A Phenomenal Engineering FeatCento. One hundred. One hundred years: that's how long the Wilier name has been associated with building bicycle racing frames. The Cento is the culmination of 100 years of the frame maker's craft.
Weighing in at a phenomenally scant 900 grams for a medium, the Cento is not only an engineering marvel, it is, in our humble opinion, the most beautiful bicycle frame ever produced. It's no wonder that this beautifully sculpted machine is Italian. In its veins runs the rich blood of a national history that includes the likes of Zagato, Pininfarina, and Bertone, the paradigm breaking designers of the world's most seductive pieces of functional art: Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Maseratis, and Ferraris.
The Cento is so beautiful, in fact, that when Campagnolo unveiled its redesigned 2007 Record group in 2006, they did so on a Wilier Cento. But the Cento's beauty is more than skin deep. It is also an incredible engineering accomplishment. One look at the unidirectional carbon on this bike and you'll get the impression you're viewing rich, fine chenille cloth and not carbon fiber. But this aesthetic pleasure has a practical application; namely, the high and intermediate modulus unidirectional fibers on this frame are painstakingly laid to provide variable tube wall thickness. This has the advantage of making the frame more resilient to stresses where it needs it most, and lightest where significant stresses are not applied. This process also allows for tubing which is size specific, meaning, smaller frames get a less stiff lay-up, larger frames get a more stiff lay-up.
So it's light, big deal. There are a lot of light bikes out there, right? And many of those have less than stellar reputations for durability and even rideability. Not so the Cento. Unlike a flurry of other supposedly sub 1 Kg frames to hit the market, the Cento was race proven during the 2006 UCI season, well before it was ever released to the general public. Riders as diverse in stature as Damiano Cunego and Laurent Gane had their personal versions of the Cento and Cento Crono (TT frame). The Cento was thoroughly put to the test in the 2006 Tour de France, an event which saw Damiano Cunego--winner of the 2004 Giro d'Italia--taking home the white jersey. In short, Wilier did their best to brutalize and race prove this bike before releasing it to its discriminating clientele.
The result? In a word: fantastico! Cadence was fortunate enough to receive one of the two very first Centos to arrive in the United States. We quickly built up our size large with a Record group, ITM bars and stem, and Zipp 303 tubulars. The first ride was 3.5 hours through southeastern Pennsylvania's horse rearing country: Chester County. Even our most jaded afficianados had to admit that the Cento was a remarkably stable, lively, and snappy frame. All agreed that the Cento is supreme for steep climbs, needle threading finish line sprints, and break-away attacks. For those with the courage to drop down twisting mountain passes at 50+ MPH, you couldn't do better than find yourself perched atop the Cento. It carves a line more like giant slalom skis at high speed, and the harder you push it the more it begs to be pushed.
The Cento is light. It is, in fact, the lightest bike we have ever assembled: our test version size large with 303 tubulars tipped the scales at just under 15 pounds. In general, we are not big fans of super light frames: we feel that, more often than not, they are too nervous and unstable, and they lend themselves to breakage. Lighter bikes tend to not handle well in windy conditions nor on rough road surfaces. Having said that, the Cento defied many of our presumptions about super light frames and left all of us wanting to create room in our personal stables for yet another Wilier. The unconventional square head tube provides for maximum vibration absorption and enhanced front end response, while the high-pressure molded rear stays provide for sure-footedness and complete confidence even in the most demanding of scenarios.
In short, the Cento is a bike that is unlikely to be taken to its limits by any rider. That's a pretty strong claim, but we feel that even the most experienced pro will flinch before the Cento relents.
The Cento is available in Team Lampre, traditional copper, and red/white paint schemes. |
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You will be able to select options, e.g. size / color / quantity, in the next step.Price: $4,300.00Add to Basket
| Frame: |
Unidirectional carbon monocoque with variable tube wall thickness |
| Avg Frame Weight: |
920 grams |
| Fork: |
Mizuno Drome, 340 grams |
| Sizes: |
S, M, L, XL, XXL |
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