Colnago

Strada SL 105 Complete Bike-2015

The secret to enjoying Colnago's spin-happy Strada SL 105 Complete Bike is hidden in its name. Strada is Italian for road, road is a homophone for rode, and rode's present tense form is ride. Code cracked: the Strada SL is for cyclists who just want to ride rather than pose with their super-expensive carbon dream machine. We admit that our methodology may be unscientific and even a bit simple and childlike, but we're certain that you'll come to the same conclusion the first time you throw a leg over the Strada's hydroformed top tube.

That process of hydroforming is evidence of Colnago's decades of frame-building mastery. It produces tubes that transition from stiff, polygonal cross sections at the joints responsible for power transfer (read: the head tube and bottom bracket) into round, compliant shapes at the tube junction to absorb road noise and smooth out bumps. This keeps the ride comfortable while limiting the tubes' ability to twist and flex under load. The tapered head tube and carbon fork continue this paradoxical trend of stiffness with a comfortable ride into the bike's front end.

The Strada's geometry is similar to the V1-R, with variations of a millimeter or a fraction of a degree here and there, depending on the size. That means the Strada SL has race-ready geometry that won't force you to contort into a knot in order to navigate a huge drop from saddle to bars. It holds steady lines through sweeping corners without the twitchy skittishness of carbon fiber criterium bikes. The oversized aluminum tubing takes advantage of the geometry's racing pedigree by giving the ride a firm reactivity to pedal input whether you're accelerating out of corners or opening the throttle on a climb.

The bike features Shimano's all-new 11-speed 105 drivetrain, which may well be the most durable, longest-lasting 11-speed group available today. It's also a hell of a value, an element that's further enforced by the inclusion of the same Shimano FC-R500 crankset as the more expensive Strada SL Ultegra build. The Strada SL 105 Bike also features the same Continental tires and Selle Italia saddle as its pricier sibling, all of which adds up to a surprisingly capable bike that rides like a Colnago and boasts an unrivaled pennies-per-mile ratio.