Review: Bianchi Oltre XR

I find Bianchi’s celeste colour evokes long rides in the summer sun. I was lucky to be able to test the Oltre XR mostly in those conditions. But, this machine is no mere fair-weather ride. The members of the WorldTour team Vacansoleil – DCM rode this frame for much of the 2013 season.

The Oltre XR features incremental changes to the frame that Bianchi introduced in 2011, and which brought the Italian company back to the fore of high-performance bikes. The shape of the 2013 frame remains the same, but the carbon-fibre technology is different. The company says it was able to drop 30 g while increasing stiffness by 20 per cent. A 55-cm frame weighs 895 g.

One of Bianchi’s weight-saving strategies may seem more like a cosmetic feature at first glace. The designers have made sure there are no wrinkles in the carbon fibre anywhere. “The carbon-fibre layup is as meticulous on the inside as it is on the outside,” says Enzo Iafrate, marketing manager of Bianchi Canada. “With some manufacturers, there could be wrinkles or different imperfections on the inside, which ultimately adds weight to the product. But the inside of the frame is just as smooth as the outside. There’s no extra carbon fibre.”

Another way in which Bianchi dropped some mass is with X-Tex, a cross-hatched pattern of carbonfibre strips set in the head tube and the bottom bracket. “It adds a tremendous amount of strength and stiffness without using multiple layers of carbon fibre and increasing the weight,” Iafrate says. “The pattern will counter any torque that you’d put in while riding.”

Out on the road, I couldn’t detect any flex. The BB30 bottom bracket and tapered head tube (1 1/8″ to 1 1/5″) worked in concert with the frame’s enhancements to make for some serious power-transferring rigidity. The frame’s light weight was a boon on climbs. The bike not only excelled going up, it tracked well on the descents.

At the rear triangle, the tall and thin chainstays made sure my power was going to the wheel. Esthetically, the pencil-thin seatstays look great. Bianchi achieves these skinny supports with a strong resin. I believe the company’s claims that the stays keep the frame’s weight down and contribute to power transmission. However, for me, they didn’t seem to mellow the harshness of the road. If you’re a feedback junky, you’ll receive a lot of information about the conditions below.

To keep the setup on every build of Oltre neat, Bianchi has made three versions of the frame to accommodate various gruppos. My test bike was outfitted with SRAM Red components, a good match for the high-performance frame. The machine rolled on a set of Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels. Although the hoops don’t have a deep rims, they do have a subtle aerodynamic profile, which complements the aero qualities found in the fork blades, head tube and seatpost.

So who’s this frame for? Well, a discerning rider is the best candidate, one who knows exactly what groupset to run. In Canada, you won’t find a complete bike off the shelf. The italophile will doubtlessly feel the draw of Bianchi’s history: wins in each Grand Tour all the way to the 1911 Giro d’Italia. There are many draws to the Oltre XR with its pro-level performance that will not only shine on those sunny rides, but in whatever conditions you’re willing to take out the hard-charging bike.

Bianchi Oltre XR (as tested)
Components: SRAM Red
Wheels: Fulcrum Racing Zero
Sizes (cm): 47, 50, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61
Price: $5,499 (frameset only)