Cycling Plus put the sub £1000 Wilier Lavaredo on test against much more expensive competition and reckon the bike will corner the market for commuters who want a ride to work bike that’s really a racer! On the cover is a photo of an Imperiale and they review that superb steed next month. Read the full Lavaredo 
review here or buy December’s magazine.
Underpinned by its long and illustrious Italian heritage, Wilier continues to cement its presence on the premium brand stage both in the UK and abroad. The company has become a more familiar presence in the pro ranks as well as the enthusiast peletons and with the Lavaredo Wilier hopes to increase that presence by offering classic Italian flair at a price point just below the psychologically important £1000 mark.
Made of clean welded, ultra light, triple butted tubing, or U3BT, this all-aluminium frame manages to please with a decent weight (1488g/3.28lbs) and close attention to detail. From the chunky, well designed cable guides and the relieved drop outs nicely blended into the stays, to the reinforced English-threaded bottom bracket shell and correctly slotted and effective seatpost clamp, the level of care is the same as that lavished across the rest of Wilier’s range.
A classic Italian style carbon bladed fork with a standard 1/1/8in alloy steerer and a beautiful curve blesses the front and keeps it comfortable.
As with all things Italian, an eye-catching paint scheme was de rigueur. A vaguely heraldic logo and graphic scheme based around hot red and ivory catches the attention with lively effect, besides adding a measure of hi-vis safety in traffic.
As a Cycle to Work scheme candidate, the Lavaredo would be great for combining commuting and workouts but you’d be hard pressed to fit as set of mud guards or rack with virtually non-existent tyre clearances and no eyelets.
The Lavaredo is adorned with a portly mix of ITM Millennium contact points and Campag and Miche running gear. Standard re-tweaked Veloce dual pivot lever arms measure 73mm, which is about 3mm longer than other brands. “Give me somewhere to stand and I will move the earth…”
Archimedes would have approved of these. They’re exceptionally good: simple, cheap and very powerful. The Mirage Qs rubber hoods interfered with the shift returns a bit but otherwise the rapid-fire configuration is excellent. Coupled with a medium length cage rear derailleur and Miche 12-26 steel cassette, shifting was good enough, with only the occasional miss.
At 31.6mm diameter Ritchey seatpost is well made but so rigid that negotiating a deal for a bit of flex was out of the question. Fortunately the Q-bik saddle has a substantial amount of padding.
Hot red Miche wheels were packed with features, despite their brutish appearance and heavyweight ranking. Genuine Sapim bladed (aero) spokes, forged alloy hubs with sealed cartridges and original looking machined semi-aero rims equate with good quality. The bargain-basement CST General Style tyres were the only fly in the ointment of an otherwise happy arrangement.
Anyone remember Sammo, the slightly portly Kung Fu detective, always up for a tussle? This bike moves well! Despite extra weight added by the component choice, this really is a race bike in disguise, ideally suited for after work speed sessions like chain gang rides or evening club crit series. Tackling the local hills and sharp rises surrounding the provincial city outskirts used as a test area, we couldn’t help but be surprised by its willingness to climb. With an overall weight of nearly 20lb (9.04kg/19.92lb to be precise) it’s still respectable by current standards, while the extra muscle adds a measure of confidence when screaming down car-impaired country rat runs.
If you want a good, solid bike with a fair dose of pizzazz and a flashy paint job, the Wilier’s just the ticket. Like big American cars, it’s flashy fun and strong but comes with an Italian passport.
Verdict
Named rather optimistically after a series of peaks in the Dolomites, the Wilier Lavaredo nevertheless manages to inspire. Given the cost-saving spec, it performed, rode and climbed a lot better than its weight belied. A robust bike, ideal for more demanding, powerful riders in search of a classy brand, it will take a licking and keep on ticking!