Cycling Weekly – August 22, 2019

42 | August 22, 2019 | Cycling Weekly

TECH BIKE TEST

Rupert Radley gets (rapidly) up to speed on an aggressive Italian race rig

Basso Diamante

£3,499 (frameset) | 7. 5 kg

Frame Basso Diamante carbon Fork Basso carbon Size range 45-61 Size tested 56 Groupset Campagnolo Super Record EPS disc

Wheels Fulcrum Racing Zero Carbon DB Ty r e s Specialized Turbo Cott on Bar Basso compact Stem Basso Integra Seatpost Basso carbon

Saddle PRO Turnix Gel Distributor http://www.komltd.cc

ALTERNATIVELY...

SPECS

This is the stock top build and Italophiles

won’t like it, but you can’t knock the

performance of the Japanese giant’s top

groupset — and it’s cheaper too.

Basso Diamante Dura-Ace Di2 £8,799

Riding fl at-out seems

to have been prioritised

over comfort. Th e Basso

doesn’t have the damped

ride quality of the Tarmac.

Instead you feel the

bumps of the road, and the

bigger hits can be jarring.

It was more diffi cult to

stay in the saddle over

rough stretches of road,

and my hands were taking

a pounding.

Racking up a couple of

100km rides on the bike

was a good way to put the

shorter geometry to the test. At around

70km I felt an aching across my shoulders

and in my neck but it was manageable, and

it wasn't much more than I'd usually feel at

that distance. Th e bigger issue remained

the jarring ride quality.

As this was a custom build I won’t go

into too much detail, but some parts were

important to the character of the ride — in

particular the Fulcrum Zero Carbon DB

wheels. Th ey added a lick of speed to the

bike and rolled incredibly well.

Th e Campagnolo Super Record EPS

groupset is plush, looks beautiful and

fi ts with the frame. Th at said, I don't think

it's quite the equal of Shimano Dura-Ace

Di2. Keep an eye out for the full review

of the groupset.

VERDICT

8

Th e Basso Diamante is a great bike

for short, fast rides or if you race

crits, but its tighter geometry and

harsh ride made it less comfortable

than other premium race bikes I’ve tested. 

U

nconventional in its design

and looks, the Basso Diamante

is a premium Italian racing

frame which we put to the

test with a suitably expensive Campagnolo

custom build.

Th e Diamante occupies the ‘all-rounder’

position in the Basso’s surprisingly

expansive bike range and has undergone

something of a facelift in recent years,

giving it a very distinctive look. It’s

available in either rim or disc brake format.

As stock, the Diamante comes equipped

with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, but we

decided a Campagnolo Super-Record

EPS 12 speed groupset and Fulcrum wheels

would be more fi tting for such a real-deal

Italian superbike.

With its cut-away head tube, the bike’s

geometry is ‘slammed’. It’s the most

aggressively designed bike I’ve ridden

this year and out on the roads it got a lot

of admiring looks.

PROS & CONS

Bucking current trends,

it only has slightly dropped

chainstays and has a punchy

look. It even feels tight

when you’re on top of it.

Looking over the

geometry chart it’s clear to

see why: the Diamante has

402mm chainstays for a

size 56 — signifi cantly

shorter than the 410mm

length found on most disc

brake-equipped bikes.

As you would expect,

this has a dramatic impact

on the bike’s ride quality.

It feels noticeably more

compact than other bikes

I’ve tested this year.

Compared to the likes of the Specialized

S-Works Tarmac SL6, you feel more

perched on top of the Basso rather than

sitting in it, and on long, fast descents the

shorter wheelbase felt twitchy and didn’t

provide the same feeling of balance as

the Specialized.

A short head tube makes it incredibly

responsive. Th is bike absolutely rips around

corners and I have no doubt that my

confi dence is the limiting factor when going

round bends. Currently I have four spacers

under the stem but because of the Basso’s

cutaway head tube that equals a slammed

stem on any other bike.

It’s also super-stiff and responsive. I

could cover 0-30kph faster than almost

all the bikes I’ve tested this year. A lot of

that responsiveness can be attributed to

the superb Fulcrum wheels, but there’s no

denying the feeling of rapid acceleration and

speed that the frame imparts.

SHORT WHEELBASE

REDUCES COMFORT

GREAT LOOKING

SUPER RESPONSIVE

FAST HANDLING IN

CORNERS