Lightweight European carbon component maker Berk Composites has added a new Cesta modern road bike to their line-up, and it costs a lot less than we expected. More affordable than pretty much all the top-tier – and even most second-tier – road racing bikes from the cycling industry’s biggest brands, Berk even offers the option for customizable geometry.
We most know Slovenian Berk Composites for their ultralight carbon saddles, often showing up on custom lightweight boutique bike builds. And they still make a lot of those, in up to 35 different colors. Plus, Berk do some other fun things like ultralight carbon disc brake coolers. But their own surprisingly affordable in-house EU manufactured carbon road frame and fork, really caught my attention.
Berk Cesta lightweight carbon road bike, 100% EU-made
Made entirely by hand, in-house in Berk’s workshop in Slovenia, the Cesta costs less than a second-tier road frame from the likes of big bike companies like Scott, Specialized, or Trek – all of which are made in Asia. Frankly, it’s probably cheaper than most custom steel bikes made in Europe.
Just 2800€ gets you a handmade European carbon road bike frame and fork. Yes, they even make the fork in-house in Europe. Genuinely a rarity these days, where even many handmade European frames get Taiwanese or Chinese carbon forks.
Frame weight is light but not ultralight at 900g. Because Berk wanted to build an everyday road bike that was light, fast, and comfortable… but they didn’t want to create a fragile masterpiece that you might be afraid to ride hard. ‘Sit on the toptube if you want’, explained CEO Jure Berk, this is a bike meant to be ridden not pampered. No overly extreme aerodynamic shaping, just a modern frame design with geometry that can go fast all-day.
Cesta Tech Details & pricing
- lightweight carbon road frame & fork made in Slovenia
- 32mm max tire clearance
- threaded BSA bottom bracket
- 27.2mm round seatpost with external clamp
- UDH standard derailleur mount
- 1x or 2x compatible with removable 31.8mm front derailleur band clamp
- integrated fully internal cable routing through the 1.5″ headset
- raw UD carbon finish revealing 3K weave reinforcements
- choice of 18 accent colors, to color-match with Berk saddles
- 3 stock sizes (S-L), plus a gross of customizable geometry options for just 500€ extra
- made-to-order, with quick 2-4 week standard lead time
- 2800€ for a stock geometry frameset, including frame, fork, headset, axles, front & rear hangers, and seatpost clamp
- 3300€ for customized geometry frameset
- 8900€ complete with Campagnolo Super Record 13 wireless, Campy Bora WTO wheels, 1-piece bar+stem, Berk seatpost & saddle – approximate claimed weight of 6.7kg without pedals
ultralight Berk saddles in customizable colors
Ultralight carbon saddles on boutique bike builds are where we first saw Berk Composites’ handiwork. Today, Jure showed us how their ultralight carbon rails are constructed of multiple woven layers with a flexible core that ensure carbon rail safety, even up to the max allowable 100kg rider weight limit.
Now, they are up to 4 different carbon saddle families, with the core Lupina saddle available in seven different configurations. And that’s before we talk about 35 different colors available, including natural leather tops, synthetic covers, bare carbon finishes, or two padding thicknesses. There’s lot of options.
Berk explained that customers kept asking for new colors, so they eventually just offered every color their artificial leather supplier could provide. And from the sound of things, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more colors added in the future.
Berk saddles used to seem expensive, selling for something like 300€ a decade ago. But now, in a landscape of ever-climbing component prices and 3D-printed saddle prices much higher than that, Berk saddle costs feel more reasonable. Value wasn’t hurt by the fact that Berk prices only climbed a bit over that same time. Most saddles sell for 319-395€.
Only their wild 1-piece monocoque saddles go higher, up to an eye-watering 622€. OK, that one still feels super expensive!
(Just think, a frame set only costs 4.5 saddles!)
Berk Lado carbon brake cooler
Let’s leave the Slovenian carbon makers with this fun little Lado brake cooler. For 58€ you just get 5g of carbon.
Bolt the 0.7mm carbon cowl behind the flat mount brake caliper on your fork (sorry no direct mount Campy version for the Cesta just yet) to channel more air onto your brake caliper for more consistent braking performance on long Alpine descents.
