The Wilier Filante SLR is a new flagship disc race bike that aims to be both aero and light.
It follows on from the Wilier Cento10Air and Cento10Pro aero bikes, but is designed to get closer to the brand’s Zero SLR on the scales, with a frame weighing a claimed 870g.
Complete bikes start at £7,470 / €8,300 and top out at £11,160 / €12,400 for a build with Campagnolo Super Record EPS and Bora WTO 33 Disc wheels. A frameset will set you back £4,500 / €5,000.
2021 Filante SLR: aero and light with no sharp edges
Wilier says the Filante SLR was designed with input from pros including Daniele Bennati, Jakob Fuglsang and Alexey Lutsenko.
According to the brand, the Filante SLR was designed to be as aero as possible, but with similar ride characteristics and weight numbers as the Zero SLR. The frameset is disc-only and designed solely for electronic groupsets.
Wilier doesn’t make specific claims about the magnitude of aero improvements over the Filante SLR’s predecessors, but the bike does take a somewhat new approach.
While Kammtail tube shapes are used throughout as previously, Wilier has rounded the corners of the trailing edges more on the Filante, saying this reduces drag in real-world conditions.
It also has the side-benefit of reducing the amount of material needed, and hence saving weight.
Claudio Salomoni of Wilier says: “obviously we developed Filante in the wind tunnel, you can’t avoid using it, however the wind tunnel has limits”. Real-world yaw-angles are constantly changing, and turbulence from other riders can also be a factor, he explains.
Another key feature of the Filante SLR is its ultra-wide fork leg stance, which creates a huge amount of space either side of the front wheel, apparently further reducing drag.
This is mirrored by the hugely spaced out seatstays and, viewed from the front, these are designed to be completely obscured by the fork, suggesting air might pass uninterrupted through both (although obviously the rider will be a factor here too). Think of it as a less extreme version of the Hope HB.T track bike.
Previous Wiliers have featured asymmetrical back ends to counteract the asymmetrical forces the drivetrain produces. The Filante SLR is also noticeably asymmetrical at the front – the left fork leg is significantly larger than the right one to withstand the loads imposed by braking.
The Filante SLR’s frame is claimed to weigh 870g (size unspecified) while the fork is 360g. The matching seatpost weighs a claimed 165g, while the one-piece carbon cockpit is said to be 365g. Overall, Wilier claims an 11 per cent weight saving over the Cento10Pro.
Fit for all and fully integrated
The Filante SLR comes in six sizes, with size-specific tubing that’s designed to keep ride quality consistent.
There are five cockpit options that feature odd-sounding stem lengths of 88mm, 101mm, 114mm, 127mm and 140mm. Each length is matched to a specific bar width (ranging from 400mm to 440mm) so you can’t, for example, opt for a 140mm stem and the narrowest 400mm bar.
The unusual lengths are apparently the result of Wilier’s efforts to offer a very even spread of fits across the size range, with minimal jumps between the options.
As part of these, the frameset is designed to work with up to 35mm of headset spacers, while the seatpost is available in zero and 15mm setback options.
The Filante’s geometry is as racy as you’d expect, with a medium featuring 388mm of reach and 538mm of stack.
Pretty well every high-end bike launched this year has featured extensive integration and the Filante SLR is no exception.
The cabling is fully internal, and Wilier has updated its approach here. Previous models used a D-shaped fork steerer to create space for the cables.
The Filante SLR returns to a round steerer, which the brand says is stiffer and creates the necessary space by using “super-fine” headset bearings of its own design that take up less room.
Wilier Filante SLR 2021 range and pricing
The Filante SLR will be available in three colours and a range of builds. These are grouped by drivetrain as follows, with the price depending on the choice of wheelset. Pricing in other currencies is to be confirmed:
Campagnolo Super Record EPS
- Campagnolo Bora WTO 33 Disc Dark: £11,160 / €12,400
- Campagnolo Shamal Carbon C21: £10,080 / €11,200
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9170
- Wilier ULT38KT / CeramicSpeed: £10,170 / €11,300
- Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon: £9,270 / €10,300
- Shimano RS170: €9,300
SRAM Red eTap AXS Disc 2×12
- Wilier ULT38KT / CeramicSpeed: £10,260 / €11,400
- Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon: £9,360 / €10,400
Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8070
- Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon: £7,380 / € 8,200
- Shimano RS170: £6,480 / €7,200
SRAM Force eTap AXS 2×12 with power meter
- Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon: £8,100 / €9,000
SRAM Force eTap AXS 2×12
- Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon: £7,470 / € 8,300
SRAM Force eTap AXS 2×12 Wide
- Wilier SLR 42 KC carbon: £7,470 / € 8,300
Wilier Filante SLR frameset
- Including cockpit and seatpost: £4,500 / €5,000
