I’ve been riding triathlons on my road bike for 4 years and it’s time to upgrade. LBS has a Wilier Centro Crono on sale for an incredibly good deal. Comes with all Ultegra 6700. I’ve been sized and the bike fits me well. I like the idea of riding something other than a Cervelo - which is all anybody in Canada seems to ride at races these days. So it’s unique, my concern or question is, is it good. Was hoping there were a couple people out here who have actually ridden this bike who can comment on the quality of the ride and if all the John Cobb designed bumps and notches actually make a difference or if it’s just for show.
I say if the bike fits you, if it’s within your budget, if you lust after it for whatever reason then you will ride it, you will want to ride it, and you will want to ride it every chance you get–so go for it.
How it stacks up in laboratory conditions versus other premium bicycles or any uber-bikes is marketing hoopla. I looked at that bike a few years ago when it was first introduced and before I bought a titanium Litespeed. I still have zero bike envy for anything newer or ‘better’. But that Wilier still piques my interest…
All of those bumps and curves actually do good things for air flow management around the rider and I think you will be very impressed by the climbing ability of the frame. By now it might not be quite as fast as a P5 but it’s very close and is certainly still a competitive frame as far as aero drag goes. If it fits you, you will enjoy the ride.
The Crono is one of those designs that will look good in 5 years. I’d love to get just the frame & fork to build up…but I think that package is around 3K alone. It’s a very unique design.
…but then I also ride an Italian motorcycle, too. Perhaps I’m biased.
I have the Imperiale that Cobb also worked on. It’s an incredible bike. It’s a bit faster than my Trek Madone was. Almost a full mph at the same power. I imagine the bike is pretty good. Unfortunatly Wilier hasn’t really taken off in the US.
I used to work at shop that sold them. I agree they look cool, but the frames are extremely heavy when compared to almost every other top of the line TT/Tri frame. Lots of carbon at use there. Careful with sizing as seat mast is very high relative to that low head tube - you have to be flexible to make this frame work. It was on my wish list after I saw photos of the proto types, but once I saw it in person and the weight of it built up, I passed.
I used to work at shop that sold them. I agree they look cool, but the frames are extremely heavy when compared to almost every other top of the line TT/Tri frame. Lots of carbon at use there. Careful with sizing as seat mast is very high relative to that low head tube - you have to be flexible to make this frame work. It was on my wish list after I saw photos of the proto types, but once I saw it in person and the weight of it built up, I passed.
With race wheels, mine is about 19.5#, that’s not that bad for a full on aero TT set up. On all but the hilliest courses, I think the aero qualities and ride trump weight. Rarely do you see full aero TT bikes go sub 18#, so we’re really not talking about a tank here. All that carbon makes for a very aero frameset and super stiff efficient ride. I found the fit was superiro to a lot of TTframes, a moderate head tube height, and 78 deg. seat post, a long top tube, and excellent ride characteristics. Also, for me I PREFER a standard rear brake mount instead of the U brake, those are generally a real pain for amateurs to keep adjusted for minimal aero savings.
I’d like to hear John Cobb’s take on the weight issue.
I agree wgt is not that important, but over 19.5 is heavy by todays stds. Both of my TT bikes are sub 18lbs and given how challenging tri courses are getting, I think it is a big advantage. I do agree std brake callers front and rear are the best way to go… easy, light and adjustable
I’ve been riding triathlons on my road bike for 4 years and it’s time to upgrade. LBS has a Wilier Centro Crono on sale for an incredibly good deal. Comes with all Ultegra 6700. I’ve been sized and the bike fits me well. I like the idea of riding something other than a Cervelo - which is all anybody in Canada seems to ride at races these days. So it’s unique, my concern or question is, is it good. Was hoping there were a couple people out here who have actually ridden this bike who can comment on the quality of the ride and if all the John Cobb designed bumps and notches actually make a difference or if it’s just for show.
Thanks!
