version incorporates Bianchi’s CounterVail technology, something that already features in its Specialissima, Infinito (road) and Aquila (time trial) models.

dylan groenewegen bianchi oltre xr4 7.JPG

CounterVail is a viscoelastic carbon material from Materials Sciences Corp that’s embedded within the frame’s carbon layup. The idea is that it reduces high-frequency road vibration compared to a regular carbon-fibre frame by as much as 75%, helping to lower muscle fatigue and save energy while improving handling and control.

dylan groenewegen bianchi oltre xr4 20.JPG

It’s quite difficult to compare the XR4 to the XR2 by eye, but it’s clear that the differences amount to more than simply a change of material. Although the two bikes look essentially the same shape, the profiles of most of the frameset elements appear to have been altered.

sep vanmarcke bianchi oltre xr4 4.JPG

The down tube, seatstays and fork legs look deeper than before, for example, as do the chainstays which now feature a kink towards the dropout.

dylan groenewegen bianchi oltre xr4 22.JPG

Check out the top of the head tube too. Whereas the top of the headset sits above the top of the frame on the XR2, the headset is integrated within the head tube/top tube junction on the XR4. In other words, the headset doesn’t increase the size of the bike’s frontal area. Other brands do similar things to improve aerodynamic efficiency. 

sep vanmarcke bianchi oltre xr4 10.JPG

On this example (above), where the rider wants a higher front end, the top of the headset gets what looks like a bespoke cap. 

sep vanmarcke bianchi oltre xr4 9.JPG

The seatpost clamp has been altered too. Previously it was external, flush with the frame, but now Bianchi is using an internal wedge-type system. 

sep vanmarcke bianchi oltre xr4 5.JPG

It looks like the seatstays meet the seat tube a little lower than before too, reducing the frontal area a touch and perhaps dropping the weight.

sep vanmarcke bianchi oltre xr4 13.JPG

Bianchi has made the switch from standard dual pivot callipers to direct mount brakes (where each brake arm is bolted directly to the frame/fork rather than via a central bolt). Quite a lot of brands have done this on high-end race bikes recently in order to improve the performance. 

dylan groenewegen bianchi oltre xr4 18.JPG

It looks like Bianchi has stuck with a BB386Evo bottom bracket. 

Bianchi has a press event scheduled for next week so we can expect more details then.

www.bianchi.com

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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13 comments

Avatar
matthewn5 | 7 years ago
0 likes

What are the bars on the bike in the main image?

Love the traditional round bend.

 

Avatar
tritecommentbot replied to matthewn5 | 7 years ago
0 likes

matthewn5 wrote:

What are the bars on the bike in the main image?

Love the traditional round bend.

 

 

FSA Energy Traditional

 

(Pretty cheap too. Loved the look of them myself and was riding them until last month. They do look dead cool, but ended up changing them out for Ergo Zipps which are a tad more comfortable.)

Avatar
matthewn5 replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

unconstituted wrote:

matthewn5 wrote:

What are the bars on the bike in the main image?

Love the traditional round bend.

 

FSA Energy Traditional

 

(Pretty cheap too. Loved the look of them myself and was riding them until last month. They do look dead cool, but ended up changing them out for Ergo Zipps which are a tad more comfortable.)

Cheers!

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

Still no press release. Maybe waiting for a stage win on it first surprise

Avatar
fukawitribe | 7 years ago
2 likes

Oh FFS, please can we get away from the same old inane bleating every time we get an Italian bike on here. This one, it's a bike from a Shimano sponsored team... probably going to have Shimano kit on it. Sheesh.

 

People will undoubtably be able to instantly unload their clearly over-strained wallets on a Campag shod one when they became publically available - same as with most of their bikes.

Avatar
graham.mackeen@... | 7 years ago
0 likes

Beutiful bike,  gorgeous colour. Why not Campag?  Please keep it Italian. 

Avatar
Bob Wheeler CX | 7 years ago
1 like

no campag no want

Avatar
fukawitribe replied to Bob Wheeler CX | 7 years ago
1 like

Bob Wheeler CX wrote:

no campag no want

That'll be a blow to them. Lotto NL Jumbo are a Shimano sponsored team however Bianchi will inevitably sell you a Campagnolo kitted one when they're publically available, assuming you have the cash.

Avatar
tritecommentbot replied to Bob Wheeler CX | 7 years ago
0 likes

Bob Wheeler CX wrote:

no campag no want

 

No worries he can post a pic when he gets his campag XR4 after release.  Wonder what he's riding now eh. 

Avatar
shutuplegz | 7 years ago
3 likes

Really, the Di2 version of this bike should have been called the XR4i, likewise with the XR3i, XR2i smiley. Deeper shade of blue required too!

Avatar
steviemarco replied to shutuplegz | 7 years ago
1 like

shutuplegz wrote:

Really, the Di2 version of this bike should have been called the XR4i, likewise with the XR3i, XR2i smiley. Deeper shade of blue required too!

Ford have the copy right

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

Want it so bad that I feel like crying 

 

Lotto-Jumbo NL better win some stages. Shame on them if they can't on this gift from the Gods.

Avatar
StraelGuy | 7 years ago
5 likes

Wow, that's a good looking bike smiley.

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