£3,799 An endurance bike wrought from the origins of the breed Weight 8.97kg (XL) Frame Basso Astra carbon Fork Basso Astra carbon Gears Shimano 105 Di2 R7100 12-speed (50/34t, 11-32t) Brakes Shimano 105 R7120 hydraulic disc Wheels Microtech MR Lite alloy Finishing kit Basso Paradigma stem, Microtech XL aluminium bar, Basso carbon seatpost, Selle Italia Flite Boost SF saddle, Continental Ultra Sport 700x28c tyres
THE BASSO ASTRA, THE ITALIAN brand’s flagship endurance road bike, saw an update in 2022, headlining with a more relaxed geometry and widened tyre clearances. It’s turned it into a capable long-ride buster, with the potential to dip toes into light gravel. To that end, the frameset offers clearance for up to 35mm-wide tyres. While the geometry makes the Astra easy to ride, there remains an element of rigidness within the frame that a couple of smart upgrades should be able to address.
Carbon combination
The frame blends high-modulus carbon (MR60) and more affordable, more complaint T600, the aim to balance comfort and stiffness, while the frame tips the scales at 980g. Basso often design bikes with a hint of classical aesthetic. We called its race bike, the Diamante, “beautiful” in our 2023 Bike of the Year test. The Astra (8.97kg) is similar in stature.
Thin fork legs and seatstays hint towards a bike shooting for a certain level of compliance, but the Astra is more muscular than the racy Diamante. The top tube and downtube are bulkier and squared off in shape, while there’s a drop to the seatstay-seat tube junction. It’s designed to provide gravel-friendly durability.
There’s fully internal cable routing throughout, via Basso’s Paradigma system, while the oversized two-piece headset spacers live around a round steerer. At the rear, a proprietary seatpost clamping system wedges up against the concave rear side of the seatpost.
The Basso Astra’s geometry is relatively tall at the front; our 58cm test bike has a 625.4mm stack and a compact 384.4mm reach. A 73.5-degree head-tube and 73 degree seat-tube angle is on the racier side of endurance.
It comes with a Shimano 105 Di2 R7100 groupset with the chainrings a compact 50/34 tooth arrangement, while Basso has specced an 11-32 tooth cassette, providing an easiest gear suitable for most riders.
It’s fitted with a (Basso own-brand) Microtech MR Lite alloy wheelset that’s 25mm deep with an 18mm internal rim diameter and 24 Sapim stainless steel spokes per wheel. On its own, it tips the scales at a claimed 1,683g. The tyres are 700 x 28c Continental Ultra Sport models. You could also go tubeless as th
