The Aquila CV replaces the Pico as Bianchi's premier time trial machine, and has an incredibly clean and integrated look - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The important front end integrates the stem, front brake all cables and the frame and fork in to a seamless, aerodynamic whole - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
First used on the Infinito CV, Bianchi have added a Countervail carbon layer to the Aquila's frame to reduce road vibrations and shocks from what will always be a frame built for speed rather than comfort. It should improve overall ride quality and handling by enhancing control. - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
This removable cover keeps the cables out of the wind, smooths airflow and looks stunning - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The carbon fibre base bar and stem is a joint venture between Bianchi and Vision, and blends perfectly in to the top tube - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
A simple but effective tri bar mounting offers easy adjustment - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The dropped down tube features a rubber bumper at the top to protect the frame and fork from each other in a crash, and the leading edge is scalloped to follow the radius of the front wheel - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The narrow down tube flows around the wide press fit bottom bracket, helping Bianchi's 130 year anniversary bike (in 2015) to be amongst their most striking - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
By shifting the rear brake below the chain stays, manufacturers have been able to drop the seat stays for improved aerodynamics, and the Aquila CV's are amongst the lowest - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The seat stays are slim, and hug the rear tyre - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
TRP supply the integrated rear brake that is tucked beneath the chain stays - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Beefy chainstays look purposeful, transferring power to the adjustable rear dropouts. That short length of Di2 wire plus even less for the front mech is the only visible cable on the bike. - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Even the fork dropouts have a subtly aero shape - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Away from the large sized display model, Laurens Ten Dam and Bauke Mollema each had a medium Aquila CV to use for the time trial. This one is Ten Dam's, in full team livery and with a Pioneer power meter added - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Ten Dam's cockpit only gains the Pioneer head unit, neatly fitted between the extensions - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Unlike the display bike, Ten Dam's bike had its front brake shoes fitted, showing where the brake sits within the fork legs - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Showing how far the Aquila CV has come, this team rider's Pico has a far less clean cockpit, external Di2 battery, and although the front brake is behind the fork, the rear is a conventional caliper - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
A closer look at that Pico cockpit shows the opposite of integrated, clean lines - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The Pico's rear Dura-Ace caliper does protrude quite far in to the wind - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Bianchi launched its new time trial bike, the Aquila CV, at the 2014 Tour de France’s only time trial, with Team Belkin.
The 2015 Aquila CV, which celebrates the company’s forthcoming 130th anniversary, borrows vibration-damping technology developed for racing cobbles.
Last year, Bianchi launched the Infinito CV, an endurance bike with an innovative carbon layer embedded within its frame layup. That layer is Countervail (CV), which both stiffens the structure, increasing efficiency, and damps road shocks and vibration.
For a bike aimed at the gnarly terrain of Paris-Roubaix this made obvious sense, but when you consider the iron-stiff nature of time trial bikes that are focussed completely on efficient power transfer and aerodynamics, with rider comfort coming a poor third, using CV here is a good solution too.
Since Bianchi hold the exclusive rights to the use of Countervail for cycling applications, there will be no proliferation of bikes with the material from other brands.
The important front end integrates the stem, front brake all cables and the frame and fork in to a seamless, aerodynamic whole: the important front end integrates the stem, front brake all cables and the frame and fork in to a seamless, aerodynamic whole - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The integrated cockpit improves aerodynamics, while the CV technology improves the ride
The Aquila itself replaces the Pico time trial frame with one that has been designed for total integration of the bar, stem, brakes and cabling. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software matched with wind tunnel testing using Belkin team riders helped complete the drag-cheating design.
The result is a high-modulus monocoque carbon frame incorporating a CV layer, and using NACA UCI-compliant 3:1 tube profiles. The geometry offers a steep 76.5-degree seat tube and slack 72 degree head tube for TT-specific positioning and stability, plus the rear dropouts are adjustable fore and aft to position the rear wheel as close to the frame as possible.
All cable routing, whether mechanical or electronic, is internal, and a clever removable carbon cover completely shields the front V-brake and cable from the wind, blending seamlessly in to the fork legs and head tube. The rear brake is located beneath the chain stays, behind the PF86.5 bottom bracket, helping the bike’s clean look.
The dropped down tube features a rubber bumper at the top to protect the frame and fork from each other in a crash, and the leading edge is scalloped to follow the radius of the front wheel: the dropped down tube features a rubber bumper at the top to protect the frame and fork from each other in a crash, and the leading edge is scalloped to follow the radius of the front wheel - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Note the rubber bumper on the down tube behind the fork and the scalloped trailing profile
The one-piece carbon handlebar and stem is offered in 90, 110 or 130mm lengths. It has a slim frontal profile with a NACA airfoil shape that was designed by Bianchi and manufactured by Vision, and the stem blends perfectly in to the flat top tube. The Vision tri bar extensions bolt through the bar and are adjustable in height.
Seating is taken care of with a two-position alloy clamp atop the carbon seatpost, for time trial or triathlon setups, utilising a +/- 18mm setback. Seatpost lengths are 300mm for the two smaller sizes and 350mm for the larger options.
Four sizes are offered, XS-S-M-L, equating to 46, 55, 58 and 61cm bikes. The Aquila CV will also be available as a frameset, with a claimed weight of 1.3kg, or with Shimano Ultegra mechanical and a Fulcrum Racing Quattro wheelset, or Shimano Di2 electronic with Fulcrum Red Wind XLR 80mm wheels. Prices have yet to be announced, and availability is likely to be several months away.
Robin Wilmott is a freelance writer and bike tester. He began road cycling in 1988 and, with mountain bikes in their infancy, mixed experimental off-road adventures with club time trials and road races. Cyclocross soon became a winter staple and has remained Robin's favourite form of competition. Robin has always loved the technical aspect of building and maintaining bikes, and several years working in a bike shop only amplified that. Robin was a technical writer for BikeRadar for nearly a decade, and has tested hundreds of bikes and products for the site. He has also written extensively for Cycling Plus, Velonews and Cyclingnews.
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