PALTA II : Campagnolo EKAR 1x13
Basso have a particular ride feel. Racy but stable; confidence inspiring yet engaging; fast yet fun. Like their road range, Basso instilled in the original Palta, these same traits, to deliver a fast and captivating ride all the while remaining adroit and agile on all surfaces. While rapid and controlled off road, the Palta was and is remarkably capable on-road.
Basso's original Palta, while faithful to Basso’s tradition and values for the road and while highly praised for its deft controlled speed off the tarmac, perhaps lacked the overall versatility that so many demand from a do-it-all rig. After all, not many of us - yet at least - would consider that our stables required more than one gravel bike.
Born from racing and after 4 years of success on the market, the Palta - still relevant for the speed obsessed gravel warriors - required some finessing to make it more apposite for todays broader gravel user base. Alcide Basso and his engineering team set out to address this and to create a Gravel bike that remains fast and reactive enough for the demands of the toughest gravel races - but that simultaneously delivers greater comfort and versatility than its predecessor. Fit for all aspects of this ever growing discipline.
The Palta II features a mildly tweaked geometry - the key to the ride. The original high top tube has been ever so slightly raised and a slacker head tube angle applied to create a positive position without the need for high headset spacer counts and to further enhance the off-tarmac capabilities of the platform. With this front end elevation, there is a concurrent increase in the steepness of the slope of the top tube. Like many bikes have done in the past, this increases the amount of exposed seat post. Why? Well, this is where much of the compliance in bikes comes from - and what makes a ride more comfortable when grinding it out in the saddle.
As I’ve said in countless write-ups before. Comfort is king. Unless you are entirely given over to speed for the likes of prologues for example, where sacrificing comfort for small power gains is a tenable trade off, any bike fitter will tell you that comfort has the potential to lead to speed. Particularly over longer distances and on varied terrain. The Palta's new seat tube flex is married to a new seat stay design (both aesthetically and from a carbon lay-up perspective) that conveys greater vertical compliance for comfort and wheel tracking, while maintaining lateral stiffness key to speed and pick-up. In addition, the new design further enhances versatility through improved tyre choice and the Palta II now comfortably accepts 45mm tyres on a 700c wheel. Further still - and this was most certainly a key element that was missed in the original, the Palta II will now accept 650B wheels with appropriate tyres.
A key element of the platform that delivers much of the ride is the specially developed fork that is held over from the original Palta - if it ain’t broke and all that….. Visually it stands out and it is fundamental to the versatility of the Palta II in varied terrain.The unique geometry of the fork confer both a more precise handling as well as vibration dampening to the ride quality, ultimately giving the stability and agility for mixing it up over a wide range of uneven surfaces, all while offering the opportunity to cut it on the tarmac and smooth sections of fast, flat trail.
Beyond the critical elements of frame and fork that offer vibration damping, even the new seat binder has been improved to soak up more chatter. Constructed with a new rubber gusset and featuring a vulcanised flange, this small but helpful element removes excess trail noise before it makes its way into you!
Along with the upgraded compliance that delivers greater comfort and tracking, Basso have also looked at making you faster through changes and improvements to the aerodynamics of the tubeset. The new Palta II uses Kamm Tail aero profiles for the rear face of the forward facing tubing, with a rounded leading edge for enhanced airflow.
Much of the developemnt of the Palta II has been around their newParadigma Integration System: stem, spacers, headset.
By utilising a new 1.5” - 1.5” headset, Basso have followed the trend for internally routing and concealing from the wind, the hoses and cables of the control units. This is groupset-agnostic and works for both mechanical and electronic set ups. Often these systems can compromise the performance of mechanical systems as a result of sharp cable routing angles, while simulataneously hindering free movement of the stem and negatively impacting handling precision. Basso's PIS delivers perfectly smooth steering and function of the components - even on 2x mechanical set ups.
The oversized headset couples with stackable 5mm spacers with a split-lock design that allows them to be separated and removed without need for rerouting. Coupled with the innovative design of the stem which has a double stem cap construction - it allows the cables to pass completely independently of its mounting and further facilitates any maintenance or position change, without the need of rerouting cables. With a -8° pitch it yields an aggressive look and aerodynamic position while remaining comfortable courtesy of the raised headtube and overall geometry.
In line with the Paradigma Integration System, Basso's have introduced a new gravel specific flared bar as part of the frame.Developed from the ground up taking off road comfort as the main focus, Basso reduced the section of the handlebar with innovative recesses to integrate a 4.5 mm thick bar tapes - without excess girth and the weird look that often lends. In addition they studied ergonomics and refined the bar for optimum comfort in all hands positions, from the tops to the drops - good news for the trail hungry mile munchers!
The new Gravel barcomplements the cockpit design and deftly passes cables through to the shifters unseen and all elements combined, yield a cockpit that delivers both excellent comfort, stunning aesthetics and aerodynamic gains.
On top of all this, a new stem lock system has been incorporated into the headset to remove the possibility of impact from the bars against the top tube and protect the frame in the event of a fall or crash.
Made to ride hard and limit less, the Palta II delivers everything else that the adventure could require in terms of mounting points on the frame : three bottle cage mounting positions, hidden bento box mounting bolt construction and perfect clearance for saddle, frame and handlebar bags. In addition, the new Palta II offers two new adventure-focused head unit mounts compatible with both Wahoo and Garmin.
