The Diamante has been Basso’s go-to road race bike for more than four decades. And while the previous generation had spun off an aero SV sibling, now the standard Diamante gets a thorough overhaul to create a sleeker, stiffer, more integrated road racing bike, even adding disc brakes for the first time. Then if you need to tackle even rougher roads, hop on the new Palta gravel bike for fast racing when the tarmac ends.
2019 Basso Diamante carbon all-rounder road race bike
The new Diamante is meant to be a refresh for the core Basso road race bike. With an all-new carbon construction building on the refinements made in the SV, the new Diamante is 50% stiffer than its predecessor at both the bottom bracket and headtube to improve on the already reactive handling of the old bike. Disc brakes also debut for the first time on Basso’s premium all-around road racing machine.
Tube shaping is updated on the new Diamante to incorporate more smooth profiles with incrementally improved aerodynamic performance without going into full aero bike mode. The wide and relatively round headtube profile signals that this isn’t trying to replace the aero-focused Diamante SV anytime soon. The small rear wheel cutout remains, but now both the downtube & seattube transition to thinner profiles through their midsections to reduce drag.
The UCI approved Diamante does also add a good bit more design integration, with the fork smoothly transitioning into the downtube, and the stem sitting into a recessed pocket at the top of the headtube.
The complete bikes come with an integrated Basso bar+stem combo featuring a flattened stem section with a short steerer tube clamping area that can tuck down neatly inline with the top of the toptube.
Or if a rider needs to get a bit more bar stack height, a set of matching spacers neatly line up with the frame. The integrated bar also features a slick out-front bracket to mount your GPS via a modular device interface.
Diamante Tech Details
Of course disc brakes are a big addition for Basso on their road racer, but the new bike will still have a rim brake version as well. The disc brake version features flat mounts & 12mm thru-axles. And the rim brake bike goes direct mount, sticking with standard QRs.
Both versions are said to increase tire clearance up to 28mm though for improved comfort & grip. Both also feature Basso’s three bolt wedge seatpost clamp, its own reverse teardrop shaped aero carbon seatpost, and modular internal cable routing.
The made-in-Italy framesets come in a seven stock size range (45-61cm) and in five color options: Electric Sky, Asphalt, Lunar Blue, Italia Rubin Red.
Basso Palta carbon gravel road race bike
We already got a sneak preview of the new Palta gravel bike that Basso unveiled this summer when we spotted it at Sea Otter Girona. The Palta expands tire clearance from Basso’s prior Fast Cross bike, now up to 42mm rubber, with complete bikes spec’ing 40mm wide WTB Nanos that fit pretty tightly.
Palta Tech Details
While some gravel bikes have gone for even more clearance, Basso’s idea is to go as fast as possible off the beaten track. The carbon frames feature low profile stems with semi-integrated steerer tube spacers, modular internal cable routing, a aero profile seatpost, an integrated seatpost clamp, and a removable/adjustable high mount chainguide.
The Palta is 1x specific, although with a eTap derailleur it could be set up with a double thanks to the chainguide mount. The bikes are said to also be optionally available with a different fork that includes three bolt anything mounts on each leg, or separately an extra kit with front and rear fenders.
The new bike comes in four stock sizes (S-XL) and in three colors: Space Blu, Emerald Green & Shadow Grey.
