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TECH NEWS
Just in: Aprire Vincenza
Aprire is a new British brand specialising in carbon fibre road bikes made in Italy. The company, launched by road racer Phil Dempsey in 2009, is offering a range of three carbon bikes, with this Italian built Vincenza the flagship model in the lineup. It’s seen here with a Shimano Ultegra and Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL build costing £2,695.
Phil Dempsey boasts many years of experience in the cycle industry as a designer and engineer, working on products as varied as disc brake systems and full suspension mountain bikes. His area of expertise includes carbon fibre layup and stress analysis, and it is this that he has used to develop and hone his range of bikes, using FEA and CFD tools to design the frames.
The range currently consists of the Cosma time trial frame, the Celeste, a carbon road bike built with a more relaxed geometry, and the top-end Vicenza we have in for test. It’s aimed at racers but its appeal is bound to spread further than that. Phil tells us the Vicenza frame aims to offer a stiff ride to provide the sort of handling a racer expects, but with a dose of comfort so you arrive at the finish line reasonably fresh.
Made in Italy to his own design, the Vincenza is constructed using a tube-to-tube process. This also allows a custom option on the frames. Aprire have spent the years since the soft launch working on the design of the frame, and Phil tells us it is the layup of the carbon fibre that has been the focus of his development.
As it’s a frame designed for racing, they’ve concentrated on adding stiffness to the head tube, down tube and bottom bracket area, along with the oversized chainstays. There is plent of profiling in evidence on each tube as well, with box section chainstays and a flared top tube.The shape and layup of the seat tube and seat stays with the aim of introducing a little comfort to the ride. The frame is light, with a claimed weight of 850g, with a 350g all-carbon fork plugged into the head tube. Cables are routed internally and it’s Di2 compatible.
Aprire offer a range of builds from Shimano and SRAM. We have the £2,695 build with a Shimano Ultegra 6800 11-speed groupset, Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL wheels and Mavic’s own tyres also fitted. Ritchey components are offered throughout the range, this model has the PRO alloy bars, stem and seatpost fitted. A Prologo Scratch Pro T2.0 saddle completes the build. It weighs 7.5kg (16.5lb) on the road.cc scales.
For the purposes of comparison, the Raleigh Militis 3 comes really close in terms of pricing, and like the Vincenza is a carbon bike aimed at road racers. Or there is the similarly carbon framed Moda Stretto, which is nearly identically priced. All three bikes are near enough the same weight.
Aprire will also be offering custom decal options. Our test bike is a rather muted gloss black on black, but a wide palette of vinyl decal colours can be chosen from.
Aprire’s Vincenza will be raced by the new British women’s racing team, Team Velosport – Pasta Montegrappa, next season.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
- Secret_squirrel 32 min 23 sec ago
if only there was a metal that could be bent back in your LBS with minimal risk of it snapping or fatiguing....
- Secret_squirrel 34 min 3 sec ago
Nerd that I am - I couldnt resist popping over to the BoE Inflation Calculator....
- Yorkie1 41 min 17 sec ago
I noticed from previous bike reviews that you (Stuart) must be the same height as me roughly 1.79m tall, is there any reason you didn't ride a 54cm...
- dubwise 56 min 57 sec ago
Didn't know who it was until looking on social media on Sunday morning....
- Jimthebikeguy.com 3 hours 20 min ago
Try and get rid of the negative associations around carbon and pressfit. Carbon frames are no more troublesome than metal, and pressfit is no more...
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The first generation CHPT3 items made in concert with Castelli were fantastic quality, and when purchased on sale were a reasonable investment. I...
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Theres not one scrap of self-help among drivers is there, it's always someone else's issue.
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Oh dear. A single bike in a single size in one shop is not indicative of the entire UK market for bicycles. And the slump isn't just bikes, it's...
- hawkinspeter 14 hours 29 min ago
Ridiculed or is it just jealousy?
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You do see some utterly ridiculous examples of car use....
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18 comments
I was thinking more about the pre new mould canyons! HA.
TBF though, we've gone far overboard considering how similar a lot of bike scan be said to look. I mean, they are all diamond shape and have wheels.
Okay; there is only one way to settle this... FIGHT!
Canyon Ultimate CF SLX - full bike.jpg
Great "traditional" looking bike that could tempt me away from steel if it rides as good as it looks...
If by 'traditional' you mean suspiciously like a Canyon then yes, it is very elegant looking, aero but not overly configured.
Looks nothing like a Canyon. Think you need a visit to Specsavers
TBF now that he said it the rear end especially SS/ST looks similar.
Presumably you're going to ride this bike too and write a bit more about it, or...?
that's very much the plan, yes
Looks very similar to Ribble's excellent R872 (formerly Stealth)...
Nice looking bike and a good level of spec for the money. I just wish you could buy more framesets, I'm not into this off the peg purchase, much rather enjoying building my own bike using a mix of existing parts and newly sourced. What I don't understand is how anyone makes any money, there are so many bike suppliers, but the difference in quality at this price is so marginal. Surely the market is saturated.
You can buy just the framesets from Aprire for all models - ping them via the website or call.
I’ve tested the bike and was impressed. It was very responsive, but for me it was the level of comfort without losing the road sensations that differentiated it from my Canyon. Over longer sportive distances you will begin to appreciate its built in dampening as you will be less fatigued.
For those that live in London and are familiar with Richmond Park’s Broomfield Hill (sweeping right-hander), I was able to pedal all the way around the corner without the bike bouncing on the rippled tarmac. With my Canyon I need to stop pedalling near the apex as my rear begins to bounce.
Price point is very competitive and in the same league as Canyon and Boardman.
that's interesting to hear and a good reference point as I find the latest Canyon CF SLX Ultimate to be very comfortable myself, and still a very responsive 'racing' type frame set. What Canyon are you comparing it to?
Me too. I have 2012 cf and if anything it's the front I find.. not harsh but strong is the word. I think the seat post is very important and I see it as part of the frame for adding comfort.
I have the Aeroad CF. It was tested on the Dynamo hill rep training on Nightingale Lane and one of the riders had an SLX and he was very impressed with the Aprire. Canyon or Aprire, both very good bikes for the money and you will no regrets purchasing either. Benefit with the Aprire is local bike shop service.
You walked into this one: Have you tried the SLX? How does it compare to the Aeroad?
I would love to try an SLX, but my wife will only let me have so many bikes
. I wouldn't buy an aero frame again, but that has more to do with the frame splitting the water onto my shins and then straight into my shoes. That mere fact alone makes the SLX better.
I've tested the Boardman SLR and Air road bikes and the SLR was responsive, but was lacking in the road feedback "flatish" feeling.
Its good to see a Brit company getting in the mix, and I really do wish them well, but...
Is this just another commissioned frame with a full set of off the shelf bolt on parts? Why is no one really challenging design and function, i know the UCI are a problem is this right now, but thats another story and the UCI don't tell me what I can ride.
Ok this looks like its designed for the race orientated so my anti UCI rant is irrelivant, but surly we can do a little better than being a nation of assemblers