Marino Basso is responsible for the sound of the name, his brother Alcide for the quality. The now 70-year-old former professional celebrated great success between 1966 and 1977. Basso won a total of 25 stages in the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España and was world champion on the road in 1972. After his career ended, he founded the Cicli Basso brand in 1981 together with his brother Alcide, who had learnt the trade of frame building, with its own production facility in Dueville, in the province of Vicenza in the Veneto.
Precision craftsmanship, coupled with a love of special details and good workmanship still characterise Basso bikes today. Even when the carbon wave swept into Italy at the turn of the millennium and other traditional brands such as Colnago and Pinarello outsourced their carbon frame production to the Far East, the Bassos remained true to their Italian headquarters and stuck to the "Made in Italy" concept. The Diamante model was early proof that Basso knew how to handle the modern material.
The new Astra, priced at just under 5,000 euros, also follows this tradition. It ranks second in the Basso range behind the Diamante. With complete Ultegra equipment, Microtech M150 full carbon wheels and a seat post, stem and handlebar from Basso's own range, it is a solid choice.
Harmonious joining
However, the frameset is not entirely Italian. Although the monocoque frame is made by Compositex in Vicenza, the fork is manufactured in Asia according to Basso's specifications. As a set, the two parts fit together very harmoniously, which can be seen, for example, in the small lip at the rear of the fork crown, which nestles perfectly against the head tube and down tube of the frame. With the high-contrast yellow-grey paintwork, the Italians visually emphasise the alternating tube cross-sections. The view of the top tube from the rider's perspective suggests a round tube. Only a sideways glance reveals the flattened profile at the bottom, which is similarly found on the down tube, seat and chain stays and, together with the transverse oval stem, emphasises the frame's unique design.
Thanks to its short wheelbase and caster, the Astra is very agile and cornering-friendly on the road. And fast descents are a pleasure thanks to the high riding stability and the brakes, which are also easy to modulate and apply on the carbon rims. This is not least due to the handlebars, from which you can easily reach the brake levers even from the lower handlebar position. In practice, hardly anyone will notice that the bottom bracket is not extremely stiff. Even amateur sprinters with a lot of power in their legs can hardly bend the Astra. The road bike only has to accept criticism in terms of comfort. Road bumps find their way unfiltered into the rider's hands and bum. Nevertheless, the 25 millimetre wide tyres, deliberately ridden with slightly less air pressure, can reduce the harshness a little.
Complete wheel 4,990 Euro | Weight 7.4 kilos
Frame set 2,690 Euro
Reference/Info www.bassobikes.com
Weight frame/fork/steering bearing** 1,119/412/79 grammes
Frame sizes*** 48, 51, 53, 56, 58, 61 cm
Seat/steering angle 73,5/73,5°
Seat/upper head tube 541/560/171 mm plus 6 mm headset cap
Wheelbase/caster 985/52 mm
Stack/Reach/STR**** 583/388 mm/1.5
EQUIPMENT
Fork Basso
Steering bearing Basso
Brakes Shimano Ultegra
Circuit Shimano Ultegra
Bottom bracket Shimano Press-Fit
Wheels/tyres Microtech M150/Michelin Pro 4 25c
Handlebar/stem Basso/Basso
Saddle/post Selle San Marco Mantra Carbon FX/Basso 31.6 mm
*The frame set accounts for 40 per cent and the equipment for 60 per cent of the overall grade. The grades are calculated with all decimal places up to the final grade; however, for the sake of clarity, all grades are given with rounded decimal places.
**Weighed weights.
***Manufacturer's specification, test size bold.
****Stack/Reach projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube; STR (Stack to Reach) 1.36 means a very stretched, 1.60 an upright riding position.
