Basso Bikes’ new SV road bike has officially landed, replacing the Diamante SV as the Italian brand’s flagship model. While the outgoing Diamante SV already carried the SV acronym (super fast, super versatile), the new SV shifts that to “Sempre Veloce” (always fast), echoing Basso’s claim that this bike offers “race-level performance” for everyday riders.
Designed, made, assembled, and painted in Italy like all Basso carbon fibre road bikes, the SV is designed to slot between the race-bred performance of pure road bikes and the comfort-focused adaptability of all-road bikes.
This article serves as a first look – not a full review – of the SV, which I’ll be putting through its paces over the coming months once the right-sized review bike makes its way to me. In the meantime, here’s a look at what the premise of this bike is.
What’s new about the SV?
There are two parallel trends with new bikes at the moment: highly specialised focus on one aspect, whether that is aerodynamics or weight; or trying to do a bit of everything. The latter is where Basso is positioning the SV, that quickly filling gap in the market between pure racing bikes and off-road-leaning all-road models. As such, Basso has designed the bike to be a bit of a jack of all trades, whether that means tackling long distances, climbing steep gradients, or taking on mixed, but still paved terrain. If we go by tyre clearance, SV’s space for 35 mm rubber only reinforces its all-road character.
This means that the SV is not at either end of the bell curve of road bikes. It’s not an endurance bike like the Canyon Endurace or Cervelo Caledonia-5, nor a lightweight climber, or an aero bike, either. Even within Basso’s own range, there is now not one bike but a few catering for that do-it-all-segment: the Venta and Astra models both also take 35 mm tyres but, according to Basso, the SV is lighter and more responsive due to its carbon layup and has a “snappier geo” compared to those two models.
Basso’s figures show the SV frame has a much stiffer head tube and bottom bracket area than the Diamante and Diamante SV. When it comes to weight, the brand says the new SV frame weighs 780 grams (size 53 cm, unpainted, without hardware), while the fork tips the scales at 370 grams. The total weight for a 56 cm frame built with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, DT Swiss ARC 1100 wheels, Continental GP5000 28 mm tyres, and the Fuga integrated handlebar (370x110mm) is said to be 6.7 kg – which is quite impressive in the segment though the tyres are a couple millimetres on the narrow side.
As it comes to the frame shape itself, Basso has focused heavily on aerodynamics, claiming a 16% reduction in frontal surface area compared to the Diamante SV. The frame changes that were made to achieve that are not immediately obvious to the eye, as the SV retains the distinct Basso and also, Diamante, aesthetic. Instead of dramatic reshaping, Basso says the gains were achieved through narrower tube profiles and the use of truncated airfoil (Kammtail) shapes across the frame.
Other features of the SV frame include the Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH), making it compatible with modern drivetrains such as the new SRAM Red XPLR AXS for (hopefully) years to come. The bottom bracket remains a BB86 press-fit (for added stiffness, Basso says), the seat clamp system is still the 3B seat clamp system that uses three screws to keep the post in place, but the saddle clamp and the headset expander plug have been updated.
And if we talk about this bike being for the normal riders like you (maybe) and me, not the pros, some emphasis on the practicality of maintenance wouldn’t go amiss. One feature Basso has introduced to the SV is the use of Microtech solid oil headset bearings. This type of bearing design – also used by the likes of CeramicSpeed and Enduro Bearings – is designed for durability, offering extended life and greater resistance to washout and contaminants. Why does that matter? With integrated headset and cockpit designs, servicing the front end of the bike has become ever more cumbersome, and the more durable the headset bearings, the less service they’ll likely need and hopefully the less cable cutting and brake bleeding you need to perform.
The fit
As good as the frame design might sound and look, geometry and fit will be a major deciding factor for whether a bike is any good for you. Basso has garnered a reputation with its rider-centric design philosophy, first coined by the founder Alcide Basso when he started making frames, but as years pass, we’ve come to ask for updates to the ideas from the 80s.
Here, Basso has taken a step in a new direction with the SV – though it’s still a very cautious step and a minor change from the Diamante SV. And for those who want to stick to tradition, the Diamante still stays in the lineup as the “Porsche 911” – a model that represents the brand’s ideals and goals.
Basso was eager to highlight that the new geometry has been developed in collaboration with 4Performance Bike Fit Studio, with the claim that riders of all sizes and styles can achieve an optimal fit.
Unlike its predecessors, the SV frame has a sloping top tube, further dropped seat stays and a taller stack height, providing a more upright and comfortable riding position. Even then, this isn’t really a pure endurance-bike geometry. The SV remains longer and and a touch lower than for example Canyon Endurace CFR and depending on the size you look at, longer than the Cervelo Caledonia-5. In this segment, it’s also close to the BMC Roadmachine. Yet, its shorter wheelbase and chain stays are much more on the race bike side. The bottom bracket drop sits at 70 or 75 mm depending on frame size.
