Josh works with 27 engineers in America’s auto racing heartland, Indianapolis. It is a revelation speaking with someone who knows carbon fibre wheels so well, someone who can cut through the myths and the marketing to lay the facts on the table. If you are prepared to let down your defences and indulge in a very technical insight, it is well worth tapping Josh Poertner’s fountain of knowledge and learning a lot more about carbon fibre wheel technology.

A Single Strand of Carbon Fibre

Our journey with Josh Poertner begins with carbon fibre fabrication. I started by asking about the selection of carbon fibre for Zipp wheels.

JP: People are often surprised at how hands-on carbon fibre production is. People like to use the term hand-made and pretty much all of the carbon is hand-made.

The actual carbon production is the graphitisation of the polyacrylonitrile fibre, it’s turned into carbon strands. It’s bundled into a K count, how many thousands per bundle, typically 3K or 6K or 12K and sometimes 24K.

Most of what we use is unidirectional carbon and that is a bunch of parallel running 12K’s or 24K’s that has been pre-impregnated with an epoxy resin and then it’s frozen. The other one that you see a lot in the brake track and the tyre weld of the carbon clinchers is a woven fabric. Typically they have different stiffness properties. When you weave an over-under, the fibre bends. The more bends you have, the poorer it’s going to perform in those directions. If you fracture it, the fracture will run one weave length and terminate at the cross points. Unidirectional carbon aren’t nearly as damage tolerant – it can run the entire length of the strand.

We tend to put woven [carbon fibre] where we drill holes. If you think of drilling in uni-directional [carbon] you can get a run [fracture]  like in nylon. We use woven where we need toughness and also use woven where we have impacts. Woven has higher elongation failure rates, because of the crimping. It can take compression before it actually begins to interlaminar shear.

The range of Zipp Wheels at Ausbike in 2012

Three Dimensional Kevlar Stitching

I am standing with Josh in front of the complete series of ZIPP wheelsets, from the 202 tubular and firecrest carbon clincher through to the 303′s, 404′s, 808′s and disc wheels. Picking up and looking at the construction in more detail Josh continues.

JP: The core of the rim is uni-directional and here, where the powder holes are drilled and the impact zones are, you see woven. Even the tubulars have woven under the ceramic brake surface, just for impact toughness. One of the things that is new on the firecrest wheels is that we have replaced the woven material on the inner diameter with the three dimension stitching technology.

Tens years ago all of the rims were woven; we were really the first to go to an all uni-directional, but we still had woven on the inner and outer diameter. You will notice every single rim on the market today has a [carbon fibre] layup that looks just like my rim. We really set the standard on that. That was a lot of [us] saying “let’s take the woven away from the areas you don’t need it”, which is in the sidewalls.

In the inner diameter we have replaced woven with sewing. The fibre is continuous, tip to tail, so there is no actual seam in the entire rim. Where you have the holes you have what is known as open hole compression, and open hole compression is a hard thing for carbon to resist. You can either drill the hole where the fibers end, and that’s not so strong, or you can push a pin through and mould the hole, and the fibers bend around the hole and they are still not so strong. Nobody has really come up with a great open hole compression solution. If you look at the Boeing 787 they are doing the window surrounds with a three dimensional weave, almost like a grading. It is three dimensionally woven and from that we actually had the idea; what if we three dimensionally stitch or sew?

Conventional wisdom was that you can’t sew prepreg, it’s not going to work. It took about two years to develop the sewing technique, the machines, the coding, and the process.

The stitch on the outside is called the the cover stitch. There are three needles, three puncturing threads and two covering threads. The covering threads give you essentially the same keel resistance as the woven fibre would give you and the added benefit is if the carbon fails, the first thing that fails is the glue. The carbon fibre is ten times stronger than the resin. The failure, whether it is impact, or whether it’s open hole, it is always going to start with an interlaminar shear. You have two carbon parts that are really strong, they are only held together by glue. When there is an impact, or a spike in the load, they shear. What we have done is sown a re-enforcement. Carbon is on the XY [plane] and on the Z is typically glue. We sew through in the Z axis with kevlar, so now to have interlaminar shear you have to physically break those [kevlar] fibers.

