Amidst a sea of brand new Unbound bikes, this mystery Wilier has got our pulses racing more than most
What is this stealthed-out, aggressive-looking Wilier gravel model?
The new and exciting gravel bikes and tech are coming thick and fast at Unbound Gravel this week. Cyclingnews Associate Editor Josh Croxton is our Unbound man on the ground. He is on the tech hunt, so we can bring you all the interesting bike news from the event.
Check out our gravel week hub to stay on top of all the latest tech news and new bike spots so far, which include what appears to be a new wireless Campagnolo gravel groupset and an unknown Factor gravel bike with a suspension fork, amongst others.
Next up is a stealthy matte black Wilier Triestina gravel bike belonging to Dutch rider and Wilier Factory Racing athlete Ivar Slik, which we don't recognise. This could well be a brand new model from the Italian brand. Wilier currently has a six-model strong gravel bike range. The current top model is the Rave SLR; this stealth bomber looks like a new, aggressive and aero-influenced model from Wilier. At this point, we don't know if it's a new iteration of the Rave or a brand new model, but whatever it is we like the look of it.
The key differences look to be the aggressive, aero profiles in several sections of the frame. Starting at the front, the fork blades are deeper than the current Rave. This theme continues, and there's a lot of change compared to what the brand currently offers. The headtube is far deeper and more aggressive looking, the downtube is a different shape, the top tube looks to be slimmer, and there's a different design at the top tube/seat tube join around the seatpost clamp.
We snapped the bike at the Unbound expo, and can only really say what we see right now, but there are a lot of interesting details to look at, including some prototype Miche wheels. This one also reminds us of the matte black, stealthed-out bikes that were very popular a few years back. Let's hope the infamous Unbound mud treats the finish kindly!
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Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
- Josh CroxtonAssociate Editor (Tech)
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