The Basso Palta III follows a familiar path trodden by many contemporaneous do-it-all gravel bikes, but its 'liveability', custom build options, tasteful design details and made-in-Italy provenance could make it a compelling choice in a crowded marketplace.
Compared to the outgoing model, Basso has boosted the Palta III's tyre clearance to 52mm front and 50mm rear, refined the geometry to improve comfort and added down-tube storage, resulting in a bike that it says straddles gravel racing and adventure without compromising too heavily in either area.
“We know it’s never going to be the fastest bike on the road or the fastest on mountain bike trails,” says product and marketing manager Leonardo Basso. “So for us it’s about giving riders the most versatile bike to define what gravel means for them.”
Although it's backed up by extensive customisation options, prices in the UK start at £3,999 for the base-level GRX 1x12 build, rising to £5,399 for the top-spec SRAM Force XPLR AXS build.
‘A good balance to have a lively bike’
Tyre clearance is the key feature that defines modern gravel bikes, and has ballooned in recent years, with 55mm tyres now commonplace.
The Palta III doesn’t quite match these chonky extremes, but it’s not far off, with capacity for 52mm at the front and 50mm at the rear.
Given that it defines the intent and ride feel of a bike, how does a brand settle on a final figure, particularly for a bike designed to satisfy most riders?
“50mm was a good balance to still have a lively and animated bike,” says Basso. “We didn’t want something sluggish on the road or fast trails.”
Basso adds that increasing clearance further would require longer chainstays, changing the bike’s character.
“We didn’t want to lengthen the chainstays too much – we still wanted to keep the wheel close to the pedalling. But on the other hand, we wanted enough tyre clearance for riding that crosses the line with mountain biking.”
Outside of suitably versatile tyre clearance, to say credibly that it straddles both adventure and gravel racing requires an appropriate mix of accessory mounts.
The Palta III does’t have the Action Man-crotch-smooth silhouette of a truly race-oriented gravel bike, nor is it festooned in Surly levels of barnacle-like protrusions.
It strikes a balance that’s appropriate for the bike’s intent, with mounts on the top and bottom of the top tube, three bottle mounts inside the main triangle and two mounts under the down tube.
Some will rue the lack of fork bosses or rack mounts, which are often used by ultra racers looking to carry extra luggage or water.
But Basso points to other bikes in the brand’s line-up to meet those needs: “The Palta has always been a bike capable of carrying luggage or additional accessories, but it's never been a full-on bikepacking bike, like the Terra,” it says.
“[For the Palta III], we didn’t want to add too many bolts. It adds weight, and we wanted to keep really clean lines.”
Basso has partnered with Apidura to develop a range of bags designed to complement the bike.
Rather than use straps, these bolt on, which Basso says offers a more secure fit, while protecting the frame’s paintwork from abrasion.
The range includes two frame-bag options and top-tube storage, designed specifically around the Palta III’s tube shapes and mounting points.
Basso says the bags are shaped to enable continued access to bottles and the bike’s internal down-tube storage compartment – more on that in a moment.
Like most of the brand’s range, Apidura’s waterproof construction is used throughout, with welded seams and weatherproof zips.
Basso is not the first brand to work with a specialist to produce bags for a new bike, but this is a notably well-executed collaboration – the bags look super-clean when mounted and add to the credibility of Basso’s claim that it has designed this to be a bike for all gravel riders.
‘Rental and hire is important for us’
Basso offers three cockpit options on the Palta III: two one-piece cockpits (the Fuga and Levita) and a traditional two-piece setup using the new Strato alloy stem.
The Strato stem is available in lengths from 80mm to 130mm and routes cables underneath through a channel. It’s paired with a conventionally shaped carbon gravel bar.
Beyond providing riders with flexibility to customise cockpits as they please, Basso is unflinching in explaining how it supports another key, and unexpected, part of the brand’s business: “This stem supports what we’re doing in the area of Bassano [Basso’s hometown]. There are not enough possibilities for people who want to buy our bikes to test them,” says Basso.
“So this is how we view the rental and hire side of our business – it’s a way to get people trying bikes.
“The whole goal of what we do is to give the best riding quality to the riders… and this stem is really versatile for that.”
- Levita stem and bar
- Bar widths: From 400 to 460mm at the tops, and 420 to 480mm at the drops
- Bar flare: 12 degrees
- Stem lengths: 80 to 130mm
The Fuga cockpit is the performance-oriented option, with an aerodynamic profile and a racey fit.
- Fuga cockpit
- 370mm wide at hoods, 400mm in the drops
- 6-degree flare
- Stem sizes: 80 to 130mm
- Claimed weight: 300g, +/- 3%
The Levita cockpit offers a more classic road-bike fit, with slightly wider fit options and less flare.
- Levita cockpit
- Bar widths: From 380 to 440mm at the tops, and 400 to 460mm at the drops
- 4-degree flare
- Stem sizes: 80 to 130mm
- Claimed weight: 330g, +/- 3%
Carbon – but not for the reasons you think
Following many of its peers, the Palta III features internal frame storage in the down tube.
