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TECH NEWS
cento10air-ramato.jpgWilier’s Cento10Air fuses modern frame with traditional ramato finish
Hide the credit card, Italian bicycle brand Wilier has given its latest Cento10Air race bike a historic makeover, reimagining it with the unique ramato mirrored copper finish it first used on a steel racing bicycle in the 1940s.
This isn’t the first time Wilier has rolled out a special edition bike. Back in 2016, to celebrate its 110th anniversary, it produced the Superleggera Ramato, a traditional steel racing bicycle with a glorious mirrored copper finish that it first used during the 1940s and came to be a signature colour.
- Check this out: Wilier Superleggera Ramato
The polished copper effect is produced by mirror-polishing and then fully chroming the steel frame, followed by painting with a special translucent lacquer. They obviously can’t do this with a carbon frame, but it looks like they have managed to faithfully replicate the finish using paint.
Wilier has timed the launch of this special edition bike with the 100th edition of the Giro d’Italian, and Italian sprinter Filippo Pozzato has been racing it, the more eagle-eyed readers might have already spotted this very unique looking bike. He apparently has also been using the Superleggera Ramato steel road bike for getting around on between the team bus and sign on and coffee shops before stages.
The Cento10Air was launched last year and represents the company’s fastest and lightest road bike to date. It’s an aero frame developed using NACA airfoil shapes, with direct mount brakes, a new integrated handlebar, fully internal cables and widely spaced fork blades.The result of the development leads Wilier to claim an 8% aerodynamic improvement over the previous bike.
In an effort to reduce drag, the gear cables are routed through the steerer tube from the handlebar into the frame, with a clever bit of packaging around the steerer tube, which has flattened sides to provide enough space for the cables. A special headset top cap directs the cables into the head tube, and the outer cable housing terminates a short way down the down tube, where Wilier has integrated a front
The adoption of Shimano’s Direct Mount brake caliper means the bike accepts up to 28mm tyres, a bonus if you value comfort as well as aero performance. The use of direct mount brakes has also allowed Wilier to move the seat stays and fork blades away from the wheel rims, the space created is claimed to reduce drag because the air being squeezed between the frame and rim is less turbulent.
But in this ramato finish, it looks divine. What do you think?
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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23 comments
I've gone mad and got one (second hand, just). Lots of protective tape. Only riding in the summer in the dry though!
A potentially droolworthy bike ruined by Shimano parts and silly transfers. Like a Ferrari with a Toyota engine and 'I love my Willy' transfers on its rear end.
I just love a lacquered frame - its one paint-job that transforms a bike into a work of art - I'd hang this one on my bedroom wall.
hmmmm, get rid of the shite on the stay and the eyetie flag and i'd drop some serious dollar for this.
thank fook they haven't ruined it by doing it as a disc frame which would have turned into something rather unappealing for me.
It really is gorgeous. I was about to buy one, but the bar tape lets it down.
sweet mary mother of jesus, that is gorgeous.
agree about the hashtags though. takes the edge of it a little (though not enough to stop me drooling)
any idea of price so i can work out how many kidneys i need to sell?
All three!
Shimano and hashtags on a Wilier? World's gone mad.
Beautiful.
Italians certainly understand bike p*rn!
disk brakes on a road bike?? that's for show-off!
where's the other gear cable btw?
Shame it doesn't have disc brakes, who would buy a new bike with rim brakes in this day and age.
At least Wilier have toned it down. my most 'liked' comment on here by miles was when I suggested that if you get a get a mechanical on your Wilier and are waiting for a lift, at least you could read your bike for half an hour to pass the time
.
Why do italian brands (and Wilier in particular) insist on covering their bikes with pointless labelling. the hashtag is just a bit stupid, and if it has anything like as many of the needless labels pointing out the 'technology' involved as some of their other models (I remember the gran turismo from a few years ago was a lovely looking bike but totally covered in needless little slogans) then it's a shame, it's a lovely looking bike otherwise, why does it need more than the brand name on the down tube and maybe a model name somewhere else?
ok... rant over (mostly caused by not being able to justify buying this bike)
Euromillions ticket x2 please... That is gorgeous!
It's good stuff. I might leave the "lovemyWilier" open to rubbing and scratching though...
Shame about the daft hashtag on the chainstay. That looks really silly IMHO. The cabling sounds like a maintenance nightmare!
PS: Surely deserves Campag?
It's a perfect build , Italian sticker , shimano parts .
Ooh. Nice.
Sadly, it undoubtedly comes in the if-I-can't-afford-to-crash-it category, so my credit card is safe.
We all know that bicycles are primarily for riding and secondly for looking at. There are some where this is the other way round. This is one of those.
Drool!
Sweet Jesus, this is pretty. Riding it would be nearly impossible due to the fear of scratching the finish but it would look mighty fine hung up as a piece of art.