John Cobb Designed, Wilier Built
European frame makers in general and the Italian builders in particular have conserved their collective brain powers and manufacturing resources when it comes to designing and making time trial/triathlon frames. While the Australians, British, Canadians, and Americans spend millions of dollars and countless hours researching their TT frames and designs the French, Italians, and Spanish have seemed content to devote their energies to making great road racing frames in a tradition that was once the envy of the world. But traditions are so-called because they're past tense.
This trend of reluctance is part and parcel of the European approach to bike building in particular and bike racing in general: in Europe the status quo of the sport remains resilient and change comes ever so slowly, if at all. Examples of this seem today almost comical, perhaps the most famous of which was Greg LeMond being ridiculed by the European peloton for using the aerobars that enabled him to set the all-time fastest TT in history and crush a 50 second deficit to Laurent Fignon for victory in the '89 Tour de France. Today, for many European pros the approach to training is the same as it was 25 years ago: ride a lot, and then ride some more (and who needs a power meter?).
Recently, Dan Empfield has claimed that there's a distinct difference between the European approach to tt/triathlon frame making and the North American approach: for Dan, it all comes down to the steepness of the seat tube angle. Certainly, among triathletes, the trend has been to ride steeper angles, and for many roadies mouths dropped when they first heard of a triathlete riding an effective 78 degree seat tube angle. Yet, the fastest time trialists and triathletes in the world are riding steeper and steeper effective angles (in some instances 81 degrees), and they're doing it on bikes designed not in Europe, but in Canada and America.
Eschewing for the moment the debate over seat tube angles and whether it's the seat tube angle making these riders go faster, Dan's point has a more subtle resonance to it: there's a willingness among North Americans and Australians to try something different and not rely on the simple notion: "That's the way it's always been done." The North Americans proved this from the moment the 7-11 Team stepped off the plane and rankled the European peloton in the late 1980s.
Now, imagine a classic European frame maker--an Italian frame maker nonetheless--willing to incorporate innovative, challenging ideas into their traditional processes. Take one of the most iconic names in the sport, with more victories than practically all other brands combined, and infuse it with Empfield's so-called North American spirit for innovation. What do you get?
Wilier.
While many European brands rely on their past fame and glory Wilier has recognized a need to evolve or disappear. There's a very real threat from non-European bike makers: they're making great frames which challenge a lot of the old presumptions. Wilier is keenly cognizant of this and, as all agile companies with an eye on survival tend to do, they have evolved. The 2008 Wilier Crono Cento is proof of this. The Cento Crono is the result of Wilier's 2006 work in the wind tunnel with cycling aerodynamics legend John Cobb, who was consulted in an effort to improve Damiano Cunego's chances in the critical 2006 TdF time trials. The relationship that started with Cobb continued to the degree that Wilier invited Cobb to design their forthcoming time trial/triathlon frameset: the Cento Crono.
Wilier and Cobb jointly reserved the Texas A&M low speed wind tunnel to test and prove iterations of their new design which uses the most advanced tube shaping ever seen in bike frame manufacturing to ensure this frameset slips effortlessly through the air. Using the principles of wave form dynamics, the almost melted look of the tubes on the Cento Crono are actually by-products of a fastidious design program which was tested and verified every step of the way in the wind tunnel.
The Cento Crono made its debut at Cadence in October and November, 2007: full production versions of this frameset will be available in January or February of 2008. Expect prices to be just over $4,000 for the frameset.