3D Kevlar Stitching on the Zipp Firecrest wheelset

It is the nature of wheels, [where] you have to have holes for the nipples, you have to strengthen them. We have found that this [technique] is stronger than any preexisting technology.

The three dimensional stitching is patented, as is the kevlar stitching that runs along the top of the tubular rims for reinforcement, called Carbon Bridge Technology.

The Carbon Bridge Technology allowed this to be the first carbon wheel to finish the Paris-Roubaix and, ultimately, win the Paris-Roubaix. We spent two years developing the technology and trying to convince the riders to try it and the first year we tried it [in 2008] Martijn Maaskant finished 4th, and the next year we won. Tom Boonen later said “I don’t think the race can be won on an aluminium wheel ever again”. We worked with Boonen and Specialized this year where took them into the Arenberg forest, the Carrefour de l’Arbre and to some of the flat paved sections at the end. You could see in the power meter 24 – 26 watts lower at the same speed on the carbon wheel and over the 265km distance, that’s 700 plus calories of energy not burned by riding the carbon wheel.

The Comfort of Carbon Fibre

Just like steel, alumnium and titanium, carbon fibre has material character traits, though it is not necessarily what it seems to be.

JP: People tend to want to always believe that carbon is comfortable and that is not necessarily true. We laughed at the early days when they had carbon seat posts and riders would say it has so much damping. We also make speaker cones out of carbon fibre because it has so little damping. If you want damping, you have to design it in. Take an old school Zipp 440 wheel that we created in 1991, that has a V-shape. It is essentially a triangle and there is nothing more rigid than a triangle. You can add all of the damping you want, if you don’t have the spring rate it really doesn’t matter.

The History of Zip 404 Wheels beginning with the original ‘straight edge’ 404

If you look at our wheels [now] there are no straight surfaces anywhere in the rim. It is all curved and the rim bulges out. You actually have a bit of compliance within the rim section. Now that I have a spring rate, I can then actually add damping. It is really about systems design. Something doesn’t damp because it is carbon.

American Verses Chinese Carbon Production

The majority of the bicycle frames and parts are made in Asia, though ZIPP is one of the few exceptions to the rule with design and production in the United States. Josh Poertner share his position on keeping it local.

JP: The western world has done a really good job of giving its knowledge to Asia in the search for higher profits. We have stayed away from that; everything we sell, we make. Everything we do we consider to be our secret and I consider that to be our advantage. My engineers sit 50 feet away from the guys who actually make the product and that gives us a really different outlook on things. We can move quickly, we can take big design risks in advance development of products.

The original Zipp 303 was a 28mm wide tubular rim with sidewalls that intentionally give about 1.5mm radial compression within the rim section and we started sewing the outer diameter. We started in 2006 saying “we’re going to win Roubaix on this wheel”, while the conventional wisdom was “we’re not even going to ride carbon wheels at Roubaix”. That is the kind of process that I don’t think anybody is willing to undertake in China. You spend the time and money travelling there and back, and now you have a mould – if you don’t use it, they’re going to sell it to some other guys. You need to get to market and make money.

For us, everyone in my company comes from an auto racing background. We are in the home of auto racing in America – Indianapolis. We have 30 composite shops in the greater Indianapolis area, guys making racing car chassis, wings, custom driver seats. For years we made driver seats, steering wheels and wings. We have done engineering work for multiple Indy 500 race winning cars. That’s the background of our crew and our team, so we really try to leverage that to change the cycling experience.

Computers verses Wind Tunnels verses Marketing

Advanced modelling and prototyping on computers aides the design process, though this hasn’t replaced wind tunnel testing. If anything, it makes it more complex, particularly with market pressure to constantly be innovative, lighter, stiffer and faster. So what do you get when you put a marketing in the same room as engineering?

