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TECH NEWS

Check this out: Wilier Superleggera Ramato

Wilier brings back polished copper-coloured finish on steel road bike

Have a look at the Wilier Superleggera Ramato. Why? Because we love the finish. We’re not pretending this is anything other than a gratuitous bit of bike porn.

Wilier Superleggera Ramato  - 6.jpg

Italian brand Wilier – or Wilier Triestina for long – will be 110 years old in 2016 so it has recreated the historic Ramato finish as an option on the Superleggera as a tribute to the old Wilier racers. Genuine Ramatos are much admired but increasingly rare.

Wilier Superleggera Ramato  - 5.jpg

The Ramato finish was a signature feature of Wilier bikes from the late 1940s right through to the 1980s, when steel was the preferred material for high-end race bikes. 

Wilier Superleggera Ramato  - 3.jpg

The polished copper effect is produced by mirror-polishing and then fully chroming the frame, followed by painting with a special translucent lacquer. This is a lengthy process, and that means it’s expensive.  

Wilier Superleggera Ramato  - 2.jpg

The resulting bikes were called ‘Gioiello Ramato’ which means ‘copper jewel’.

The Superleggera is made from Columbus SL Niobium tubing and this one is built up with a modern Campagnolo Athena group with a classic polished aluminium finish.

Wilier Superleggera Ramato  - 4.jpg

The wheels are Ambrosio Excellence rims on Ambrosia Xenith hubs for the authentic look.  

“I rode a Ramato similarly equipped back from Eurobike, across Switzerland and the Alps to Le Bourg D’Oisans, and then straight up through France and back to Eastbourne,” said Wilier’s UK product manager Kevin Izzard. “I had a tent on the back and it proved to be an excellent long-distance companion. I don’t believe in building bikes to hang on the wall, they’re for riding.”

Wilier Superleggera Ramato  - 7.jpg

The new Ramato frames are hand-made in Italy from Columbus SL tubing in 10 standard sizes. If none of those fit, then custom sizes are available.

The frameset has a retail price of £1,699.

www.wilier.com

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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9 comments

Avatar
thesaladdays | 8 years ago
0 likes

Yes please!  Oh wait, this isn't one of those giveaways?  frown

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Vejnemojnen | 8 years ago
0 likes

I love wilier triestina, as a brand, but this one makes no sense  1 THey would have been better with a high-end steel frame, with integrated HS&tapered carbon fork, lugless design from xcr tubes.

 

in my humble opinion. This frame is outdated  2

Avatar
WolfieSmith | 8 years ago
0 likes

Phwoarrrr! Look at that gorgeous bottom bracket. I still have my steel bike + Alu and Ti. Always great to look down and see something svelte - rather than some bloated boxy BB. 

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barbarus | 8 years ago
0 likes

Gorgeous. I shall get two, one for week days one for weekends.

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joebee9870 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Cycling perfection or as close as I've ever seen...............

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mike the bike | 8 years ago
0 likes

Truly a thing of beauty.

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jollygoodvelo | 8 years ago
1 like

Total porn.  

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Kapelmuur | 8 years ago
1 like

That's beautiful, it only needs gear levers on the downtube to be perfect.

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Vili Er | 8 years ago
1 like

Get in! AFAIK they made a very small number of these a few years back (2011?) but none came into the UK. The only other option was to buy and original vintage bike which, if in good nick, was tres expensive. As a long time Wilier fan I'll be buying one for sure!

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