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TECH NEWS

Condor’s Super Acciaio steel race bike gets lighter

200g lighter frame and new carbon fork for Condor's race-ready steel bike

Condor have updated their Super Acciaio steel road race frame, making it 200g lighter, while still retaining the oversized bottom bracket and 44mm head tube that were defining features when it launched in 2011. A new carbon fork saves a further 50g of weight.

The weight savings have been achieved by altering the shape and profile of the tubes. Condor have worked closely with Columbus to refine the frame, while still working to keep the stiffness it offered, helped by the use of the BB30 bottom bracket and tapered head tube. A new Grammy Slim fork from Columbus saves a further chunk of weight - it's a full monocoque carbon fork with tapered steerer tube and carbon dropouts. The bike is being launched at the Cycle Show this week, so we'll have more details after the show.

The Super Acciaio represented part of the re-emergence of steel as a viable material for race-ready road bikes (we've since seen the likes of Genesis build a professional cycling team all riding steel frames). Condor were able to enlist the help of the Rapha Condor JLT squad during the development phase of the first Super Acciaio, and this new version.

In developing this updated frame, Condor once again used some of the Rapha Condor JLT riders to get valuable feedback on the frame. Kristian House was instrumental, as was James McCallum, who actually raced a prototype in the 2013 Tour Series.

"Getting the steel bike to be absolutely right was really important to me,” said House. “I spent a lot of time testing it, and giving feedback to the guys at Condor, and I came to a point where the bike was so right that I could switch easily between both carbon and steel, while getting the distinct benefits from each material when I need them."

The Super Acciaio will be available as a frameset for £1,299 including the new fork, with full bikes starting from £2,499 for a Campagnolo Athena 11-speed build.

More at www.condorcycles.com

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

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8 comments

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othello | 11 years ago
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Last years version had a claimed weight of 1800g (website doesn't specify if that is for frame and fork). So 1600g this year then?

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b3nharris | 11 years ago
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Group test of this and the Volare?

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Yeah, what on earth is that fat spacer doing on the steerer? Come on Condor, slam that stem!

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Jonny_Trousers | 11 years ago
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I liked the beefy, aggressive good looks of the original Super Acciaio. This one looks a little boring in comparison. Probably just the new fork, though.

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Nick T | 11 years ago
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So it's 200g lighter.. But what does it actually weigh?

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David Arthur @d... replied to Nick T | 11 years ago
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Nick T wrote:

So it's 200g lighter.. But what does it actually weigh?

We don't have that information yet, but we're seeing Condor at the Cycle Show today so we'll get all the details out of them

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RacePace | 11 years ago
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I have the older version of this and it rides amazingly well, if you like buy and you won't be disappointed

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bikeandy61 | 11 years ago
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Cheaper than a Volare though I appreciate it's not Reynolds. But then I'm not sure that a Rourke custom 953 would be any more (and possibly less) than a Volare.

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