JP: You can’t delude yourself. Everything we do in Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) that you have to make a decision on, you also have to take to the wind tunnel, because there is always that risk. It’s not easier on the computer, but you can pick out a lot of data that you can’t get in the wind tunnel. The wind tunnel essentially gives you three data points and a consumer could say “but you didn’t have a bike”. Then you put a bike in there and they say “you didn’t have a rider”.

Zipp Circumferential variation in Drag Force and Side Force

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with the Zipp 808 rotating with rake

CFD Oilslick Plasma simulation with the Zipp 808

The problem with any sort of measurement device is that you have an uncertainty that is a percentage of your number. If I put a wheel in there, my uncertainty is maybe 8 grams. If I put a bike in there, it is maybe 20 grams. If I put a bike in there with a rider, it could be 100 grams. The problem is that if you are trying to find a change in your wheel, that may only be 15 grams, but there is too much noise. In the wind tunnel, you can see a lot of numbers that the marketing guy calls “better”, but the engineer has to call the same. “That’s 15 grams better, but our uncertainty is 20″. As a responsible engineer, I can’t call that better.

Ninety nine out of one hundred companies in this industry are marketing companies and are buying stuff that someone else is making. Of course, they can go in and say “this is the best”, “this is better”, and we can’t do this.

What we can do in the computer is steering torque. None of the wind tunnels worldwide is measuring this and that is something that we can model. We can measure the steering torque and the centre of pressure and iterate that design in the computer and watch that move.

We sent a team to work in the wind tunnel to develop Yaw moment measurement.  Because we have made changes and helped the wind tunnel make changes, other companies are benefiting from that. We’re willing to accept that. We were there first and basically created the science behind wheel stability, and our whole industry is going to benefit from that. Not a single wheel company here isn’t talking about stability, whether they have any idea what that is or not.

Zipp Wind Tunnel Testing measuring Yaw moment

When Carbon Fails

With the current trends, your next road bike is most likely to be carbon fibre, but not necessarily your next wheelset. Carbon wheelsets are often still reserved for performance rather than everyday riding.

JP: The problem with the wheel is that it sees a lot of heat because there is a braking surface, and of course the area you damage is also the brake surface. We spent three years developing resins that can handle the high temperatures for carbon clinchers; you will see over 400°F (200°C). Our rims can handle transience on the surface of 600°F (315°C). That is another thing with the wheels out of China that people don’t think about. They can soften up, warp and come apart. Tour (magazine) Germany did a nine wheel carbon clincher shootout and Zipp and Xenti were the only two that didn’t melt on the descent and fail through heat. It’s a very hard problem to solve.

We were late to the carbon clincher business because we were busy trying to solve that problem. I was beat about the head and neck by distributors and sales people saying “everybody’s doing it, it works, it works”… but guys, it doesn’t pass our testing! By the time we launched, it was a really well known problem “Oh, it’s hilly were I live – we can’t sell carbon clinchers, they melt”. Melt is not technically right, though is the word that people understand.

There is a thing called the Glass Transition Temperature, that engineers call TG, which is essentially how hot it can be heat-soaked before it starts to move, the epoxy will soften and it will be able to deform. Most of the product out of Asia is between 260 and 280°F (125 – 140°C), some of the good ones are 300°F (150°C). Some of the good US and European made wheels are in the 320 to 350°F (160 – 180°C) range. We are 450°F (232°C) and upwards. The Zipp 202 is a little bit above that still because it is a lighter weight product, so there is a risk that it gets hotter. With the 202 we have launched a new brake pad geometry that is 1.5mm taller radially and that is a 15% increase in surface area. Because it is radial, you are putting in more “swept” area on the rim, so the temperatures tend to run lower.

The Devil in the Detail

Josh is realistic about the performance gains that are possible when it comes to tuning your bike and wheels. It makes sense to split the elite performance athlete from the sports enthusiast. When it comes down to nitty gritty details of tuning a racing bicycle and wheels, when you are paying for your own equipment, there are limits, but also affordable options.

