Underpinned by their long and illustrious Italian heritage, Wilier continue to cement their presence on the premium brand stage both in the UK and abroad.
The company have become a more familiar presence in the pro ranks as well as the enthusiast pelotons, and with the Lavaredo, Wilier hope to increase that presence by offering classic Italian flair at a price point just below the psychologically important £1,000 mark.
Ride & handling: Fares well in competitive environments; not averse to rough handling
Anyone remember Sammo from Martial Law, the slightly portly kung-fu detective, always up for a tussle? This bike moves well!
Despite extra weight added by the component choice, this really is a race bike in disguise, ideally suited for afterwork speed sessions like chaingang rides or evening club crit series.
Tackling the local hills and sharp rises surrounding the provincial city outskirts used as a test area, we couldn’t help but be surprised by its willingness to climb.
With an overall weight of nearly 20lb (9.04kg/19.92lb to be precise), it’s still respectable by current standards, while the extra muscle adds a measure of confidence when screaming down car-impaired country rat runs.
If you want a good, solid bike with a fair dose of pizzazz and a flashy paint job, the Wilier’s just the ticket. Like big American cars, it’s flashy, fun and strong – but it comes with an Italian passport.
Chassis: Built tough and workmanlike, with enough distinctive touches to sustain interest
Made of clean welded Ultralight Triple Butted Tubing, or U3BT, this all-aluminium frame manages to please with a decent weight (1488g/3.28lb) and close attention to detail.
From the chunky, well designed cable guides and the relieved dropouts nicely blended into the stays, to the reinforced English-threaded bottom bracket shell and correctly slotted and effective seatpost clamp, the level of care is the same as that lavished across the rest of Wilier’s range.
A classic Italian-style carbon-bladed fork with a standard 1 1/8in alloy steerer and a beautiful curve blesses the front and keeps it comfortable.
As with all things Italian, an eye-catching paint scheme is de rigueur. A vaguely heraldic logo and graphic scheme based around hot red and ivory catches the attention with lively effect, besides adding a measure of hi-vis safety in traffic.
As a Cycle to Work scheme candidate, the Lavaredo would be great for combining commuting and workouts, but you’d be hard pressed to fit a set of mudguards or rack, with virtually non-existent tyre clearances and no eyelets.
Equipment: A real grab-bag of classic mid-level Italian componentry, including tough wheels
The Lavaredo is adorned with a portly mix of ITM Millennium contact points and Campagnolo and Miche running gear. Standard re-tweaked Veloce dual pivot lever arms measure 73mm, which is about 3mm longer than other brands.
“Give me somewhere to stand, and I will move the earth…” Archimedes would have approved of these. They’re exceptionally good: simple, cheap and very powerful.
The Mirage QS rubber hoods interfered with the shift returns a bit but otherwise the rapid-fire configuration is excellent. Coupled with a medium length cage rear derailleur and Miche 12-26 steel cassette, shifting was good enough, with only the occasional miss.
A 31.6mm diameter Ritchey seatpost is well made but so rigid that negotiating a deal for a bit of flex was out of the question. Fortunately, the Q-bik saddle has a substantial amount of padding.
Hot red Miche wheels were packed with features, despite their brutish appearance and heavyweight ranking. Genuine Sapim bladed (aero) spokes, forged alloy hubs with sealed cartridges, and original looking machined semi-aero rims equate with good quality.
The bargain basement CST General Style tyres were the only fly in the ointment of an otherwise happy arrangement.