Wilier Bikes

Wilier road bikes are constructed to be light in weight, aerodynamic, durable and reliable, as each year passes Wilier strives to set the design bar higher and push the technological envelope to new boundaries for the next generation of bikes. Whether you are in the market for an entry-level road bike for leisure and commuting or a pure road racing machine that will leave the competition behind, Wilier build road bikes that combine function, innovation and style and all are great value for money.

Wilier Road Bikes

Wilier Bikes History

Wilier bikes was born in 1906 thanks to the brilliant idea of a trader from Bassano, Pietro Dal Molin, of building bicycles on his own account. His forge or \"Steel horses\" rose as a small workshop along the banks of the river Brenta, at Bassano del Grappa, and it became more and more successful by keeping up with the increasing demand for bicycles.In the first post-war period, Mario, one of Dal Molin's sons, gained the leadership of Wilier Bikes and he began a constant perfectioning of the bicycles through chromium and nickel-plating. Under his leadership, the production increased considerably and the firm, which came unsmirched out of the II World War, after the Armistice, started again its activity.

Those were the years of the Reconstruction, when the bicycle was the most important means of transportation as well as cycling, together with football, became the most popular sport. For this reason, Dal Molin determined to set up a professional team captained by the triestin Giordano Cottur, well-know for succeding no less than Gino Bartali during the Bassano-Monte Grappa lap for amateurs. In the same time, according to the common feeling of uneasiness about the fate of Trieste, Dal Molin decided to associate the name of this julian town to that of his own firm. In this way, in Autumn 1945 the Wilier Triestina was born, distinguished by its red copper-coloured bicycles, which later became an authentic trade-mark. The following year the team took to the first Tour of Italy of the post-war period, cutting in the duel between two great champions, Coppi and Bartali, and gaining flattering victories in several laps. After all those successful races, Wilier became part of the most important Italian cycling: this big industrial boom involved an enlargement both of the plant and of the staff, in the order to meet the increasing demand; so, the production reached 200 bicycles a day, employing 300 workers.

Strong in its success and thanks to the prestige it had gained, in 1947 Wilier bought up a promising young cyclist: Fiorenzo Magni, this one, instead of being crushed in the challenge between Coppi and Bartali, found out the right system to become the third great protagonist of Italian cycling, by winning the Tour of Italy in 1948. This is the same year Wilier spread its intense activity in South America too, where a small team of local professional cyclist collected dozens of wins.

In the following season, the team, reconfirmed for its great performances, won several national races, until it became successful in 1949 and in 1950 in the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de France.

Unfortunately, after the first enrapturing phase of national reconstruction, in the early '50s, came the period of the economic miracle: people gave up bicycles to discover scooters and motorbike. Cycle firms suffered the damage of progress, and in 1952 Wilier Triestina had to shut down and leave its agonistic activity. Nowadays, the glorious story of this firm and of its \"copper-coloured jewel\" lives again thanks to the Gastaldello brothers from Rossano Veneto, who bought the Wilier Triestina mark in 1969, proud to bring again great favour to one of the best known Italian cycle houses and providing dozens of professional and dilettantish Italian and foreign teams with their bicycles.

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0% Finance on Wilier Bikes at Formby Cycles

Here at Formby Cycles we make buying your dream Wilier Bike and accessories a reality, by offering finance packages up to 36 months interest free credit with only a 10% deposit. All of our 0% finance packages on Wilier bikes are interest free with no hidden extras ensuring your budget stretches further, with none of your cash going towards paying off the added burden of interest charges.

It couldn't be simpler to get a Wilier Bike on 0% Finance

Leave a minimum deposit of 10% of your whole purchase & then spread the remaining cost over the chosen term - up to 36 months finance. Please Click here or call the store directly for more information on 0% finance with only a 10% deposit on Wilier Bike.

 Wilier Triestina Izoard XP review

 Previous incarnations of the Wilier Izoard have impressed us with the character and comfort of the ride, and the XP is no exception, with a superb frame and fork. You'd expect some compromises on an Italian thoroughbred priced at £1,750, but the average wheels and poor tyres are easily upgraded.

• Highs: A classy frame which offers swift handling and great all-day comfort
• Lows: The overall ride is hampered by the Chen Shin tyres' limited ability
• Buy if: You want a bike that's versatile, sharp and responsive and you don't mind spending a few extra quid on new tyres

The frame is designed around the company’s sport-level geometry which, on our size large test bike, means a 160mm head tube – shallow by sportive standards but not as aggressive as their top flight Zero7.

It shares the same seat and head angles for similar handling traits, but longer chainstays provide more rear end vertical flex, adding to the nicely damped ride. We’d definitely recommend the Izoard for long days in the saddle, but the longer wheelbase and comfortable back end don’t hamper progress when you want to blast a shorter, swifter ride.

The responsive handling might seem at odds with the bike’s overall plushness, but we welcomed having a bike that can slice through corners and mix it with big groups of riders, but also provide a stable and smooth ride that helps get you through at the end of a long spin.

The Shimano-105-equipped model is the cheapest in the Izoard line-up and some compromises have been made. The Shimano RS30 wheels are mid-level, with a claimed weight of 1952g the pair – not exactly lightweight, but they’re tough enough and stayed true throughout the test. The real downside is that they’re shod with Wilier-branded Chen Shin tyres.

These have a stiff, waxy feel that we quickly found the limits of, especially on autumn’s greasy road surfaces. They also suffer from a boggy, slow feel which hampers the bike – imagine Usain Bolt running in wellies. We switched them out for a set of R500s and the XP immediately felt swifter, nippier and far more confident cornering at higher speeds.

While we’re more than happy with the Shimano 105 drivetrain matched to a Wilier-branded FSA compact chainset, we’d prefer a lighter sprocket out back than the 25T here; just a couple of extra teeth would have kept us spinning rather than grinding when the road really ramped up.

The compact drop bar makes it easy to get into an aero position in the drops, and the deeply padded Selle Italia saddle is plenty comfortable. With all the finishing kit matched in colour and graphics to the classy Izoard frame it catches the eye, and if you stepped up to top quality tyres the XP would certainly start to live up to its huge potential.

This article was originally published in Cycling Plus magazine