JP: The Mission Statement of my department is “Ultimate Customer Experience” and that goes for every aspect. People get so hung-up on one thing “We build the lightest”, but is that really the ultimate experience. [One of the problems of] an 800gram wheelset, is that part of what you are feeling in instability is that there is not much inertia. There are so many factors that influence it. For bearings, we are the only company left in the world spec’ing DIN P5 bearings from Switzerland. We use a steel bearing that is more precise than almost any ceramic bearing on the market and that’s a real part of the value proposition. Ceramic bearings tend to have low friction if they have ultra-high quality, but a lot of times to get the price point right, you will put a ceramic ball in a Chinese [ball] race. You can say you have ceramic, but essentially you are an ABEC 1, a very low grade race with a high grade ball. That’s not doing anything.

This industry can be really guilty of going for the marketing angle, but guys, if the ceramic bearings upgrade is less that $1000 for the wheelset, it’s not worth it. You get what you pay for. To give you a benchmark, our Zipp hub continually achieves top one, top two in independent mags. Tour magazine did a test a few years ago and we were number two in rolling efficiency behind the DT190 hub, with full ceramic bearings with ABEC 7 races. I look at that and go ‘we’ve got 30% larger flange diameter, we’re a couple of grams lighter, we’ve got a 2mm larger axle and we’re a good bit less expensive’. I think that’s pretty good.

Nine out of ten ceramic bearing upgrades will make my [Zipp] hub less efficient. Ceramic doesn’t necessarily mean efficient. There are a million Chinese made ceramic bearings that are being used for furnace carts and anywhere where you have something that is hot. That is suited to the application and ceramic doesn’t mean high quality and high grade. It is heat resistance against thermal growth, it needs to get hot and not change size like a steel ball. There are a lot of people out there trying to leverage that, but any one of those upgrades in my hub is going to make it roll way less efficiently, so you, as the consumer, may as well put the money in a bin and set it alight.

The best case scenario of ceramic bearings in a wheelset is 1 watt at 30 miles and hour. We sell ceramic bearings and they’re $1000, but we’re honest: “guys, it’s 1000 bucks for a watt”. Tony Martin, at the worlds, rides thousand dollar ceramic bearings. For the consumer, you can buy a better tyre and you’ll save twice that. You put latex tubes in there you’ll save 6 times that amount. A new chain on your bike can be as much as 6 watts compared to a worn chain. Just cleaning your drive chain is a couple of watts. 1 watt of ceramic bearings is about 3 seconds per 40 kilometres. I can find you a minute for the 40k for very little money.

With Chris Langdon, our distributor [echelon], we spent a year working with Kristin Armstrong on every little detail with multiple wind-tunnel tests, looking at different tyres and tyre pressures and clincher verses tubular. Really sweating the details, and she won, and in the end said she felt she really had THE advantage. That’s when she won by 18 seconds and had ceramic bearings and latex tubes, had every little thing dialled and you go “that’s what that’s for”. For consumers who say “I put ceramic bearings in my wheel and now none of my friends can catch me on the hill”, that’s not ceramic bearings. If you loose the national time trials by three seconds, ceramic will buy you three.

There’s fine and then there’s ZIPP

Zipp wheelsets and products are not within the reach of all riders, though Josh knows this: “We try and be at the pinnacle, but are not all things to all people.” For cyclists and teams who are in the line of sight of ZIPP, they can rely on an enviable reputation of quality and reliability that the company has achieved.

Josh feels a personal responsibility to his customers, and while marketing is part of any successful business, the innovation is not dictated by marketeers. “We try to make decisions based on research and based on science and the hardest part is at the end when we try to be honest.”

Zipp wheelsets and accessories are available in Australia through Echelon Sports with select dealers Australia-wide. You can also learn more about the technology on the Zipp website: www.zipp.com

Photos: 1-3 © Bicycles Network Australia, 4 – 10 © Zipp

As with the Azzurri Forza Pro Ultegra Di2, the Mezzo 90 arrived boxed up neatly from Cycling Express. After getting the bike home, unpacking it and taking some quick pictures, I attacked it with some basic tools and a torque wrench and the bike was set up and ready to ride within 20 minutes.

