On top of race-worthy and weekend warrior gravel bikes, Wilier adds a new carbon Adlar bikepacking bike dedicated to those longer adventure rides. Reinforced to haul heavy loads, the new Adlar is a modern reinterpretation of the classic loaded touring bike – mixing that old-school carrying capacity with all the mixed surface freedom of the latest gravel bikes…
Wilier Adlar carbon bikepacking gravel touring adventure bike
Many current adventure bikepacking bikes seem to struggle where to find their place between classic randonneur road touring bikes and rackless off-road mountain bike touring rigs. But the carbon Wilier Adlar bikepacking bike seems to embrace the rando origins of bikepacking. While also leveraging all the advances of modern gravel bikes. Maybe it’s Wilier’s classic Italian road origins? Or it’s the fact that Wilier already makes a great fast gravel racing bike – the Rave SLR? Or that they also do trusted gravel bike versatility in carbon, steel or aluminum to suit all gravel desires and budgets with their Jena, Jaroon & Jareen, respectively?
The end result then, is that Wilier lets the new Adlar focus on adventure. And, without having to be the one bike for everybody.
So what’s new? What makes this a great bikepacking bike?
The 1x only Adlar embraces loaded touring. You can opt for all the rackless bikepacking bags on the market. The frame, fork & seatpost are reinforced to haul an extra 35kg of gear beyond the rider.
Or you can bolt on some low-rider racks front & rear, and pack all that gear securely with lower center of gravity for enhanced handling on- & off-road. The optional racks transfer load directly to the 12mm thru-axles for a secure and safe setup, no matter how heavy the load your carry.
“It was clear that gravel is, and increasingly will be, adventure, a more or less conscious way of capturing its forms and meanings through journey. Ups, downs, chance meetings, hours and hours spent riding in total autonomy, without feeling the rush of time limits. On your own or in company. Adlar is made for bikepacking, for explorers, for bike travellers.”
Tech details
And in the end, Wilier still manages to build the bike light. The carbon Adlar bikepacking frame has a claimed weight of just 1100g. Plus another 470g for the load-hauling fork. It’s a longer axle-to-crown fork too, so swapping in a short-travel gravel suspension fork is always possible, as well.
The bike gets big 700c x 52mm tire clearance, meaning room for 2″ wide 29er mountain bike tires.
At the same time, the bike features the latest fully internal integrated cable routing for a clean look. That also helps make bikepacking bag setup trouble-free. And still, it has internal routing for either a dropper in place of its stock 27.2mm seatpost. Or you can run dynamo wiring through the right fork leg.
Beyond mounts for the special low-rider racks, the Adlar also includes two sets of bottle cages mounts inside the main triangle and a third under the downtube, a set of toptube bag mounts, and 3-pack anything cage mounts on each fork leg. Wilier also sells an option set of full-coverage fenders specifically made for the Adlar.
Bikepacking geometry
The Adlar comes in 5 stock sizes (XS-XL), with sloping geometry adapted more from mountain bikes than road. That includes longer frame Reach figures with short stems, short 423mm chainstays, but a still reasonably steep 70° headtube angle. All a combo Wilier says, “translates into better handling and control on the more demanding trails with a fully loaded bike“.
Wilier Adlar – Pricing & options
Wilier sells the new Adlar gravel bikepacking bike in several different builds – in gray, black, or lime with contrasting forks. Then, starting from 3700€ they finish off the light carbon frameset with GRX 1×11 and wide alloy Miche Contact wheels. 300€ more gets an upgrade to GRX 1×12 and lighter but still 24mm internal Miche Graff XL alloy wheels. And 4800€ gets an upgrade to a wireless SRAM Rival AXS Xplr groupset.
But even more interesting is the truly adventure-ready builds. Either 12-speed complete bike can also be purchased for 600€ extra with a complete Miss Grape bikepacking bag kit and racks. That includes 4 made-in-Italy Miss Grape packs specially made for your Adlar – frame, handlebar, saddle, and toptube bags – plus the front & rear low-rider racks. The fenders though, are still sold separately.
