Wilier's new Adlar gravel bike is built for adventure
Suspension fork compatibility, a mountain bike derived geometry and tonnes of pack mounts
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Wilier's latest gravel bike addition comes in the form of the Adlar. It's a bike that's designed to take you beyond the limits of fatigue thanks to a slack, mountain bike-inspired geometry and all the mounts you can shake a stick at. Here's everything you need to know.
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Learning from its existing range of gravel bikes, Wilier has decided that gravel means adventure. As such, the Adlar is built specifically for bikepacking and long distance riding.
To suit such aims, its carbon fibre frame has been reinforced in order to allow a maximum additional load of 35kg, says Wilier. It's then claimed that the frame itself weighs 1100g.
2023 willier adlar fork.jpg, by Liam Mercer
The Adlar's geometry, the brand says, is derived from that of a mountain bike. That means it gets a rather lengthy reach, paired with a short stem and a 70-degree head angle which Wilier reckons translates into better handling on more demanding trails.
To dive a little deeper into the bike's shape, a large frame benefits from a 422mm reach, 610mm stack and a 73.5 degree seat tube angle.
2023 willier adlar front.jpg, by Liam Mercer
As well as a forward-thinking geometry, the Adlar benefits from loads of tyre clearance, offering space for up to 29x2.0in (50mm) rubber. On top of that, the bike's shape makes it compatible with suspension forks with up to 40mm of travel and that's without affecting the geometry. The Adlar is also dropper post compatible with fully internal cable routing for each and every cable.
The bike is offered as 1x only, and that decision has been made as it has freed the seat tube from having to support a front derailleur. Doing so has meant that Wilier could build in a small integrated mudguard.
2023 willier adlar front 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Of course, as a bike that's designed for bikepacking, the Adlar is loaded with mounting and load points with front and back carriers that load the weight of the bags through the bike's thru-axles, which Wilier claims reduces any structural stress on the frame. There's space for three water bottles on the bike thanks to a mount under the down tube, which can also hold tools or whatever you like. As well as that, there's a top tube mount and Wilier has collaborated with Miss Grape to offer a set of four quick-hook bags designed for the Adlar.
The new Wilier Adlar comes in five sizes and five builds with Shimano GRX 1x11 and 1X12 options, as well as SRAM Rival XPLR AXS groupsets. Prices start at €3,700 (£3,180) and go up to €5,400 (£4,600).
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