The bike, without pedals, came in at 6.9kg, which for a frame with a 570mm effective top tube (the Mezzo 90 I tested is listed as an XL frame, and is the biggest they make) is within a hair’s breadth of being under the UCI weight limit – a great achievement for this size bike with no super light components in sight.  There is ample opportunity with the money saved purchasing the Mezzo 90 (compared to other similarly spec’d offerings) to buy some lighter components and drop the weight below 6.5kg without compromising longevity or capability.

Buying a bike online –a great idea or a risky option?
Buying a bike online can be a daunting process, as there is often no way to tell how a bike handles, rides or even how well the package is integrated.  Here on BNA we published The Ultimate Online Shopping Guide to help online shoppers minimise the risks. Even armed with this info, you still have to make a leap of faith. Cycling Express have the advantage here over the overseas online enterprises in that they have a ‘bricks & mortar’ store that Melbournites can visit to inspect their wares, including the bikes.

Once word got around of the upcoming test of the Mezzo 90 from a small teaser in the BNA newsletter, I fielded a couple of enquiries via BNA regarding the bike. One enthusiast was Melbourne based; after answering his queries, he popped into their store and purchased one as an early 50th birthday present. Another Adelaide based Australian Cycling Forum member dropped by my place for a quick visit and test ride. He wanted to compare the response of the Mezzo’s rear end to that of his BMC SLR01 and, with that experience, was off home to place the order online.

One key advantage with Cycling Express is their ‘Test Ride 40 day money back guarantee’, you can return the bike if you either don’t like it or have purchased the wrong size. Of course, conditions apply, but this is a rare type of guarantee offered by Cycling Express and is a major safety net for anyone who cannot get to the store to see and try the bike in the flesh.

Cycling Express now has the functionality to allow you to order a bike online and choose its options, such as upgrading the wheelset to some beautiful Reynolds Assaults, or choosing an alternate cassette ratio, which addresses one of my concerns with the bike; the standard gearing is better suited to the strong rider. Whilst you can save a few dollars if you shop around and upgrade yourself, this requires input and effort on your behalf and I’d rather be riding.

Mezzo 90 Initial Impressions
The graphics on the Mezzo are quite different from the Forza Pro, a muted grey/red/white colour scheme which matches well with some of the key components.  I really liked the ‘fading’ of the grey to black on the chain stays, but this theme is not continued to other grey highlights which I think is an opportunity missed to really harmonise the colour scheme.  The Kysrium wheelset stands out in this package due to the raw alloy cutouts on the wheel; they add a striking visual reference to the ensemble.  The placement of the rest of the Azzurri Mezzo 90 logos are unobtrusive, such as on the inside of the fork legs, but this adds to the differentiation of the Azzurri brand.

The frame tube profiles are completely different to the Forza Pro; the downtube has a large girth which contrasts with the very slender ovalised seat stays.  The BB86 bottom bracket provides great stability and a wide junction for the beefy downtube and chain stays.  The tall headtube has a double bulge that gives it a stylish lead into the top tube as it tapers down to the seat tube junction. The neat cable entry & exit points, which are moulded rather than riveted, add to the quality look.  The gear cable penetrations in the head tube are let down by the fact that they run externally down to the bottom bracket.

The FSA SL-K full carbon seatpost, Easton EA70 stem and carbon bars match the colours used on the Mezzo 90 very well. The EA70 handlebars have the shallow combination bend that I like very much, and I found them to be very comfortable during the test.  The Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheelset shod with grippy Continental Ultra Race 23C tyres add some bling to the muted paint scheme, and the Fizik Arione is a well proven quality saddle.  It even stayed on the bike for the entire test, unlike the saddle fitted to the Forza Pro.

