Bianchi has launched the latest version of its aero Oltre range: the XR3.
The XR3 sits beneath the XR4 (review on next page) in the Oltre pecking order, but with a number of filter-down technologies from its senior.
Bianchi's patented Countervail technology for example, which aims to reduce muscle fatigue and increase control of the bike by reducing the amount of vibrations that the frame conducts. It does this with a carbon composite system unique to Bianchi, which it claims reduces vibrations by up to 80%.
'Traditional passive damping in frames using superficial rubber inserts and isolators are marginally effective compared to the integrated carbon Countervail® system developed by Bianchi,' the brand says. Apparently Countervail is even 'proven in the extreme conditions of NASA aerospace operations.'
Frame specs
- Carbon Monocoque technology
- High strength + medium modulus carbon fibers with Countervail material
- Unidirectional carbon woven
- Aero shape and design
- BB set Press fit 86.5 x 41
- Internal cable routing
- Full carbon dropout with metal insert
- Weight in 55 size: 1110g (+/- 5%)
Build Specs
SHIMANO DURA ACE 11sp Compact 50/34, Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG wheels
CAMPAGNOLO CHORUS 11sp Compact 52/36, Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG wheels
SHIMANO ULTEGRA Di2 11sp Compact 52/36, Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG wheels
SHIMANO ULTEGRA 11sp Compact 52/36 Fulcrum Racing 7 LG wheels
CAMPAGNOLO POTENZA 11sp Compact 52/36, Fulcrum Racing 7 LG wheels
SHIMANO 105 11sp Compact 52/36, Fulcrum Racing Sport wheels
Click through to page two for a full review of the Bianchi XR4
‘You have to look at the whole bike,’ Angelo Lecchi, Bianchi’s road product manager, tells me. ‘Anyone can build the stiffest bike, or the lightest bike, or the most aerodynamic bike, but it’s how it all works together that really matters.’
I bear that in mind as I swing a leg over a shiny new Bianchi Oltre XR4, resplendent in the company’s celeste colour. It’s the press launch in Colombaro, on the shores of Lago d’Iseo, about an hour outside Milan, and Bianchi has promised the assembled journalists a short, fast ride to get a feel for the Oltre XR4’s racy nature.
Everyone is decked from head to toe in Bianchi-branded aero kit, including a smooth-shelled lid and Lycra shoe covers. They’re not taking any chances that the ride won’t feel as quick as possible.
Perhaps the biggest change to the Oltre XR4, compared to the XR2 (there is no XR3), is the addition of Countervail to the carbon layup. This viscoelastic material is embedded in all parts of the frame and fork and promises to reduce road buzz by anything up to 80%, so I do my best to gauge just how smooth the ride is as we slip along the roads of northern Italy, past fields and pretty villages.
I have to say it’s pretty smooth – especially for an ultra-stiff aero race machine – but it’s impossible to say whether this is as a result of the Countervail. In this part of the world the roads are impeccably tarmacked, and I’m spinning along on a pair of 25c Vittoria Open Corsa tyres, so I could be riding a frame made from scaffolding poles and it would still be pretty smooth.
One of the big advantages of Countervail, according to Bianchi, is that it allows the rider to maintain a fast, aero position for longer, thanks to it being so comfortable, and therefore you can maintain a quicker average speed. On our short 45km jaunt, I don’t get long enough to test the truth of this, but it certainly feels like a forgiving ride. I wouldn’t have any qualms about setting off for a long day on the Oltre XR4, and that’s not something I could say about all aero race bikes.
With a bunch of journalists from different countries in attendance, it isn’t long before the speed ramps up, and everyone starts testing the legs of the others. One minute I’m having a chat to a rider by my side, the next I’m out of the saddle chasing down a group that has nipped off the front. When I do stamp on the pedals, the Oltre responds with pleasing immediacy. If there is any flex in that vast bottom bracket, I certainly can’t detect it, and the bike springs into action like an eager puppy.
Once up to speed, it holds it well. After a sprint to catch the group, I knock off the power and am surprised by how quickly the bike continues to skip down the road without any input from me. Those aero bars and tubes (and everything else, including me) are obviously doing their job of preventing as much drag as possible. I can’t confirm whether Bianchi’s claim of an extra free 20 watts holds any water, but it’s certainly a bike that will get you where you’re going faster than you are possibly used to.
Comfort and speed aside, the one area where the Oltre XR4 really impresses is in the handling. More than any other bike I’ve ridden recently I feel completely in control taking fast corners, and never have to worry about any jitteriness. It makes me want to chuck it into bends with abandon, and if it wasn’t for the fear of meeting an Italian truck driver coming the other way, I probably would.
Bianchi makes no claims that this is a do-it-all bike (which is often the assertion when brands launch new bikes). The Oltre XR4 is a race bike, used by the LottoNL-Jumbo team, and meant for smashing stages at the top speed possible. But that shouldn’t prevent it from being on the list if you’re not an out-and-out racer. It’s fast, yet comfortable enough for long rides. Most of all, it has excellent control, which is not something you can measure in grams or Newton-metres, but is perhaps a better criterion for how much fun a bike is to ride.
