Cinelli is reinvigorating its spirited road riding & racing vibes with two all-new, but completely different, modern road bikes – the Speciale Corsa XCR & Aeroscoop. The first honors their Italian heritage with the made-in-Milano stainless steel Speciale Corsa XCR, pairing their classic Columbus steel with neat 3D-printed transitions. And the second, the aero carbon Aeroscoop, takes their road & crit racing experiences to another level with next-gen aerodynamic gains.
Plus, we got the chance for a first ride on each, so read on for our thoughts on what both bikes get right!
All-new flagship Cinelli road bikes in carbon or stainless steel
I mostly know Italian bike maker Cinelli best these days for two things. One, the flashy and sometimes playful style of their road, crit, fixie & cross racing bikes. And two, for their sibling brand of premium Columbus steel tubing, made in their same Milan factory HQ where Cinelli’s core steel bikes are also manufactured. Under new passionate owners for a few years now, Cinelli is updating their modern offerings while staying true to their heritage. We already saw a couple of new steel Nemo bikes made in-house over the last couple years. And this summer saw an even more capable Speciale Gravel bike made in their HQ.
So when Cinelli invited us to come test ride two new road bikes – one carbon, one steel – and visit their factory, I was fully on board.
It’s an ideal illustration of the new Cinelli direction. Two top-tier flagship road bikes, both designed in Italy, but for two types of discerning roadies. Stainless steel with modern touches and made in Italy for the classicists. Or aerodynamic carbon made by the experts in Taiwan for the speed-obsessed crowd.
2026 Cinelli Aeroscoop aero carbon road bike
Let’s start with the Aeroscoop, which is the most aerodynamic Cinelli road bike ever.
This bike was developed with Cinelli’s Conti Pro race teams to improve the performance of their Pressure 2 road bike. Not only did it need to be lighter and faster, but to also improve comfort and performance with a totally revised carbon layup concept. The racers wanted more bottom bracket stiffness for better power transfer in the sprints, but more compliance in the fork and headtube to help it carve tight corners without chattering over rough tarmac, so that’s what Cinelli delivered.
The new aero bike was CFD & wind tunnel optimized for reduced drag with a narrower headtube, integrated fork to frame design, hidden routing, and a unique split seatstay junction at the seattube that is claimed to better smooth airflow around the frame and spinning rear wheel. The result is a distinctive new look to the frame that Cinelli says puts the new Aeroscoop in line with the fastest road bikes in the world.
“Independently wind tunnel verified by TOUR, the Aeroscoop measured just 205W of drag, placing it firmly inside the top ten of all aero road bikes ever tested.“
Aeroscoop Tech Details
- aero monocoque carbon frameset made from a mix of Japanese premium Toray T700, T800 & T1100 fibers
- proprietary aero seatpost with flip-flop 0/10mm offset and hidden wedge clamp
- fully integrated internal cable routing through a 1.5″ IS52 headset
- electronic drivetrains only
- threaded T47 86mm bottom bracket, with ceramic bearings included
- flat mount disc brake and 12mm thru-axles
- UDH rear derailleur hanger, and removable braze-on front mech hanger
- 34mm (measured) max tire clearance
- 945g frame weight, +/-5% (size M, Purple Fiber painted frame, with no metal parts)
- 370g fork weight, +/-5% (painted to match, with uncut steerer)
- UCI approved
- 5 sizes of road race geo (XS-XL)
- framesets and complete bikes come with new 1-piece integrated Columbus Spirit carbon bar+stem cockpit
2026 Cinelli Speciale Corsa XCR modern steel road bike
As for the stainless Speciale Corsa XCR, this is really a bike for the modern purists. You get classic road bike lines and artisanal Italian craftsmanship in a timeless frame welded by hand in the same town where the only seamless stainless steel tubeset in the world is made. But it is also still entirely modern thanks to a sleekly-designed 3D-printed seat cluster and upper headtube, plus tidy UDH-ready dropouts and ample 32mm tire clearance.
