![]() ![]() Parent company Giant handles its own manufacturing rather than outsourcing it to a factory, and that allows it to outfit the Langma with high-end parts, including SLR1 carbon wheels and a full Ultegra group set, at a surprisingly low price. That’s one of the things we love about Wilier, and something that sets the company apart: its bikes look as fast as they ride, with perfectly selected components (including Ultegra Di2) and color-matched bits and pieces.īuy Now (Courtesy Liv) Liv Langma Advanced Pro 1 Disc ($3,315)Įven our male testers lusted after this women’s race bike, which pairs a lightweight carbon frame with Ultegra disc brakes and a candy-apple red finish. Internal cable routing helps with aerodynamics, though we liked it just as much for the clean aesthetic. At 17.1 pounds, it’s light but not feathery, though it turns over more quickly than expected when you’re climbing out of the saddle, and it never felt like a drag, even on long ascents. On flats and rollers, this bike dropped the competition faster than Usain Bolt in a warm-up heat. It marries wind-cheating Kammtail tubes with disc brakes and 28c tires-features that were once thought to be paradoxical but now, through simulated wind-tunnel trials, have proven to be quicker. No bike better typifies today’s road design than the Cento10Air Disc. ![]() Sure, there are fleeter bikes for going uphill and more slippery ones in wind, but none performed as well across every category, especially when you factor in the price.īuy Now (Courtesy Wilier) Wilier Triestina Cento10Air Disc ($11,270) Ours wasn’t the same full-bling model, but with a complete Shimano Ultegra group set (with reliable hydraulic disc brakes) and quick DT Swiss PR 1600 Spline wheels, it weighs just 16.6 pounds. Nairo Quintana and Movistar Team have been winning World Tour events aboard the Ultimate for years. The bikes aren’t cheap knockoffs, either. The 20-year-old German manufacturer, which arrived in the United States late last year, skips the retail middleman and allows customers to buy online for prices up to 45 percent less than the competition. We love the Canyon Ultimate CF SL Disc 8.0 not only for its neat road manners and impeccable build, but also for the value it represents. Best of all, after years of price hikes, costs are finally stabilizing as value increases, with technologies such as carbon wheels and electric shifters going for half of what they did a decade ago. Disc brakes have made rim models nearly obsolete. Geometries are becoming slacker and taller as manufacturers craft bikes to fit average riders, not just racers. The all-road craze, with frames that have clearance for fatter tires, has influenced almost every pavement machine: Larger 28c has replaced 23c as the norm. Improvements in road bikes can seem incremental, but most of the 2018 models are profoundly different from what was on the market just five years ago. (Courtesy Canyon) Canyon Ultimate CF SL Disc 8.0 ($2,800 as tested) A drop in price, but you still drop the pack. ![]()
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