I’m selling a medium frameset on here now, if you’re interested in that route.
I agree wgt is not that important, but over 19.5 is heavy by todays stds. Both of my TT bikes are sub 18lbs and given how challenging tri courses are getting, I think it is a big advantage. I do agree std brake callers front and rear are the best way to go… easy, light and adjustable
Paging John Cobb. Come in please.
Like I said, for flatter courses, isn’t the weight issue significantly minimized? If I were doing IM France, or Lanzarote etc. I would want a lighter ride, but for most relatively flat routes (IM Coz, IM FL, IM AZ), I think aero and fit, stiffness and comfort are key.
Because I just finished knocking out a few bags of Halloween candy I can’t criticize weight very much. At most American races I really doubt that an extra pound of total bike weight will effect anything other than your ability to load the bike on the bike rack on your car. The aero gains could easily offset that pound. If that 1 pond came from your wheels then there would be some concern but I suspect that your clothing fit, or the hydration placement or the wrong helmet choice, will offer a bigger problem for speed gains than the bike weight difference.
I’ve been riding triathlons on my road bike for 4 years and it’s time to upgrade. LBS has a Wilier Centro Crono on sale for an incredibly good deal. Comes with all Ultegra 6700. I’ve been sized and the bike fits me well. I like the idea of riding something other than a Cervelo - which is all anybody in Canada seems to ride at races these days. So it’s unique, my concern or question is, is it good. Was hoping there were a couple people out here who have actually ridden this bike who can comment on the quality of the ride and if all the John Cobb designed bumps and notches actually make a difference or if it’s just for show.
Thanks!
I just don’t think designs like that have been subjected to yaw-angle wind tunnel testing, just straightahead.
I agree. Aero trumps weight, but 19.5 is a bit heavy. My Felt DA is a 60 and weighs about 17.5 with race wheels. There are probaby lighter alternatives of the same quality. Still, if it fits… It does also look very cool.
There are some really smart math guys on this forum that will have an opinion about this I am sure. I imagine that if you take the old St. George course as one of the hardest bike courses in the U.S. and add in two pounds of frame weight while the wheel weight and wheel aero is the same, then the difference will be very small but the aero gain will still offset the weight. Anybody that takes the time to read about any of my aero testing will know that I never test at just “0” yaw and I have always developed any of my projects to work well over a broad range of aero yaw conditions. Developing frame shapes that don’t do things to help the air work better when a rider is on board is just a marketing scam, none of these bikes pedal themselves. So yes, I can develop a frame that has super low drag but then with a rider it could be a noodle and not climb well or if a rider has thin chicken legs it would be fast but if the rider has huge calves it would be slow, there are many variables to address for the manufacturers so as a consumer you have to do your research and make you best guess. The more important thing is that if the rider is not positioned well, frame weight and aero do not matter. If you can’t stay on the aero bars then why worry about an aero frame, work on your position and get comfortable enough to stay on the bars. Get a frame that has a good geometry for you and then work out a seat and a position that allows you to stay aero. Sorry about the ranting…I do think the frames are very cool looking.
I ride a Wilier Cento Crono that I bought earlier this year at the Toronto Bike Show. Regarding the quality of the ride, I increased my IM bike split by about 15 mins on the Wilier and also set a bike PB on the Peterborough Half. I’m sure this was a combination of better bike + the “cool” factor made me want to ride the bike more. I went with Campy Record10 Carbon components and ITM Nivola Aero bars. I have the blue Centro Crono and get a lot of people commenting how beautiful it looks…I was in the same boat as you and am glad I didn’t go for the black/red or black/white Cervelo.
FYI, I now have 2 bikes that have been blessed by John Cobb: the Cento Crono and my old Softride PowerWing built at Bicycle Sports in Shreveport, LA.
Cool. I live an hour outside Toronto. Where did you get the bars? I’ve been looking around - the ones the bike comes with are as heavy as the rest of the bike… Also getting the blue one.