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TECH NEWS
2015 WorldTour bikes: Lotto.NL-Jumbo's Bianchi Oltre XR2
Team Belkin will become Lotto.NL-Jumbo next season but aside from the change of title sponsor, the team will continue to be supported by Bianchi, and the bikes they’ll ride next year have just been unveiled. And good news for fans of Bianchi’s iconic and highly recognisable celeste, because unlike last year’s aesthetically challenging bikes, the team bikes will be painted completely in celeste next year.
New paint job aside, the team will continue to ride the same Oltre XR2 that was first used last year. They’ll be riding the same components too, with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets, Pioneer crank-based power meters, Dura-Ace C50 wheels and Vittoria tyres and FSA finishing kit.
The Oltre XR2 is Bianchi’s flagship race bike. The frame weighs a claimed 895g and is constructed from high modulus carbon fibre with X-Tex reinforcing carbon strips added at key areas, around the head tube and bottom bracket, to beef up the frame stiffness.
It’s not an aero frame but there are a few nods towards that field of bicycle frame design. The seat clamp is integrated into the top tube and there’s an aero seatpost. The top of the down tube flares to meet the fork crown with the aim of reducing drag in this area. There’s the requisite tapered head tube up front with a 355g fork slotted into the bearings.
Aiming to provide some degree of comfort at the super skinny seatstays, which Bianchi call UTSS (Ultra Thin Seat Stay). Stiffness is assured of with the BB386 EVO bottom bracket and oversized chainstays. All gear and brake cables are internally routed.
You can read more about this year’s Belkin team bike here and Mat’s review of the Oltre XR2 here.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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17 comments
An all Celeste scheme on the bike is a bit in-yer-face.
My own Bianchi Via Nirone7 Alu Carbon has splashes of white and a bit of Metallic Grey and Black. Now't wrong with it and very very Bianchi.
As for the kit - I think that a toned down yellow and more like a Butter Milk Yellow would have toned in with the darker Grey/Black.
It is to be hoped that they don't have them riding on Yellow tyres.
The idea is for a professional appearance and not something that is ready for following the horses around in a Circus Big Top.
While I have some reservations on the kit - I'm liking the bike.
Never mind the aesthetics of the colour. Riders choosing bikes a size too small is getting out of hand. The second picture looks like something from a circus
Not a classic Bianchi while there's Shimano on it.
Are you stuck in the 1980s?
Never mind the colour, that is one sweet looking bike.
It won't notice much once it's covered in mud.
Best colour ever. Although Trek do it pretty well too
And there was I hoping for a resurrection of the Mercatone Uno colourscheme of Pantani et al.
All I think is - yellow and nuevo celeste - nothing wrong with that - mercantone uno had this scheme - and it looked good... well at least I think so
That's not yellow, it's gumwall on the tubs! Classic tyres for a classic bike.
I think the reference to yellow was in regard to the team colours, not the tyre walls:
The tyres make my eyes hurt.
Celeste is a thing is beauty (speaking as a Bianchi fan) but I must admits it's hard to find any colour that goes well with it. Rusty brown is the best I've come up with - thinking Ag2r Mondiale might be the best Pro kit match.
I never like seeing those Trek bikes trying to appropriate the colour, although in effect they may just be helping to market the Bianchi brand.
It probably won't look too bad in reality. When you look at celeste and the team colours next to each other (and the main panel seems to be bordering on orange rather than pure yellow, so far as I can tell), they sort of have just enough contrast to stand out without being garish, but are still fairly harmonious.
Anyway, I'd be quite happy if I was handed that kit -- there are certainly worse colours out there...
On the one hand they ditched the Belkin green, which just looked wrong against celeste. On the other hand, they've gone all-out celeste. It's a minor improvement, I guess.