With a history stretching back over 100 years, Wilier’s understandable pride hasn’t prevented it from sourcing the Cento 1’s frame from the current leading source.
Made at Mitsubishi’s carbon fibre facility in Taiwan, the Cento 1 is so stiff, light and responsive that if you could gas it up, only rocket fuel would do. This bike is truly a no-compromise race machine.
If you want to experience superbike territory, you’ll have to pay a superbike price of £5499. But it’s worth it.
Ride & handling: accelerates up to speed quickly – and is happy to stay up there.
Tipping the scales at a feathery 6.8kg/14.96lb, the Centro 1's handling is matched by its looks. Sustained high speeds and quick acceleration from sharp bursts of power are par for the course.
Shod with a pair of Vittoria Open Corsa CX – among the world’s best tyres – it offers precision handling and a rock-steady platform from which to launch aggressive attacks on weary pelotons and challenging road courses.
Frame: supremely fit for purpose, rigid, light and a great looker
With a unique construction method based around three separate elements unified into what eventually ends up as a single monocoque unit, the Cento 1 features a massively rigid square section downtube and a BMX-styled single loop asymmetric chainstay/seatstay assembly anchored by an extra wide oversized bottom bracket shell.
Wilier’s designers display an overriding obsession with stiffness, low or zero torsional flex and the latest European testing standards, while they also include the usual flare for aesthetics expected in an Italian bike, with sweeping curvaceous lines and red-hot colour options.
Equipment: the best that money can buy, including Campag Super Record 11-speed
Wilier has done away with the standard threaded set-up, like the Giant Defy, and it’s only normal that the default compatibility is for the Campag Ultra-Torque system, with a Shimano conversion option included in the price of the frame kit (£2399 and £2499 depending on paint scheme).
Featuring the freshly minted Campagnolo Super Record 11-speed groupset, the Centro 1 also came equipped with one of our all-time favourite and best looking wheelsets, Fulcrum Racing Zeroes.