What does everybody think of Wilier bikes? I am new to the sport and like this bike, but don't know anything about the brand and how it is viewed in the road racing community. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Lisa.

They have a good reputation, but they are super expensive in Australia

I'll be able to pick up my first roadbike early next week and it's a Wilier Escape (Veloce) I'll probably be able to get about 400-500km on it until the end of the week so once I've got the feel of the bike I'll let you know my impressions.

My LBS let me test drive a Lavaredo (Centaur) and a Alpe D'Huez (Ultegra) (they didn't have an Escape in my size) and I can say they were both fantastic rides (...but way out of my price range)

The Escape is actually very similarly priced to other bikes with the same configurations (at least here in Switzerland), from the Evasion on upward the prices rise pretty quickly to mindboggling levels though...

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

What is the thought of Wilier as a bike manufacturer? I.e., what is their "image" in the racing community?

Thanks,
Lisa.

Wilier has an excellent reputation, at least here in Italy. They are one of the big 'old' brands, that have been around forever (I think just about 1900). Traditionally have been involved in pro-racing, and have some veeeerry nice bikes. Full name is Wilier Triestina, and were famous for producing racing bikes in one color only, a bronzish, well, bronze color. In the early post-war period they recruited a young gun named Fiorenzo Magni, better known as the Lion of Flanders (the kind of rider who made a name for himself as the third guy in the Coppi-Bartali competition - famous for racing with a broken shoulder pulling a piece of tape tied to his handlebars with his teeth to finish).

The company actually went bankrupt in the late fifties or something and the name got bought out by a new firm in the early 70s, and the rest is history.

Took a bit of a hit reputation wise earlier this year for trying to pass off a Scott frame as their new super-duper Rebellin bike, but beyond that, you are looking at a 'glorious' name (I guess that does not really translate the same way from Italian).

Hope this helps.

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Did I mention that I grew up dreaming of a Wilier Triestina, Columbus SLX tubing, with full Campagnolo Super-Record group... ah, to be young again!

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How much does this model go for? USD.

Thanks,
Lisa.

Sorry for not being clearer, but that model has been gone for years. Google them to get an idea of their line-up.

For an idea of Italian prices on Wiliers, go to:

http://www.ciclismonline.it/edisport...n?OpenFrameset

and select Wilier Triestina from the pulldown menu, then click 'visualizza risultati' and you will the MSRP for the Wilier line-up here in the homeland. If you click on individual models you also get the component groups. Happy clicking and shopping!

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Ehm, of course, these prices are in Euro... don't know what they go for in the US

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I got a price from Velo Imports (www.veloimports.com) of $1685 USD. Seems like they still make this one.

Sorry!!! I meant the Escape model I orginally mentioned, not the one you were dreaming of!!

Lisa.

What group is it set up with? The Escape with Campagnolo Veloce (triple) goes for 1220 Euro here (as per the price list on www.ciclismonline.it) so a price of 1600-something seems reasonable - depending on the exchange rate you use, you are looking at the Euro price coming out to 1500 odd USD, so the markup ain't bad. You might still want to try haggling...

I do hope that the model sold in the US does come equipped with Campagnolo!

Please let us know if you purchase and how it rides!

BTW, I checked out the veloimports site, and my vote goes for the darker coloured paint job... FWIW!

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Today I was finally able to pick up my bike, so here's a first report
Bike: Wilier Escape
Group: Veloce
Size: XXL

Modifications (requested by me):
Profile Design Airstryke Aerobars (from my previous bike (hybrid))
Cateye Astrale 8
Shimano SPD-M540 Pedals (instead of the default Look pedals)
Second bottle cage

Modifications (deviations from what is advertised, the bike was delivered like this from Wilier):
Rear Derailleur is Centaur
Front Derailleur is Record (looks like 2002 model)
Saddle is a Selle Italia XO

All in all only pleasant surprises (I find the SI XO much more comfortable, as the San Marco is too soft for my taste)
Build quality of the bike seems to be excellent, I can't even the slightest fault

Weight (measured by the fairly inaccurate method of using a digital scale and first weighing me and then myself + bike):
~10.8kg
about 0.7kg can be attributed to the aero bars and the second bottle cage...that still leaves ~10.1kg...subtract the pedals (~350g) and were at ~9.7kg (as the Escape comes with pedals included I had assumed that the 9.6kg advertised on the website included the pedals...well aparently not...) considering that this is an XXL frame 9.7kg is still pretty close to spec (and quite frankly I'm not really concerned about weight anyway ;-) )

First Impressions (only managed to do a short 50km round today, also take into account that my only point of reference is my previous bike, a Scott Atacama Tour (Hybrid ~1999)):
- Shifting is very precise and the Ergo Shifters are very comfortable and easy to handle
- The bike has a very solid feel to it and feels very stiff and responsive
- The bike is very stable and going hands free (at about 30km/h) is no problem
- so far I'm very happy with the bike

This weekend I'll be going on a 2 day cycling trip with some friends (about 250km & 1600m in height difference) so I'll report back after I've had some more time to play around with the bike

And here's a shot of the whole contraption:
Photo

Attached Thumbnails

 

Some more info:
- I paid 2150Sfr for the bike (~1680$)...considering that everything is usually much more expensive here in Switzerland that's actually not half bad and the excellent service of my LBS makes it all the more worthwhile
- It took almost 6 weeks until my LBS got the bike from Wilier (...and Italy is only a couple of hundred km away...)
So unless your dealer (or the US distributor) has the bike you want in stock you may be in for a long wait. Furthermore Wilier (according to my LBS) is essentially closed from the beginning of August to mid-September, so if they have to order the bike from Italy you'll be in for a very long wait...

Can confirm what Helicon said about summer. EVERYTHING in my country shuts down in August, and bike factories are no exception. If you are ordering something now, pray they have it in your size or wait until they get back to work sometime in late August or early September.

Remember, quality of life...

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Campagnolo Per Sempre!
PAOLO BETTINI CAMPIONE DEL MONDO x 2!