In the end, you get a handmade, modern Italian road bike with the unparalleled ride quality of premium steel plus the unmatched strength, fatigue-resistance, and corrosion-proof durability of XCr stainless.
SC XCR Tech Details
- handmade from triple-butted seamless Columbus XCr stainless steel tubing and 3D-printed stainless steel tube junctions
- completely corrosion-proof
- welded by hand up the road still in Milan, Italy… i.e. not made internally at HQ, where Cinelli primarily weld all of their traditional Columbus steel Special production bikes since March 2023
- sleek new Columbus Futura Trefoil Trittico-compatible full carbon fork
- fully integrated internal cable routing through a straight 1.5″ IS52 headset
- electronic drivetrains only
- threaded T47 68mm bottom bracket
- flat mount disc brake and 12mm thru-axles
- UDH rear derailleur hanger, and removable braze-on front mech hanger
- 32mm (measured) max tire clearance
- 1990g frame weight, +/-5% (size M, painted)
- 392g fork weight, +/-10g (painted black, uncut)
- 5 sizes of performance road geo (XS-XL)
First Impressions on 2 all-new Cinelli road bikes
Having joined Cinelli to ride both between their Milano headquarters and those of tire maker Vittoria nearby, and then further north around the famed Ghisallo climb, chapel of the Madonna del Ghisallo, and the amazing Ghisallo museum, I wrote a separate story detailing my first impressions of both new bikes.
Suffice it to say, the Speciale Corsa XCR is right up my alley. It’s a perfect combination of classic handmade Italian road bike craftsmanship, just updated for the modern day with bigger tires, disc brakes, and slick integration care of 3D-printing and the best stainless steel tubing available.
The carbon Aeroscoop on the other side is a supremely fast aero road bike that still ends up feeling comfortable and manageable in a pack of twitchy racers.
Both are plenty light, as well. Read more about how they each ride, here.
2026 Cinelli Speciale Corsa XCR – Pricing, options & availability
Both all-new Cinelli road bikes are available now in limited quantities from your local dealer.
While steel might be the more traditional frame material, this high-end, made-in-Italy modern Speciale Corsa XCR comes with a premium pricetag. Only three complete builds of the Speciale Corsa are on offer, and they feature the absolute top-tier components from the big three groupset makers, plus Cinelli / Columbus’ new 1-piece carbon Spirit cockpit and premium 55mm deep DT Swiss carbon ARC1100 wheels. The lowest-priced option is actually Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 at 12,500€, then SRAM Red AXS at 13,000€, and finally Campagnolo Super Record 13 at 13,500€.
Or pick up the Cinelli Speciale Corsa XCR frame with a carbon Columbus Trittico fork from 5000€ to build to your heart (and budget’s) content!
2026 Cinelli Aeroscoop – Pricing, options & availability
It almost seems counterintuitive, but the aero carbon bike is a lot more affordable. You can get a Cinelli Aeroscoop from just 6000€ with a Shimano 105 Di2 build and alloy Fulcrum Soniq wheels, or just 6900€ with Ultegra Di2. Step up to the top-tier gruppos and carbon wheels and the prices start to climb again. An Aeroscoop with Dura-Ace Di2 and carbon Fulcrum Wind 57 wheels will run you 9900€, or the same 10,700€ with either Red AXS or Super Record 13 wireless.
There are also Aeroscoop frameset-only options with either the Purple Fiber or Coral White paint jobs starting at 4500€, for you to build out as you see fit.
Plus, if all those are too rich for your blood, you’ll still be able to pick up a new virtual Cinelli. Both the Speciale Corsa XCR and Aeroscoop are coming soon to Rouvy. So you’ll be able to ride the new Cinelli road bikes virtually on real roads from the comfort of your home paincave via the immersive indoor cycling platform.
