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TECH NEWS

Wilier unveils high-end Rave SLR in both road and gravel builds

New lightweight bike is designed for everything from all-road riding to gravel racing, and takes tyres up to 42mm wide

Wilier has launched a new top-end range of Rave SLR bikes that are available in both road and gravel builds. These bikes don’t tread on the toes of the brand’s existing Filante SLR and the 0 SLR road race bikes, but Wilier says that, depending on the configuration, they are perfect for both all-road riding and gravel racing.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel - 1.jpeg

“If we translate performance into concrete aspects, it’s about a frame that is light, responsive (stiff where necessary) and features racing geometries,” says Wilier. “To create a light frame, we used the same carbon mix found in the Filante SLR and the Wilier 0 SLR

Read our review of the Wilier Filante SLR

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel action - 1.jpeg

“To create a reactive frame, we’ve channelled all the experience gained in the use of techno-polymers, mixing carbon with special viscoelastic fibres such as liquid crystal polymers. Construction technologies [have been] borrowed from those used for the Filante SLR and the Wilier 0 SLR, products that offer an excellent riding quality.”

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel - 6.jpeg

Wilier claims weights of 950g (± 5%) for the frame and 415g (± 5%) for the fork, and says you can fit tyres up to 42mm wide on 700C wheels.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel studio - 17.jpeg

Wilier offers different combined handlebars/stems depending on whether a particular model is designed primarily for gravel or road. The gravel J-Bar (above) is Wilier’s monocoque aero bar originally designed for its Jena bike. It has a split, V-shaped stem section, flared drops, and a claimed weight of 390g (± 5%, 430 x 95 version).

2022 Wilier Rave SLR road static - 9.jpeg

The 0-Bar used in the road builds is a monocoque too but it has a more conventional stem section. It is also lighter with a claimed weight of 330g (± 5%, 420 x 100 version).

Each bar takes the gear cables and brake hoses internally before routing them into the frame via a cavity in the composite headset spacers. These spacers are two-part, the different sections being separable, so you can remove them to adjust the front end height without needing to disconnect the hoses/cables. Most other brands are using similar systems for bikes with fully internal routing these days.

The Wilier Rave SLRs use Mavic’s Speed Release thru-axles. This system has been around for a few years now but if you’ve not come across it before, this is how it works…

You don’t need to remove the axle fully from the hub to take the wheel off your bike, making the process a little bit quicker. Wilier reckons it cuts wheel change times by an average of seven seconds compared with a traditional thru-axle system. Well, you know, it all adds up. It also means you’ll never find yourself scrabbling around to find the axle following a repair because it stays in the hub.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel studio - 10.jpeg

The Rave SLR’s incorporation of the seatpost clamp is reminiscent of the 0 SLR’s, a step holding the wedge system in the angle between the top tube and the seat tube.

The Rave is designed to be race-focused and so does not have bosses for mudguards or racks.

Geometry

“To create a frame with balanced racing geometries, we started with top range road racing references and mixed them with frame parts of endurance and gravel origin, all without distorting the performance target that we set for ourselves at the start of the design phase,” says Wilier. “A slightly higher stack and a somewhat shorter reach compared to a pure competition bike, combined with the available carbon monocoque handlebars, become the perfect synthesis between high performance and comfort.”

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel - 4.jpeg

The large version of the Rave SLR is built with a 56.1cm top tube, a 52cm seat tube (centre of BB to top), and a 15.4cm head tube.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel - 5.jpeg

The stack on this size is 570mm and the reach is 391mm, giving a stack/reach of 1.46.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR gravel - 7.jpeg

For comparison, the stack height of the Filante SLR road bike in the same size is quite a bit lower at 555mm, which is what you’d expect.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR road static - 3.jpeg

The large Rave SLR’s seat tube angle is 73.5° – the same as the Filante SLR’s – but the 71° head tube angle is slacker than you’ll find on most equivalent road bikes. This, combined with 42.5cm chainstays, results in a wheelbase that’s a lengthy (compared with a typical road bike) 1,031mm.

2022 Wilier Rave SLR road action - 4.jpeg

The Rave SLR is available in black/grey matt and sand/green matt finishes, both with road (new Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, new Shimano Ultegra Di2, SRAM Force AXS) or gravel (Campagnolo Ekar, Shimano GRX, new SRAM Force AXS XPLR) components.

Builds

The Rave is available in three road builds and three gravel builds:

Wilier Rave SLR road with Wilier 0-bar

Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace Di2

Wheels Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon

Price £11,350

 

Groupset Shimano Ultegra Di2

Wheels Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon

Price £9,300

 

Groupset SRAM Force AXS 2 x 12 Wide

Wheels Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon

Price £9,300

Wilier Rave SLR gravel with Wilier J-bar

Groupset SRAM Force AXS

Wheels Miche Graff carbon

Price £8,680

 

Groupset Shimano GRX Di2 2x11

Wheels Miche Graff carbon

Price £8,680

 

Groupset Campagnolo Ekar

Wheels Campagnolo Shamal Carbon

Price £8,580

As for gearing, Wilier says that it is making changes right up to the last moment due to ongoing component delivery issues, so check the brand's website for details.

https://wilier.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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2 comments

Avatar
Zjtm231 | 2 years ago
1 like

Nice and cheap too!  3

Avatar
xernobyl replied to Zjtm231 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Lovely dentist bike. Variable chain stay length per size, slack head angle... very nice.

This is the 4th UCI approved gravel bike that I remember (Cervélo Aspero, Cannondale SuperSix Evo something, Specialized Crux). I'm super curious to see what comes of out that UCI gravel thing, what's the format, and who'll race on it... will WVA or MVDP give it a try? Will Lachlan go for it? Some other "alternative circuit" superstar like Colin Strickland, Ted King, or Peter Stetina?

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