Basso Diamante

A classic-looking climber's machine that's good on the way down too

- LAURENCE KILPATRICK

A Diamante is not forever. This is now the eighth generation of Basso’s climber’s bike, which has been at the heart of the brand for more than 20 years. The latest Diamante’s classic appearance alludes to its heritage, perhaps more so than previous versions, for this newest frameset – despite the switch to exclusively running disc brakes – has been slimmed down, smoothed out and rounded, where many competitors have become more angular and bulky.

Basso says this comes out of its own research on how to achieve the best structural performance from the carbon composite to maintain torsional rigidity while reducing weight. An aggressive variant of the Diamante design, the Diamante SV, takes care of the aero road category, so the regular Diamante is free to focus on more traditional performance objectives, for which there is definitely still an appetite among those who don’t race.

In combination with the redesigned tube profiles, Basso says it has adjusted the carbon fibre scheduling in the frameset to reduce the weight by a considerable 200g. A size 53cm frame is said to weigh just 760g, so using Basso’s build configurator, which lets the user select components, builds coming in at around the UCI minimum weight limit should be possible.

Among the component options are a number of Basso’s own-brand parts, including the new Levita integrated bar/stem, which works with the frame’s headset and spacer arrangement to hide cables. Happily, Basso makes the Levita in 15 stem length and bar width configurations, making a snug rider fit achievable, if not adjustable post-purchase.