Bianchi Oltre Race & Sprint, More Attainable Aero Road Bikes Tease Mechanical 105 12sp
A new carbon Bianchi Oltre Race and updated Bianchi Sprint aim to lower the cost of buying a modern aero road bike. But even if the profiles of these modernized road bikes don’t look all that new, their spec suggests some a rumored and often-discussed bombshell. Shimano 105 mechanical is likely getting a 12-speed makeover soon.
Bianchi Oltre Race & Sprint tease Shimano 105 12-speed mechanical groupset
With complete bikes selling for a fraction of the cost of a top-tier Oltre RC or Specialissima carbon framesets, the new carbon Bianchi Oltre Race & Sprint are certainly more affordable. But a lot of that comes down to the availability of a mechanical shift groupset vs. the electronic-only setups on many of the top-tier bikes. Both the Oltre Race & Sprint include 105 Di2 & 105 mechanical builds which are the Italian bike maker’s most budget options.
But the curious thing is that if you look at the Sprint, Bianchi is still listing the old version of the bike (with visible external cables) on their website for 2449€ with “105 11SP” or 3849€ with “105 DI2“. But the new version (with hidden fully internal cables) is offered for 2549€ with simply “105” and for the same 3849€ with “105 DI2 12SP“.
Sure, that lack of number of gears and extra 100€ could be a fluke, right?
Except… when you click on the new “105” bike, its URL has sprint-10512sp in the title, and then its spec goes on to detail a “Shimano 105 12sp,12- speed” crankset, rear derailleur, and front derailleur. There’s no mention of the gearing ratios on the bike – other than that the front derailleur can handle up to a 54T chainring, and the rear mech can handle a max 36T cog on the cassette.
The images on the website all show bikes built older generation Ultegra 11-sp mechanical – and include an unsurprising note saying, “The image shown is indicative only. Components and graphic details may differ from the actual model.” But this feels like too many mentions of a 105 mechanical 12-speed group to be an accident.
What’s new on the Sprint?
The Bianchi Sprint is the bikemaker’s affordable all-rounder lightweight carbon monocoque road bike. Relaunched in 2019, it offered subtle aerodynamic optimization inspired by Bianchi’s top race bikes. In this new iteration, the Sprint moves to fully hidden internal cable routing through the headset, and it also seems to have moved production overseas.
The ‘Handmade in Italy Reparto Corse’ decal of the 2019 model is gone, replaced by a UCI-approved sticker and a note on the top tube that this bike is ‘Disegnata in Bianchi’, or designed in-house by Bianchi.
What’s new on the Oltre Race?
Bianchi describes the new Oltre Race as an expansion of their aero road bike family – topped off by the “hyperbike” Oltre Reparto Corse (RC) with its aerodynamic headtube air deflectors and 1-piece hi-rise stem & handlebar combo with its own scoop. There’s also a more affordable Oltre Comp with a lower carbon spec and a slightly more conventional 2-piece cockpit. Then comes the Oltre Race next in the aero hierarchy.
But in reality, it seems the Oltre Race isn’t all-new, it’s simply a rebranded Bianchi Aria as first introduced six years ago, now updated with full internal integrated cable routing from a 2-piece cockpit through the headset into the aero carbon frame.
Bianchi Oltre Race & Sprint – Pricing, options & not-quite-yet availability
Comparing them to the curvaceous 5600€ Oltre RC or ultralight 5700€ Specialissima framesets, all of these new bikes are a relative steal.
The more affordable new Sprint is available in 7 sizes (47-61cm) in either classic glossy Celeste or a shiny Pearl White with iridescent accents. New Bianchi Sprint road bikes are offered only with Shimano 105 groupsets – for either 2549€ with the as-yet-unreleased Shimano 105 12-speed mechanical groupset, or for 3849€ with last summer’s new 105 Di2 electronic groupset.
The Oltre Race is available in 8 sizes (44-61cm) in either a matte modern take on Celeste with iridescent details or matte Graphite gray & black. This rebadged Bianchi Oltre Race road bike is also offered only with Shimano 105 groupsets, here for either 3399€ with the Shimano 105 mechanical, or for 4349€ with 105 Di2 groupset. The mechanical Oltre Race spec does not specifically reference 12-speeds like the Sprint (and it is also still the same retail price as the previous generation Aria with 11sp 105), but its URL still does, so you can likely expect the unreleased groupset here, too.
As for actual availability… since the groupset doesn’t exist yet, you are going to have to wait for sure. You can ask your local Bianchi dealer when they expect to have the new bikes in stock. But we’re gonna guess you’ll have to wait at least until Shimano unveils 12-sp 105 mechanical to get a concrete answer.
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