With a carbon fibre construction that carefully balances stiffness with compliance to keep you fast and comfortable whilst paying attention to the need for resilience. For added protection the Palta II has a removable polymer shield for additional coverage on the down-tube for whatever the trail may throw at you.
Supplied with Mavic Allroad Wheels and equipped with Campagnolo's EKAR 1x13 dedicated gravel Grouspet, the Basso Palta II is ready to tear up the trail.
Basso are rare.
Almost all Italian, indeed European brands, struggle to compete with major bike manufacturers, if not on quality then certainly on price. Take a look at the likes of Pinarello and Colnago and it is difficult to see the value in their lower end models. Their Carbon tech and bike specifications struggle to come close to matching the counterparts offered by the big four : Cannondale, Giant, Specialized and Trek. Pinarello and Colnago are not small players in the game.
So, when a brand like Basso comes onto the radar it would be easy to gloss over it, dismiss it out of hand on the basis that, if the big boys can't compete, how would they?
Factor in that Basso are 100% Made in Italy - not known for cheap labour and mass bicycle production - and they become even more intriguing.
Visit any reasonably sized town in Italy and the chances are there is - or almost certainly was - a frame builder there.
Italians are in love with bike building. In much the same way that there is a frame building renaissance in the UK, with small outfits popping up all over, that approach permeates Italian society.
The beauty of Basso lies in their perfect balance to their approach.
By their own admission, they do not choose to advertise heavily - an approach more the preserve of North American 'manufacturers' (which is quite often a misnomer - I can name a very popular bike brand that doesn't manufacture a single product, they are simply a marketing company....)
Instead Basso choose to plough their passion and capital into producing bikes that do their talking on the road and, like most Italian brands, there's is more an experience; a particular quality of the ride that engages the rider and evokes emotion. Most of us want a bike to inspire us, but it is so easy to be overhemeled, not only with choice but with the sheer volume of marketing in the publications (who get their revenue from said) that are on offer and that are supposed to help guide our decisions. Understandable.
Basso - as I say - balance these elements particularly well. They deliver not only a signature 'Basso' ride quality - of which they are extremely proud, but they also are technologically savvy. They use the best processes and materials and where tech is not available - they develop their own. While many hide the quality of their materials or tech (by omission), Basso are transparent. As you will see in the detail below, they share not only information on the materials they use but go as far as to detail the lay-up schedules of their frames. I can't think of another brand that makes that level of detail readily available - certainly not at the lower end of the market.
This is testament to the quality of Basso frames. A self belief in their product, their production methods and materials that should instill confidence in you as a rider, as it does me as a dealer.
They are refreshing. Moreover - they are competitive.
This is the crux of it. Most large (let alone relatively small) Italian bike producers don't come close to being competitive, even with big companies' production outsourced to the far-east.
Basso are.
100% Handmade. In Italy. With transparency and high quality materials. Competitively priced. With a ride feel and handling designed not only to perform, but to inspire and delight.
Basso make it entirely possible to confidently purchase an handbuilt Italian road bike, without crippling yourself financially.
GEOMETRY QUICK GUIDE:Staring at geometry charts trying to fathom which bike will suit you best can be daunting to the non-geek and boring as much as anything else!
The price of a bike and the apparent position in the range do not necessarily relate to how racy a bike is. So, simply as a quick reference guide, the Basso Road Range is listed out below in GEOMETRY ORDER from most upright to most racy.
SIZING Guide :
XXS = 44
XS = 48
S = 51
M = 53/54
L = 56
XL = 58
XXL = 60/61
**Be aware that geometry doesn't necessarily dictate the type of riding that a bike is aimed at (though it is obviously a pretty good guide) - the Astra and Diamante SV are good examples. Always remember : a geometry that fits you will make you faster than a geometry that doesn't - if the bike is a top-of-the-line race bike but doesn't fit, it is unlikely to make you fast - more likely uncomfortable, distracted and slower as a result!**
Venta / Venta Disc : Endurance Geometry but with signature Basso ride feel that remains exciting despite the 'Endurance' tag. Exciting but comfortable.
Astra : All-Round geometry designed to crush everything. Constructed from high modulus carbon it is a stiff, light and engaging lay-up for a more spritely feel.
Diamante SV : Technically the most advanced frame in the range with a more 'modern' geometry than the Diamante Rim that sits below it. Accommodating, all-round geometry, yet entirely racy.
Diamante Disc : Sharing the same Carbon tech as the SV, the Diamante Disc uses super-light, round tube profiles and a similar but lightly more racy geometry. It is a great all-rounder and ideal for climbing.
Diamante Rim :Pure race geometry, long and low. Ideal for those looking to maximise their aero efficiency and adopt a racing tuck.
The table below details the most common technologies that are employed by Basso in their frames - these will often be referenced in the Technical Specifications of the models.
Not only that but you can see which carbon fibres that Basso are using and the lay-up schedules of each bike, so the differences between models is more apparent - this is also a useful guide as to what makes a specific frame behave a specific way.
Basso Components
Often a brand will have its own range of components to complement their frames and bikes - these are often scoffed at, but as Cannondale and Felt have ably demonstrated in the past, they can also be some of the lightest.
Basso components are also Made in Italy and their MR wheels are made in conjunction with Miche - a long established and forward thinking Italian brand. Basso components are excellent and perfectly complement the Basso brand - they are also key in delivering the Basso ride and keeping the bikes competitive - both in performance and price. They look good too!