Wilier Triestina is known for its super-lightweight racing bikes. The northern Italian company from near Venice also knows how to apply lightweight construction to mountain bikes. This is demonstrated by the new race marathon flagship: the Wilier Urta SLR.
Just once 1730 grammes is what the frame without shock in size M should weigh. Nevertheless, it should be extremely stiff. There is also space for two bottle cages in the frame triangle. Practical when long stages are on the programme. The generous silicone chainstay protector is designed to keep you calm even on rough sections. A small chain guide also keeps the chain on course.
Wilier reaches for the top shelf when it comes to the chassis. Depending on your choice, the rear of the Urta SLR either features a Fox DPS Factory- or a Rockshox-SID-Luxe-Ultimate-damper. The deflection integrated in the upper frame triangle is not only intended to ensure progressive damping behaviour, but also to make the rear triangle as torsionally stiff as possible - and thus effectively convert every pedal stroke into propulsion. At the front, either a Rockshox SID Ultimate SL or a Fox 32 Stepcast Factory, each with 100 millimetres of travel, ensures comfort and traction. The suspension can be set to neutral at the touch of a button using the handlebar remote.
Inspired by the racing bike
The Monocoque handlebars Urta Bar is a real eye-catcher. The handlebars and stem are a single carbon component. This reduces the weight. The Italians adopted this concept from their racing bikes. The flat-mount brake mount is also taken from the racing bike. The brake calliper does not sit on the seat stay as with the usual post-mount mount, but on the chain stay. As the typical post-mount bridge is missing, the chainstays should have a balanced flex to the left and right.
Wilier wants to have optimised the geometry so that the 29er marathon race bike can be chased around the world's race tracks in a fast yet balanced manner. To achieve this, short chainstays and a 69 degree head angle were chosen. For the 1x12 drivetrain, you can choose from the Sram XX1, XX1 AXS and Shimano XT and XTR groupsets.
Accu-Fit is Wilier's solution for finding the optimum riding position. The term stands for the horizontal distance between the bottom bracket and the hand support point in the centre of the handlebars. Wilier uses this to optimise the monocoque handlebar, which is available in three stem lengths, in conjunction with the spacer height to suit the customer.
So much lightweight construction has its price. Depending on the equipment, the Wilier Urta SLR costs between 5400 Euro and 10,000 euros. Find out whether the Urta SLR delivers what it promises in the first detailed test in BIKE 6/21 - on sale from 4 May.
The facts about the Wilier Urta SLR at a glance:
- Frame weight without shock absorber: 1730 grammes (M)
- Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Spring travel: 100 millimetres
- Integrated carbon monocoque handlebars Urta Bar
- Space for two bottle holders
- Price: 5400 Euro until 10,000 euros (Frameset: 3200 Euro to 3600 Euro)