So, how does it ride?
Within the first 500m of the very first ride, I noticed the compliance in the rear end of the bike, especially after the very stiff rear end of the Forza Pro.  This, aside from the low weight of the bike, transformed the way I rode.  I no longer found myself subconsciously raising the bum when a patch of rough bitumen or sewer manhole was coming up.  Those skinny seat stays (ala Cervelo and BMC) REALLY do work, and yet, when having to get out of the saddle and climb, there wasn’t much apparent flex in the rear end – the bike just leapt forward, even with my low power!  There are more frames that are utilising this style of rear end, such as the BMC GF range and the Steven’s Ventoux, but these are often considerably pricier.

Almost from the first, I found myself feeling so comfortable in the bike’s capabilities that it felt like I’d been riding the bike for years. I had no issue going through corners faster and with a great deal more confidence than ever before. Part of this was due to the excellent grip of the Continental Ultra race tyres, but the majority was due to the handling, feedback, stability and responsiveness of the frame.  Mid corner bumps didn’t unsettle the bike and there was very little effort required to alter direction if that was required.

During the test, a BNA member contacted me for my thoughts on the bike. He posed the question: “Given the light weight, how quickly were you able to be confident on descents?”  I was able to respond that it took only a few hundred metres and a couple of corners and from there my confidence just kept on growing. Even when having to brake hard on a corner I had already committed to, my heart was in my mouth but the bike responded without fuss. Because of this, I found myself climbing much more than I had with the previous bike, and the grin that I had at the start of each descent was brilliant. The front end remained solid and quite stiff, but the rear end just soaked up the bumps and undulations and followed the front without question.  Even high speed descents were handled with aplomb and I never experienced any level of the nervousness that can sometimes come in at higher speeds, especially on lightweight bikes.

Under braking, even when hard for those tight downhill hairpins, the bike remained stable and assured.  The confidence inspiring nature of the inherent handling of the bike made me want to take those hairpins at double the signposted speed and at times I had to really rely on the braking power and stability to get back within my capability limits.  This bike makes you want to ride fast!  If anything, the rear brake is a bit easier to lock up than I’d like, but the modulation and stopping power from the front calipers and Swisstop Black pads was outstanding.

The Ksyrium Elites rolled exceptionally well and were pretty stiff, but the front wheels suffered a bit of spoke pinging when standing while climbing, something I’d never experienced in a wheelset before.  Mind you, I was having too much fun riding the bike to bother investigating further and, as it didn’t cause an issue (the wheels remained true throughout the test), I kept riding.

Some interesting things are worth noting when comparing the geometries of the Mezzo 90 and the Forza Pro.  The first is that the Mezzo 90 is only available in 4 sizes (the largest being the XL with a 570mm top tube) whilst the Forza Pro is available in 5 sizes with the largest having a 584mm top tube.  Comparing the two bikes that I rode (both with a 570mm top tube), the only geometry differences are effectively the head tube length and a slightly smaller fork rake (42mm on the Mezzo and 45 and the Forza).  All other key dimensions and angles are the same.  These two minor dimensional differences belie the completely different characters in the bikes, and how they ride and handle.

But what about the ‘new’ SRAM RED Groupset?
This bike is now arguably Cycling Express’s hero bike; it combines a top tier groupset and very light weight for a stunning price. Even with a brilliant price set at $3,699, Cycling Express often have specials or offers that can reduce the price to make it even greater value, so you may be lucky to grab one at an even better price.  This bike, both in style, specification and frame geometry, can be compared to a very similar spec’d bike of another brand that was a mere 400g lighter, but with twice the price. There is no denying that this bike is more than keenly priced.

The full groupset of the latest generation SRAM RED is used on the Mezzo 90, including the new XG1090 cassette.  If you understand machining at all, this groupset is a work of art.  The bold graphics and styling has polarised some people, but I like it and, as with the other components, it fits in well with the Mezzo 90’s colour scheme and styling.

