The sixth addition to the Cento family, the Cento10 takes its design cues from angular Naca and Kamm tube profiling and low slung seat stays found on its predecessor, the Cento1 Air, but this is more than just a lick of paint and some new bars.
The frame has undergone a total reworking, the most obvious elements being the widened seat stays and fork, something Wilier claims helps make the Cento10 8% faster than the Cento1 Air. The idea is the extra-wide areas allow air to flow more easily between the wheels and frame, preventing areas of high-pressure that cause drag. Whatever the theory, in practice that means Wilier has had to opt for direct mount brakes to fit this extra width while maintaining tyre clearances. These not only look clean, but also have a tendency to perform just that little bit better than traditional callipers.
The seat stays have also been lowered, as far as UCI regulations permit (lest bikes start looking like the banned Y-frame designs of yesteryear from Lotus, Trek and Zipp). Again this aids speed, the less material facing the wind the better.
Side on the bike therefore cuts a similar silhouette to the 1 Air, except for one thing: the bars. Wilier has dubbed these the ‘Alabarda’ handlebars, and true to current industry form they are an integrated stem/bar combo with a narrow frontal area but, when viewed from above, are a wide T-shape. The ergonomics of the tops therefore won’t suit everybody, but the compact, shallow drops should be a hit with most.
There can’t be any complaints at the neatness of the cabling and hidden junction box that the Alabarda affords though; side or front there’s barely a cable or black box to be scene. Neither is there an inline cable adjuster for the front mech, as Wilier has tucked this away into a natty little integrated box in the down tube that’s as neat as it is clever.
All in, then, a very promising looking package, especially in the new livery, which unlike Wiliers past is mercifully free of acronyms declaring how integrated the fork is or how carbony the carbon is. Not that I’m retrospectively complaining.
On the up
I rode the Cento1 Air some time ago, and while I can’t remember the specifics, I do remember coming away thinking it was one stiff bike - rigid in pretty much all directions. So first thing out on the road I was struck by how forgiving the Cento10 felt.
Wilier has partnered with Ritchey in creating the seatpost, which has a flattened back to aid flex, and I’ve no doubt this must be a key factor. Yet I can’t help thinking placing the seatstays so low down has the added advantage of having more seat tube on show to flex too. Either way, the Cento10 immediately impressed with a comfortable ride, a feeling which didn’t let up. In fact it continued and morphed into something rather interesting.
Normally you can feel an aero bike up a climb but with the Cento10 there was no such problem
I was lucky enough to trial the Cento10 on some rather steep terrain in the Dolomites, where 45km costs you 1,600m of ascent, and it was only after arriving at the crest of a particularly vertical climb that I realised just what had happened – I’d forgotten I was riding an areo bike. Normally you can feel an aero bike up a climb, a bit of extra weight here, some slight flex in a thin frame there, but with the Cento10 there were no such things to report. That’s not to say it rode like a mountain goat (if anyone has actually ridden a mountain goat, do write in), but it felt entirely normal. It felt like a road bike, plain and simple.
Going back down the climb only exacerbated that feeling. The bike’s turn in through tight hairpins was sharp and accurate, its ability to hold long, low down arcs through fast turns highly dependable. Once again I was struck by just how much the Cento10 handled like a traditional road bike – it felt unfussy, composed and, above all else, very well balanced. Little flicks of hips took the bike merrily through corners, yet big wrenches on the bars or kicks with the pedals elicited the speed and power you’d expect without any flexing between the front and back of the frame.
If there’s one area I’ll have to reserve judgement on, it’s speed. The Dolomites were far too mountainous to discern the flat-road performance of the Cento10. I’d guess at it being pretty quick given my previous experience of the Cento1, and how much this bike shares in that DNA, but for a full report we’ll have to wait until Wilier can ship one over for long term testing.
