New Bianchi Specialissima officially launches

The latest offering from Milan based manufacturer Bianchi hasn’t been the best kept secret in the world. Being the eagle eyed bunch of well connected journalists that we are, we spotted it at the Vuelta a España and managed to get some even more detail shots that feature in our Vuelta tech gallery. While we’ve been able to speculate about it, we didn’t know if it was a replacement for the current lightweight option, the Specialissima, or a new model to the range entirely. 

Now we can actually say with confidence that this is the new Specialissima, and as we suspected it’s following the trend of the new Tarmac SL8, the new SuperSix Evo, the Canyon Ultimate, the Ridley Falcn and many more besides in its aim to be an all-round race bike rather than simply a climbing machine.

The headline figures are, as is customary, a reduction in weight and an increase in aerodynamic efficiency against the outgoing model, closing the gap between the all-round options and the all-out-aero Oltre RC. There are a number of claims to dive into both for aero and for weight, so we will deal with each of them separately. 

UCI illegal weight for top spec RC model

The figure that jumps out from the press kit is a UCI non-compliant 6.6kg total weight for a complete bike in a size 55cm. The waters are slightly muddied by the fact that the figures are "accurate to +/- 5%," meaning the weight could be anywhere from a truly bonkers 6.27kg to a very much legal 6.93kg. 

As we’ve seen especially with the new Tarmac, this low weight has been achieved by concentrating the weight savings at the rear of the bike, where aero gains are smallest. In practice it means pencil-thin seatstays and similarly slimmed down chainstays. Even mostly unseen areas of the bike have been on a diet, with machined out sections featuring on the derailleur hanger and the internal seatpost wedge. In a mirroring of Milanese neighbours Colnago and its V4RS, a minimal paint scheme, mostly comprising raw carbon, saves 40g for the top-tier Reparto Corse model. 

In a similar fashion to the new Factor O2 VAM, the new Specialisma comes with in-house Reparto Corse 33mm wheels, which tip the scales at 1380g the pair, also with a 5% margin of error. They are tubeless, with a 21/28mm internal/external width, and are capable of running up to 32mm tyres. There’s no clarity as to whether this is the clearance of the frame and forks too, but for now that’s the assumption we’re making. A 145g saddle (this weight they are sure of) tops a proprietary seatpost and features a carbon hull and ‘Gravitech’ padding, covered with microfibre. No details are forthcoming yet about the specifics of Gravitech, but at least it sounds light. 

Aero gains up front

Leading edges are where aero gains are most easy won, so it’s no surprise to see deeper tube profiles at the front of the bike. A single piece cockpit differs from what we’ve seen in use at the Vuelta under Kévin Vauquelin, but that is likely due to sponsor commitments. The bar-stem comes in 38-44cm widths and 90-130mm lengths, offers a 2-degree flare and tips the scales at 330g for a 38x110 option. 

The fork-headtube-headset area has been heavily sculpted to integrate one with another in airflow terms, and interestingly the whole headtube sits fore of the fork slightly, guiding the air downwards under the downtube in what Bianchi terms an ‘aero sled’ feature. As is customary with any bike claiming to cheat the wind, the seat tube is also slightly sculpted to mesh with the rear wheel. 

The reduction in both weight and drag mean that Bianchi claims the new Specialissma is faster than the Oltre on gradients as shallow as 6.2% for pro riders (at 6 W/Kg), where the previous version was optimal only when the ramps hit 8.8%. For slower riders this tipping point is even shallower, meaning for us mere mortals ticking along at 250 watts the new Specialissma is the faster option at gradients as shallow as 4%. If you’re strong enough to hit 30km/h on a 6% gradient you’ll be saving 3.6 watts. Bianchi does state some time gains for certain wattages, but it doesn’t state over what distance so they aren’t hugely useful.

Models and pricing

The new Specialissma will be available in three guises. First, the top-spec RC (Reparto Corse) gets all the bells and whistles as mentioned above, only comes in a matte black-celeste fade, and features either Dura-Ace or SRAM Red, along with Pirelli P Zero Race TT tyres. The RC will also be available as a frameset only option, for those who want to build up a custom spec.

Below the RC sits the Specialissma Pro, available in a Lilac-White/Black fade with SRAM Force, or a Celeste to Black fade with Shimano Ultegra Di2, and Pirelli P-Zero Race tyres mated to Velomann Palladium 33mm deep wheels, and also available as a frameset but only in the celeste-black fade colourway.

Finally the base level Specialissma Comp is available in an all celeste colour with Ultagra or 105 Di2, or in silver with SRAM Rival, with each featuring Pirelli P-Zero Road tyres mated to Velomann Al 6061 rims. The Comp frameset isn’t available as a standalone item. 

At the time of writing pricing is not yet available, though the Specialissma will be available in ‘late September’ in sizes 47-59. 

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