BIKE TEST: Cipollini RB800

Having a story to tell is an important part in attracting customers willing to spend five figures on a bike. Part of Cipollini’s quick rise as one of the most sought-after boutique brands is because of its story. Not only is Mario Cipollini himself a gregarious personality with a big history that demands attention, but, more important, his namesake bikes equally stand out in the crowd.

THE BIKE
Although Cipollini’s RB1000 is undoubtedly the bike that Mario would have raced during his career due to its fiercely extreme tube shapes and ultra- low front-end position, it’s the RB800 that’s preferred by the majority of the team riders, because it’s the lightest in the Cipollini line and designed to deliver a more forgiving ride. Other than the seat tube’s aero shaping that includes an integrated seat mast, the frame uses relatively contemporary shapes to keep weight and ride quality at the top of the to-do list. At a claimed 970 grams for an unpainted frame, the RB800 is still nowhere near the lightest on the market, but neither does it possess the fragile, eggshell feel that comes with the super- thin-tubed ultra light bikes. The more robust tubes and 1K weave outer layer are sure to keep it from being just one nick away from the carbon repair shop.

What distinguishes the RB800, and the rest of the Cipollini line, is the fact that from its design all the way to the finish work is all done in Italy. Due to manufacturing costs, Italian-made monocoque frames like the Cipo are a rare bird indeed. Even Colnago limits their Italian-made frames to just the C60, which is constructed using lugs. This isn’t to say that the Italians have some improved method for frame construction, but it does allow complete control over production and, ultimately, craftsmanship. Further maintaining its Italian roots, the RB800 was built with Campagnolo’s Record EPS group, including Shamal Ultra aluminum wheels and Deda’s super-oversized M35 handlebar and stem.

THE RIDE
As much as an integrated seat mast design can cause frustration when having to cut it down in length, and not being able to remove a seatpost when traveling, they can make up for their hassles in actual ride quality since there’s complete control over the layup. Rather than having an area of the seat tube where there’s an overlap with the seatpost, the seat mast can have a consistent thickness that gives Cipollini a greater ability to tune the ride. For a bike like the RB800 that doesn’t use any notable compliance features, the seat mast does provide a nominal amount of deflection—from large bumps down to the smaller vibrations from worn-in roads. More of the vibrations make their way through in the front end, but we chalk some of that up to the M35 Deda handlebars, which are 3.3mm larger in diameter than a standard handlebar. Overall, it’s a firm ride that typically comes with the territory for a bike designed around pro-level performance over Gran Fondo participation.

With a head tube that’s approxi- mately 1cm shorter than other brands of the same size, the fit is another reminder of Cipollini’s racing focus in their line of bikes. Without running a stack of spacers under the stem, we were forced into a low and sleek torso position. In terms of its stiffness-to-weight ratio, the Cipollini isn’t going to win a weight war at the high end, but at least they put that extra weight to use in the form of overall torsional and lateral stiffness that make it intoxicating to hammer up to speed or blast down a technical descent.