The sloping top tube means that the seat tube is now in fact 25 mm shorter, which both increases seatpost-exposure and enhances vertical compliance. To work with this, the proprietary Diamante seat post has also got longer, measuring 380 mm.
As a side result, it also lowers the standover height for the smaller riders. The bike is available in seven sizes, ranging from 45 to 61 cm, and Basso offers two seat post setback options (0 and 15mm) to accommodate different body types. Yet, while this all sounds quite good on paper, the fit options still leave room for improvement, especially so when it comes to the finishing kit.
The cockpit, as with many modern road bikes, is integrated and brand new. The SV introduces the Fuga handlebar with a short 65 mm reach and a flared geometry – 370 mm wide at the hoods and 400 mm at the drops. Additional back- and downsweep angles should support a neutral wrist position, reducing strain during long rides.
These features align with broader trends in handlebar design, which are increasingly focusing on creating a flush lever mounting that can also improve aerodynamics (take the latest Scott Addict RC) and aesthetics, while also helping riders to stay in a more efficient, low position without interference from the bar.
Though the Fuga handlebar has six stem lengths available from 80 to 130 mm, the single 370 mm handlebar width might limit its appeal. It can be too narrow for the wider-shouldered riders – as I discussed with a couple of fellow riders at the press camp. While for me 370 mm is near perfect handlebar width, for them it’s too narrow.
If that’s the case, or one simply prefers a different setup, Basso continues to offer the Levita handlebar as an option with more widths and stem lengths.
Build options
The SV build options are priced on the higher end of the market, meaning that while this might be a bike for everyday riders, it isn’t one for everyone’s wallet. And while Basso offers quite generous customisation options for the fully built bikes – including the cranklength, handlebar dimensions and style – there are limitations to the options still.
Complete SV builds range from €7,949 (£6,999 / US$8,995) to €11,999 (£10,395 / US$13,295), while the frame kit costs €4,999 (£4,799 / US$5,795). We’re still waiting for AUD pricing to arrive.
Groupset options include Shimano Ultegra Di2, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, SRAM Red AXS, and Campagnolo Super Record. Wheels come from DT Swiss, Fulcrum, and Campagnolo.
That’s a suitable range of options, but one limitation to them is the crank lengths Basso chose. While most of the industry is moving towards shorter crank lengths, the SV builds come with crank options from 170 mm and up. The juxtaposition of offering a relatively compact 45 cm frame size with a 170 mm crank length seems an oversight from their side.
When I asked about this, Basso said their research showed that most riders still prefer and ride the 170 mm and longer lengths and that was the basis for their decision. I won’t say their data is wrong, but I will argue that the builds are not catering to an “optimal” fit for smaller riders with the current offerings.
First impressions – Promises of comfort
While the SV’s dual focus may not appeal to purists seeking either a dedicated race machine or a purely endurance-focused model, it could offer a lot for riders who simply want a good-looking bike that ticks the boxes that matter to most.
My time on the SV was limited to three rides around Bassano del Grappa, home of Basso Bikes, at the press camp in October. And while those rides truly delivered everything: climbs, descents, potholes (and flats), and cobbles – they were not enough to really form a thorough sense of how the bike rides.
It also didn’t help that my preferred frame size was not available for initial testing – and as you can tell from the picture above, having so little seat post out of the frame hardly conveys much compliance. In fact, it was obvious that especially the rear end felt pretty stiff, but with the size not being right, I can’t really point out what made it so.
Despite the size issue, the SV seemed to broadly deliver what it says on paper. Comfort was something Basso highlighted a lot, but it’s also the aspect I’m not going to comment on until I get a properly sized tester. What I can say is that the bike didn’t feel like a truck to spin up climbs or when pushing the pace on the flats – and it was really stable to descend on. Did it feel like a bit of an all-rounder? Yes. I could say many more first impressions, but I will rather save my critique for the full review of the bike that is correctly sized for me.
On the tech sheet side of things, I like some of the things Basso has introduced with the SV. Its frame, including the paint, comes with a five-year warranty (which isn’t industry-leading but is better than some offer), which I hope also means more people are encouraged to hold on to the bike that long – something that would be much better from a sustainability perspective. Small tweaks like the upgraded headset bearings are appreciated as well – and again I hope mean riders will get to ride the bike longer without having to disassemble for service. On the other hand, I personally would prefer shorter crank options.
As promised, stay tuned for more. The full review will follow as I get my tiny-framed SV properly tried on the Scottish roads.
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