For the 20th anniversary of Basso’s Italian-made all-rounder carbon road bike, they given the Venta a complete overhaul. Taking lessons learned on their premier race bikes, Basso has created an even more capable Venta, lighter & more aero and in rim or disc brake versions.
2020 Basso Venta 20th anniversary all-rounder carbon road bike
Twenty years ago, the first handmade Venta was a relatively rare monocoque bike among the mostly round tube, early carbon bike offerings. That gave it some unique Italian style, but some early aero leanings. Now, Basso is giving life to what has become the most affordable carbon road bike they build, adding more high-performance tech from their top-level Diamante family of road racers.
Basso calls this the Venti Venta (venti being Italian for 20, as any Starbucks customer should know by now), and is a bit of a celebration of two decades of workhorse carbon road bikes. The Venta is the most affordable carbon road bike from Basso, but is still entirely made by hand in Italy.
It also is something of a new direction for Basso, as the first in a series of new bikes that are said to share a unified concept of design across the brand. We’re not entirely sure what that means, but suppose that more new bikes with similar aesthetics will be coming soon from the Basso pipeline – at all price levels.
Geometry
The Venta shares the same race-ready angles and short chainstays of the top-level Diamante road race bike, but it does get a more relaxed fit. Stack heights are 2-3cm higher, and Reach lengths are around 5mm shorter for a slightly more upright, more comfortable position on the bike that will better suit most amateur cyclists. But at the same time, the steep headtube & seattube and short wheelbase will ensure a racy ride feel.
The Venta is available in seven stock sizes (45-61cm seattubes.)
Tech details
The Venta shares the same full carbon monocoque construction of their more expensive models, with molded carbon bearing seats – no co-molded alloy elements at all. The bike features an oversized headtube with an internal headset for the full carbon, tapered steerer fork.
Tire clearance is pretty generous for an Italian road bike. All of the bikes come spec’d with 28mm tires, and it looks like there is plenty of room for at least another 2-4mm of tire clearance.
The bike gets minor aero road bike flourishes, like a smooth fork-to-frame design, small seattube cutout & dropped seatstays. That seatstay design also looks to add a bit more comfort at the saddle too, together with more seatpost extension on the slightly sloping design.
It also includes an integrated, wedge-type seatpost clamp inset into the toptube to work with a conventional, large diameter round seatpost. But even then, Basso uses a unique carbon post with a tapered upper section for some additional aero performance.
While the complete Venta builds stick with budget-conscious mechanical groupsets, the frame is compatible with either mechanical or electronic drivetrains thanks to modular internal routing.
Even though we’ve only seen this 12mm thru-axle, flat mount disc brake version so far, the Venta will also be offered in a rim brake version later this summer sharing much of the same tech, and the same geometry.
Spec & availability
Like other Basso bikes, the new Venta is available in a number of different options that let you pick and choose a bit what is best suited for each rider.
The bike is available only as a complete build, but you get to choose from three different finishes. The matte Silver is maybe the most striking even if subdued, while matte Anthracite will satisfy riders who prefer the stealth black on black look. Lastly the high gloss Purple Label hides some nice deep color in a paint job that looks dark & subtle at first glance.
As for groupsets, these are meant to be hard working road bikes, not fancy show pieces. So, pick from Shimano road compact drivetrains either in Ultegra mechanical or 105, in either rim or disc brakes, finished out with Microtech wheels, 28mm Michelin Dynamic Sport tires & a San Marco saddle.
The new Basso Venta carbon road bike is made in Italy and already available in its disc brake version through your local Basso dealer. Ultegra Disc complete bikes sell for $3750 / 2600€, 105 Disc bikes for $3350 / 2300€. Rim brake Ventas are in production now, and expected in shops by the end of August 2019. A complete Ultegra mechanical rim brake bike will be just $3300 / 2200€, rim brakes & 105 for $2800 / 1900€. Retail pricing has not yet been provided, but we have reached out to Basso and will update here when we know more. See pricing updates above.