On BNA we had a look at the new SRAM RED when it was first released in Australia , and though I hadn’t ridden a SRAM equipped bike before, I was wondering how long it would take to get used to the ‘DoubleTap’ system. My fears came to nought as it was a doddle to use and get used to.  Changes from bigger to smaller cogs were quick and direct, and from smaller to bigger…well, they were still crisp (though not as brilliant as the Di2), but being able to change up 4 cogs on the rear was wonderful, especially when that short steep climb came into view.  There was very little free play in the system and, compared to Di2, I felt it was a draw – some better aspects on each were overshadowed by other not quite so good things, but that is being really fussy.

In order to get up my favourite hills in Adelaide, I had to change the cassette as the 11-23 unit supplied with the bike paired with a 53/39 crankset is not something that works for hills unless you are a strong rider. So I swapped in a 12-27 DA cassette, a quick adjustment on the RD, and I was away. There is a chance to specify a different cassette when ordering the bike, but note that the XG level cassette is replaced by the older OG (previous generation Red) cassette when selecting this $99.00 option.

There was only one issue that very nearly caused me to call for a ‘rescue lift’, and that was when an annoying creak started to develop near the top of a long climb on the second ride. It turned out that the crank had worked itself loose!  Fortunately, I was able to coast down the hill and home to properly diagnose the issue. It seems that the main fixing bolt (a 10mm hex bolt) holding the two crank halves together had come loose. This required a big torque wrench (luckily I had one of those) in order to torque it back up to the required 48 – 54Nm. While it shouldn’t have been loose or come loose, the lesson to learn here is to regularly check the bike. Since then, no further issues were encountered and the bolt remained tight.

The other gripe I had was the ridiculously short valve extension on the rear inner tube.  With some dodgy alignment, my floor pump would only just work. A rear puncture after 100km solved that problem and a decent valve stem length tube was inserted. It was a minor thing, but it’s the finer attention to detail that influences the riding experience and enjoyment.

Overall impressions
On my last ride climbing Greenhill Rd on the outskirts of Adelaide, I wondered what sort of category this bike would fall into. Is it a sprinter’s bike with its great responsiveness when powering along? Is it a commuter hack (albeit a schmick one) with its really nice ride and solid level of equipment? Or is it a GC weapon with its climbing and descending ability combined with its light weight?  In reality, it’s all of them and none of them.

After 6 weeks living with the bike (totalling some 21 rides and 37 hours in the saddle, covering 943km and climbing 10,542m), I decided that this bike would be a great long distance/sportive weapon. It has the taller head tube (190mm on the Mezzo compared to 168mm on the Forza Pro) to give a great seating position, the light weight to help conquer those hills at the end of an imperial century ride, and the compliant rear end to reduce the onset of fatigue on those long days in the saddle. Shortish chain stays assist in the crisp steering and make for great descending, meaning that the slog up the hill will be worth it on the other side. All of this is packaged together with a keen price to satisfy even the most budget conscious.

The quality of the finishing kit is such that upgrades are not an instant requirement, but such is the value of the package that reasoned upgrades will add to the appeal.

So is this bike worth the extra $1,200 over the Forza Pro Di2?  It depends on what you want the bike for. If you like climbing and longer rides, definitely. If you have the extra money available, most certainly. And if you just want a great bike at a brilliant price, of course it is!!

If you know me you will know that I am still a keen believer in disc brakes on road bikes and, if I wasn’t so insistent on them, the Mezzo 90 would be hard pressed to stay out of my shed. Because of the excellent value, there are more of these Azzurri’s finding their way onto our roads despite it being a relatively young brand. On a dollar versus output comparison, there isn’t much that comes close. Grab one while you can!!

The Icing on the Cake
Cycling Express also offer the Azzurri Mezzo 90 kitted out with Shimano Di2 for $100 less than with the SRAM RED, which means you can have your cake and eat it too, if you prefer that flavour.

I wonder what the next Azzuri weapon will be? Hopefully I can find out soon and tell you all about it – maybe a Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 – I have the legs and am ready to pedal.

The Azzurri Mezzo 90 is available from Cycling Express and can also be ordered for pickup in partner stores across Australia.

Edit: correction to FSA SL-K which is full carbon & 40 day guarantee which is rare rather than unique.