Wilier is touting the brand new Zero SLR as the first ultra-light road racing bike with disc brakes and integrated shift and brake lines. In concrete terms, this means that the carbon frame in size M including the matt black paint weighs just 780 grams and the corresponding fork 330 grams. Depending on the equipment, complete bike weights well below the minimum weight of 6.8 kilos prescribed by the UCI for competition bikes are possible. That would be very light for a disc road bike.
With the Zero SLR, the family-run company from Rossano Veneto wants to reverse the trend of road bikes becoming ever more sophisticated in terms of function and design, but also ever heavier. Disc brakes, the increasing integration of add-on parts such as handlebars and seatposts and the integration of brake and gear systems into the frame are taking their toll on the scales. Currently, most professional-level disc road bikes weigh over seven kilos, some even over eight kilos. That was different ten years ago. Weights close to six kilos and below were not uncommon for top racing bikes back then. Some professionals even weighed their bikes down with additional weights in order to be allowed to compete in races.
When designing the frame, Wilier's engineers drew on their experience with the brand's previous lightweight models such as the Zero.7 and Zero.6. Thanks to particularly tensile carbon fibres called HUS-MOD, which Wilier claims to use exclusively, as well as a special resin, the frame of the Zero SLR should be lighter than that of the Zero.7 - with greater stiffness at the same time. The manufacturer promises a steering head stiffness of an incredible 120 Newton metres per degree for the M-frame.
However, the Zero SLR is not only characterised by an excellent weight/stiffness ratio. Aerodynamic Kammtail profiles on the fork, seat tube and seat post promise at least not a bad result in the wind tunnel. The bike is also ambitious in terms of functionality. The ultra-light integrated segment clamp is said to be even lighter than conventional seatpost clamps. So-called speed-release thru-axles enable particularly fast wheel changes. The speed release standard introduced by wheel specialist Mavic, which requires special wheel mounts on the frame and fork, is compatible with all wheels with 12 millimetre thru axles. The Speed Release thru axles are also comparatively light (85 grams per pair).
Alongside the Zero SLR, Wilier is introducing a new bike fitting system called Accu-Fit to customise the bike to the rider. The combination of six frame sizes (XS to XXL), five handlebar-stem units and seven spacers formally matched to the frame and stem, which allow the handlebar height to be varied, results in a total of 210 possible seating positions. The coordinates required for precise adjustment, which are naturally difficult to determine for bikes with handlebar-stem units, are recorded by trained specialist dealers.
The Zero SLR is available in red, blue and matt black. Prices start at € 7,700 for a build with the new SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset.
More info: www.wilier.com
