- We have got a very exciting first look for you here today.
This is the brand new
Wilier Zero SLR.
(upbeat electronic music)
Now, Wilier is one of the most historic
and recognizable bike brands in the world.
This is its first super lightweight bike
with disc brakes and fully concealed cables.
In case you aren't familiar
with Wilier's enviable heritage in cycling,
it's one of the oldest bike brands
in the world, dating back to 1906.
And it has had formidable success in professional cycling
having even been ridden by some of
the greatest climbers of all time,
including Fiorenzo Magni, Marco Pantani,
Damiano Cunego, and Michele Scarponi.
And in recent years, the climbers have tended to favor
Wilier's superlight series of Zero bikes.
And the Zero SLR is the latest model in that range,
replacing the previous deranged topping, Zero7.
It used to be, when choosing a new bike,
you have to make a choice, a compromise.
Either lightweight or aerodynamic.
But now, according to Wilier,
you can have both.
(heavy bass electronic music)
First up, being a Zero series bike,
you'd expect it to be light, and it is.
It's very light.
Wilier claims that it's just 780 grams
in this size,
which for a disc brake equipped bike,
is very impressive indeed.
And the fork is also light.
They claim it's just 340 grams,
which again, is impressive especially when you consider
it's been beefed up to cope with the asymmetric forces
from disc brakes being just mounted on one side.
You can actually see, if you look straight down,
it's noticeably thicker on this right hand side.
But it's not all about lightweight for Wilier.
Super lightweight bikes can often feel a bit noodly,
not the stiffest machines in the world,
and with the new Zero SLR,
Wilier claims to have the highest stiffness to weight
that it's achieved so far.
In fact, it's supposed to be 24% stiffer
than the previous Zero7 model.
One of the ways Wilier says it's achieved this
is by using a new type of carbon fiber called HuSmart,
which they claim is qualitatively superior
to any kind of carbon that they've used before.
They've also employed a liquid crystal polymer
in the carbon as well,
and this is said to reduce vibrations
and improve impact resistance.
This is cool, too.
Take a look at this.
The new bike has a completely new designed
seat post clamp design.
It's all hidden and integrated to keep out of the wind,
but it also makes it look really neat.
So, you've actually got the collar
hidden inside the frame here,
and it's accessed by a little bolt there.
You also got a D-shaped seat post,
which has become a common feature
on lightweight aero bikes
as it offers greater compliance.
It's able to flex 'cause it's flat at the back,
but also, it's a slightly more aerodynamic shape
with this sort of Kamm tail profile.
With regards to other aero features on the frame,
there are truncated tube profiles and Kamm profiles
featured in various locations,
which have slightly lower drag than just round tubes.
And also the fork blades, you may have noticed,
are slightly spaced further apart from the wheel
than you find on other bikes.
This is a feature that was first seen
on Wilier's Turbine TT bike,
but we've also seen it on other bikes
such as the British cycling track bikes
that you may have seen in the Olympics.
The Zero SLR has a proprietary, integrated cockpit.
Now, the Cento10, Wilier's aero bike,
also has an integrated bar and stem,
but this one's a completely new design.
And as you can see, or well, maybe you can't see
all the cables are completely hidden.
They route through the bar, through the stem,
and then down into the head tube.
And to make life easier with this,
it's good to see,
the spaces split in two which means that if you want
to adjust your stem and make it higher or lower,
or add in or take out spaces,
you can do so relatively easily without having
to disconnect the brake lines,
which being hydraulic brakes,
well, is a blessing and is a feature that plagued
some of the earlier heavily integrated bike designs.
I should also point out that the bar
is said to be really light as well.
Really, it claims that it's just 330 grams
for a 100 millimeter stem and 42 centimeter wide bar.
And at the back, we've got the dropped seat stays,
something which has become a defining feature
of modern aero bikes.
The reason why bike brands are increasingly adopting it
is because it's said to be more compliant,
because the idea is that
you get a longer effective seat tube
which can flex a bit more.
And they're also said to offer slightly lower drag as well.
And you may notice that
here, we've got a very asymmetric design.
And this is to cope with the differing forces.
So, you've got the drivetrain load forces on the right side
and the braking forces from the disc on the left side.
Now, you may be wondering
what are these rather bling carbon wheels
we've got on the bike.
Well, these are ULT38 KT disc wheels
made by Wilier.
And they're one of three wheel sets
that Wilier's going to be offering in 2020.
And they've been in collaboration
with the wheel brand Mische.
Interestingly, all three wheel sets will only be available
as a disc brake model.
Clearly, Wilier's designers have been paying attention
to the rim brake extinction clock in the GCN Tech show.
Also, being Wilier's thoroughbred race wheels,
they're only available in tubular versions as well.
So, these are tubular wheels we've got on right now.
And something else nice is that
the bearings in them are CeramicSpeed,
so, a few extra efficiency savings there.
So, these, the ULT38s are actually
37.8 millimeters deep,
not quite 38, but they weigh just 1,390 grams a pair,
which is nice and light.
And I'm going to do a freehub soundcheck.
(freehub buzzing)
CeramicSpeed for you.
Nice and smooth, look at that.
Connecting the wheels to the frame
are Mavic's speed release thru-axles,
and these are a special kind of thru-axle
that allow you to remove the wheel from the frame
without entirely removing the thru-axle from the wheel.
It may not much to amateur riders,
but for a pro cyclist trying to save every last second,
then, well, a quick wheel change could be the difference
between winning and losing.
Being a top of the range bike,
we've got top-sec components throughout.
So, we've got four Dura-Ace Di2
including a compact 50/34 chainset and an 11-28 cassette.
Now, I know what some of you are going to say.
Why has an Italian thoroughbred super bike
not gotten Italian groupset on it?
Well, don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger.
But it does have some Italian components on it.
We've got Vittoria corsa speed tubulars, very nice.
And a Selle Italia SLR saddle.
And that's it, really.
With Wilier supplying, well, the cockpit, the seat post,
the fork, and the wheels,
it's kind of a trend we're increasingly seeing
with bike brands offering greater system integration
by doing more of the components themselves
thanks to a world specialized Roval
and trek with Bontrager.
All right, I think it's time we weighed it.
Feels light, this.
Place your bets now what you think it's going to be.
7.1, that is impressive for this great bike.
I hope you enjoyed this first look at what is,
oh, I think, a really beautiful bike.
And if you have, then please give it a thumbs up
and let us know what you think about it
in the comment section down below.
And to watch another video,
then click down here.