First look review
If you’ve been watching the Tour de France, you’ve already seen this bike being ridden by the LottoNL-Jumbo pro team, but now Bianchi has officially launched the latest version of its race-oriented Oltre, the XR4.
Stiffness and aerodynamics were always the qualities at the top of the Oltre’s hit list, and Bianchi claims the new XR4 is both stiffer and more aero than the previous XR2 (no word about what happened to the XR3). But the company also says that it is more comfortable, with better handling too.
More of everything
At a glance, the new bike looks beefier than its predecessor, with thicker, deeper tubes and an aggressive profile. If Bianchi’s other race bike, the Specialissima, is like a greyhound – skinny elegance – the Oltre XR4 is more like a Doberman Pinscher – muscular and powerful. It’s an alphadog of a bike, designed to punch a hole in the air.
Perhaps the most striking feature is the head tube, which is so vast it looks like it could double as a wine cooler. Where before the headset sat atop the head tube, now it is integrated inside it, creating a smoother junction. For those who can’t ride with the stem slammed, neat aerodynamic spacers can be placed over thenheadset to maintain the aerodynamics. The Oltre XR4 comes with a Vision Metron 5D bar/stem combo that adds yet more wind-cheating potential, although it can still be run with a standard stem.
The top of the fork is equally integrated into the head tube to keep the air sliding smoothly around the front of the bike, and the fork itself is significantly deeper than before, with a slight curve down to the dropouts instead of the straight line found on the XR2. The new fork has been adopted almost wholesale from Bianchi’s Aquila time-trial bike.
The down tube has been beefed up as well, keeping the rounded triangle shape of the previous model but with bigger dimensions. The seat tube is shaped to follow the line of the rear wheel, eliminating as much gap as possible where turbulence can create drag, and the seat clamp has been switched to an internal bung on the top tube, again helping to smooth out the lines of the frame.
At the rear, the seatstays join the seat tube a little further down than previously, making for a smaller rear triangle that adds stiffness for improved handling and also creates space for the expander bolt at the seat clamp. Meanwhile, the chainstays are deeper and stiffer than before and run almost horizontally backwards from the bottom bracket to allow for internal cabling.
Direct mount brakes help to keep the callipers tucked into the frame for yet more aero gains as well as slightly more powerful braking, and it’s nice to see that Bianchi hasn’t opted to place the rear calliper behind the bottom bracket, where it can sometimes rub the wheel rim under heavy pedalling efforts.
The bottom bracket itself is even bigger than before, adding extra stiffness in a vital area, although Bianchi won’t say how much stiffer the XR4 is compared to the XR2 – only that it’s stiffer.
The buzz
The biggest change to the Oltre, according to Bianchi, is the introduction of its Countervail technology. This is a viscoelastic carbon material, used throughout the frame and fork, that it developed alongside aerospace company MSC, and which it claims reduces road vibrations by up to 80% compared to standard carbon. This ‘Vibration Cancelling Technology’ was first introduced to the Bianchi Infinito in 2012 with the aim of making its ‘cobbles’ bike cope better with rough roads. It has since been added to several models in the Bianchi range, with the Oltre being the latest to get it.
It might seem unnecessary to add dampening to an aero bike designed for flat-out speed, but Bianchi claims the decrease in road buzz helps to lessen fatigue and allows the rider to maintain a crouched, aerodynamic position for longer. It also helps with what Bianchi calls ‘control’, meaning the bike should be less jittery on descents and more stable through corners.
Like many bikes these days, the new frame shape was developed with CFD and tested in a wind-tunnel, but Bianchi is very proud of a new aerodynamic testing technology that it has borrowed from Formula 1, called ‘Flow Visualisation’. This is where special fluorescent paint is ‘flowed’ over the frame in a wind-tunnel at race speed and the patterns and intensity created by the paint on the frame reveal the areas that require extra attention – it certainly makes for a funky paintjob.
As a result of all these changes, Bianchi claims the new Oltre XR4 offers 20 watts of extra power. That’s a big claim, and when we questioned Angelo Lecchi, road product manager, he said, ‘It’s an average wattage, based on different speeds, sometimes with a rider, sometimes without. When you get up to 55kmh, it can actually be more than 20 watts saved.’
At 980g for a size 55 frame, the new Oltre is about 40g heavier than the previous iteration (the fork is about the same at 370g), but as Lecchi points out, ‘That is very little indeed, considering we have made all the tubes much bigger.’
The bits
The new Oltre XR4 will come in five colour options, with the company’s classic celeste to the fore. Spec will be top of the range, of course, with options for Campagnolo Super Record, Record, Chorus and – once it’s available – the new Shimano Dura-Ace. Wheel options include Fulcrum Racing Zeros and Zipp 404 Firecrest.
How does it ride? We’ll be able to let you know once we’ve given it a test on the roads around Milan tomorrow.
£TBC