However, unlike other bikes, Basso uses a painted carbon cover instead of injection-moulded plastic – a point of genuine difference that’s more complex to pull off than you might assume.
“A carbon cover gives a really rigid mounting point for the bottle, and it’s lighter,” explains Basso, but that’s not the key reason the brand opted for carbon.
The real benefit comes when painting. Generally speaking, paint adheres more easily to the carbon, but crucially, the carbon cover has the same texture as the rest of the frame, lending the bike a very clean finish.
Basso says manufacturing using carbon is “really complicated”, and that maintaining tolerance between the two parts is very difficult, but any minor imperfections can be accommodated by the adjustability built into the magnetic Fidlock latch.
Compared to those found on the early generation of down-tube storage hatches, this clasp is easy to use and, crucially, secure.
I did my best to boot it out of place, belting the bike into volcanic lumps on my test rides, but it stayed steadfast. The mechanism also feels very positive, with a more pleasant tactile feel than some designs.
A specially designed, seam-welded water-resistant pouch lives inside the down tube, with enough space for a small pump, TPU tube and other small spares.
A familiar frameset
Although they share similar overall silhouettes, the profile of every tube on the Palta III has been updated for the new bike.
Some familiarly Basso-esque features remain – key among these is the kicked-forward fork crown. The same design is used on the Astra and SV road bikes, among others.
“With this layout, we can keep weight down and allow compliance while maintaining torsional rigidity,” says Basso.
For the Palta III, Basso says the torsional stiffness at the fork crown has been reduced slightly compared to previous versions, to improve comfort and front-end confidence on rough terrain.
Basso’s patented 3B Clamp system houses the seatpost in a sleeve, with a humped clamp slotting into a groove moulded into the back of the post. Basso says this provides a secure grip on the post, while enabling it to flex more, improving comfort.
Vibram x Basso
On the underside of the down tube is my personal highlight of the bike – the rubberised down-tube protector produced in collaboration with Vibram.
Made close to the brand’s headquarters, Basso says the thick, plastic-backed rubber-coated bolt-on plate protects the bike from impacts better than a typical stick-on protector, and there are more collaborations between the brands to come.
Reactions to this at the bike’s launch were mixed, but I think it’s a fun point of differentiation on an otherwise perfunctory part – memorable cycling marketing campaigns are increasingly dominated by collaborations, so why not extend this to an overlooked part of a bike?
Other small but welcome details include the solid oil bearings used in the headset and Basso’s novel sliding wedge-style expander.
Familiar, but no worse for it
I rode the bike for several days at a press camp in Sicily.
The riding covered a mix of farmland tracks over unexpectedly high cols; forested trails carpeted with pine needles, infested with mushroom hunters; and a long grind up the treacherously slippery slopes of Mount Etna, interspersed with extended road transfers.
Overall, the Palta III doesn’t present any surprises – the neutral and confidence-inspiring handling is what you’d expect from a bike of this ilk. The relatively short rear end gives it a more animated feel on tighter or technical terrain, but it’s no handful on rowdier descents.
Tyre pressure and volume have a far greater impact on ride quality than any bump-taming layup ever could, so I’m loath to draw conclusions here.
However, my brief observation is that the Palta leans into the firmer end of the riding spectrum – it’s by no means a tooth rattler, but it’s also no bendy wrist-protecting carbon hammock. Given the bike is designed to be raced hard and accommodate a decent bikepacking load, this gives me no cause for concern.
With a 590mm stack, my size-56cm equivalent test bike had a relatively generous – but by no means tall – front end.
Tastes differ in this area, but I prefer the slightly more luxuriant fit of a tall(er) stack because it enables you to use the drops more confidently when descending off-road, and languish on the tops when gasping for breath on a savage extended steep climb.
My bike was equipped with a 2x GRX Di2 drivetrain, which almost all bikes will accommodate without issue. However, while some brands have shunned the humble mechanical 2x drivetrain, Basso retains compatibility with the new Palta III – a very welcome move.
On that, dwelling on the specs is not important because the Palta III is offered as a custom build to all customers. Backed up with a commendably wide range of cockpit options that will satiate even the fussiest gravel diva – this is something that should always be celebrated.
It’s fair to say the Palta III doesn’t push boundaries, and it joins the ranks of many well-designed and perfectly handsome gravel bikes.
However, where these often feel overlooked on other bikes, the Palta III's neat details and tasteful accessories help it stand out – and that’s key if Basso wants to win new riders given gravel-bike design has largely settled on a proven formula.
That the frameset is manufactured in Italy – but doesn’t cost an outrageous amount of money – will also be a draw for those who wish to support more local supply chains than is typical of the wider cycling industry.
Mature, well-considered and versatile, the Palta III is a connoisseur's choice for the do-it-all gravel rider.
