Wilier Cento1 SR Disc Frameset

With the Cento1SR Disc Frameset, Wilier does something that few manufacturers have been able to muster. A disc-brake road racing frameset that is as light as the caliper brake version and is built to ride the same. All the features, all the technologies of the rim-brake Cento1SR, all the carbon, are here, just with the rear brake bridge removed and he fork adapted to rotor disc brakes.

 

Wilier had a simple reason for doing this. The Cento1SR is a great bike with a ride that has won accolades the world over and has a great record of success at the highest levels of the sport. They wanted to change as little of that as possible when they adapted the platform for disc braking. As a result, this is not a gravel-grinder or fondo bike, it's a road racer. 25mm is the max-recommended tire diameter. But it's a long-road racer in that it was designed for classics and Grand Tours, and as such, favors stability, with a liveliness to make climbing fun, and a head tube length that goes along with such a bike.

 

This isn't to write that the frameset hasn't changed. It has. Most of the changes are subtle and have to do with rearranging where carbon is built up to better resist braking forces. But the shapes have changed in several places. First of all, the fork is different. It is asymmetric. The right leg has a truncated aero profile, which works better with the wind while still being light and responsive. The left leg is heavier, with not only more carbon-fiber plies, but a bowing toward the wheel to counteract braking forces. It, too, shares the streamlined profile of the right leg. The rear stays have also been redesigned, sharing features of the rim brake Cento1SR and their 101XN mtb frameset. The distance between the stays has been widened to 135mm, the post mounts reside on the left chain stay, and the cable/hose runs through most of the stay before exiting to join up with the caliper.

 

The rest of the Cento1SR is the same as the rim brake version. It mixes aerodynamics with compliance to make an all-rounder of a bike, one that is as comfortable hammering on the flats as it is taking on the mountains. The front end still features a tapered 1 1/8" to 1 1/4" steerer atop a fork that has semi-aero legs and integrates with the aero down tube for better air flow. The BB386EVO bottom bracket standard is light and stiff and works with most cranks on the market. The seat mast is not only light, but gives great road feedback. And it is topped with a Ritchey clamp that has 25mm of setback and 20mm of up-and-down adjustability. 

 

The ability to go either way is important for road frames these days, and the Cento1SR Disc does well here, too. The bike, thanks to plates at the top and bottom of the down tube can easily accommodate both electronic and mechanical shifting. Battery mounts are at the bottom of the down tube and easily wire through the plate. Smooth mechanical shifting is easy thanks to the inline adjusters on the top plate and precise routing curves on the bottom plate. The cable exit at the end of the right chain stay is also fairly unique. It comes directly out the back, thanks to what Wilier calls their 3D dropout, which is both dropout and derailleur hanger; strong in crashes and smooth for cable-actuated shifting.

 

The brakes attach via post mounts and are designed for 140-160mm rotors.

 

The Wilier Cento1SR Disc Frameset is a great road bike that happens to integrate rotor discs like nothing else on the market.