Wilier bikes are almost unheard of in Singapore. But few know that it has a history more than 100 years old, twice as long as Pinarello and five times as Cervelo. Passione Bike is bringing in Wiliers this month.
Wilier Triestina was founded in 1906 when Pietro Dal Molin, a trader from Bassano del Grappa, had the idea of building his own bicycles. His forge of "steel horses" began as a small workshop along the banks of the river Brenta, and was originally called Ciclomeccanica Dal Molin. As the demand for bicycles increased, it became more and more successful. He even supplied bicycles to the Italian army during WWI.
The name Wilier was a patriotic acronym. In Italian, the letter W is not used. W is usually used as an abbreviation for the word Viva! The acronym goes like so:
W Italia LIbera E Redenta, which means "Long Live Italy, Liberated and Redeemed." Triestina was meant as a tribute to the city of Trieste, which at the time was not yet regained by Italy after the war.
Modern era landmark victories and achievements include:
1985-Claudio Corti Wins Italian National Road Race Championship
1997-Marco Pantani Wins 2 Tour de France stages and places 3rd on GC
2000-Sergei Gonchar Wins TT World Championship
2004-Wilier Triestina Expands Factory
2004-Davide Rebellin Wins Historic Triple of Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallone, and Liege Bastogne Liege
2005-Giro d'Italia passes Wilier Triestina factory
2008-Ballan wins the World Championship
The top of the line Wilier bike is the Centro Uno, which means 101 in Italian. Designed in collaboration with Mitsubishi, taking advantage of their very highest grade of carbon fiber. This "46 Ton" carbon fiber can withstand 46 tons of force per square mm.
The asymmetric chainstays and integrated seatmast are two additional details designed to deliver stiffness. Pedaling forces put different loads on the driveside chainstay vs. the non-driveside chainstay. It also has an integrated seatmast as a true extension of the seat tube, but can be cut to accommodate a regular seat post.
The squared headtube mates the a squared fork crown, with the goal of providing outstanding steerability. Last but not least, the oversized BB and integrated rear triangle.
Bicycling Jun 2009 review:
The Wilier Centro Uno is an all-day racer that pairs perfect power transfer with sharp handling. One of two runners up in the Race Bike cateory, the other runner up being Cervelo S3. The top honor goes to Pinarello Prince, where every move feels amplified, somehow more intuitive. The S3 is superstiff for the pilot who cares less about elegance and more about just going fast.
More reviews.
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