Basso Venta Disc 105 2023

The Basso Venta Disc 105 is a sporty little number, with race-styled geometry and a stiff, firm frameset that responds well to a little kick of the pedals. It's a lot of fun, with plenty of feedback, which gives you the confidence to push it hard through the bends and unleash the power for a bit of sprinting action. In fact, the only thing that's really holding this bike back is the weighty MCT wheelset.

Check out our guide to the best road bikes under £3,000 for more options and to see how the Basso compares.

Basso Venta Disc 105: Ride

There is relaxed geometry, and then there is Basso's relaxed geometry... The Italian company describes this bike as having 'a more relaxed geometry', but when you look at the figures there is no disguising that this bike is heavily influenced by the racy end of the road bike spectrum.

This is noticeable in the ride. The position is low slung and racy without making you feel too stretched out, so you kind of have the best of both worlds, speed and comfort. Plus, its responsive nature means it’s a bike that feels rewarding when riding hard too. It almost goads you into riding it a little harder than you were planning to because it’s fun, but at least you end up with a smile on your face.

A lot of that is down to the stiffness on offer, especially around the lower sections, the down tube, bottom bracket shell and chainstays, which means it feels efficient overall. For such a stiff frame, though, it doesn't feel buzzy or get unsettled by rough road surfaces – testament to how good the carbon fibre grade selection and layup are.

In fact, the Venta is surprisingly comfortable. There is little in the way of high-frequency vibration, and you are left with a smooth-feeling frame and fork and a bike that feels planted on the road, adding to the overall feeling of confidence it gives you to ride fast.

The rear end feels impressively supple, thanks to the slender seatstays, which increases comfort on longer rides.

The only fly in the ointment really is the MCT wheelset. These aluminium wheels are a bit on the weighty side, which just takes the edge off the Venta's performance, especially on the climbs. That said, a frameset of this quality is worthy of a hoop upgrade further down the line, and its price is low enough that even with some carbon deep-section wheels added it's still going to offer decent value for money.

One thing the weight doesn't affect is the descending – if anything, it helps it.

The steering is quickish, sitting somewhere between an endurance bike and a race machine, making it an easy bike to ride downhill fast. And that confidence that the frame and fork bring really helps you let the Venta fly into the bends. Even when things get technical the Venta doesn't feel out of its depth.

The short wheelbase gives a nimble feel to proceedings, and while it's a massive cliché, the Basso really does feel like it handles on rails, especially on very smooth tarmac.

Basso Venta Disc 105: Frame and fork

The Venta's carbon fibre frame is handmade by Basso in Italy, and I personally think it is a good-looking bike with its smooth lines and aero-esque tube profiles. It also looks exceptionally well made throughout: a high-quality frame.

Basso hasn't followed the current trend for running the hoses and cables down though the head tube and headset, instead directing them into the top and side of the down tube before they reappear where required, so it's not quite as clean some. It's not a massive issue for me, and I expect there are plenty of mechanics out there breathing a small sigh of relief.

Many brands offer an integrated seatclamp these days, so it's no surprise to see one on the Venta Disc. Rather than just an expanding internal wedge design like most, the Venta uses Basso's 3B design: a rounded plate sits inside the rear of the seat tube which forms the clamp, while the seatpost has a D-shaped profile at the back to match the seat tube insert. The interaction between all the components gives a very secure fit with no seatpost slippage, and Basso also claims anti-vibration benefits. I can't confirm that, but as I said earlier, this bike does have a comfortable rear end.

For the bottom bracket Basso has gone down the press-fit BB86 route. This means a wider bottom bracket shell than a threaded BSA design, as the bearing cups are pressed inside the frame rather than sitting externally, without increasing the Q-factor (the distance between the pedals).

As well as being wider, the BB shell is also bigger in terms of overall diameter, which makes for a larger surface area where the down tube, seat tube and chainstays join, increasing stiffness.

A neat touch Basso includes is protection film on the drive side of the bottom bracket shell to protect it from chain slippage.

As for mounts and frame extras, you'll not be finding many as the Basso is basically a race bike, so it's a couple of bottle cage mounting points and that's it.

Tyre clearance is good, at 32mm, and you get the usual 12mm thru-axle dropouts and flat-mount brake callipers, as seen on the majority of road and gravel bikes these days.

The Venta Disc is available in seven sizes, from 45 to 61, with corresponding top tube lengths of 505mm through to 590mm.

A 56 comes with a top tube of 560mm and a 180mm top tube, and stack and reach figures of 590.5mm and 385mm respectively.

The head angle is relatively steep at 73.5 degrees, as is the seat angle, to put you into that forward position which helps to get the power down.

Short (402mm) chainstays keeps the rear end of the bike feeling very nimble.

Basso Venta Disc 105: Finishing kit

Our review bike is running Shimano's 11-speed 105 R7000 groupset, but there's a newer model out now that gets the new R7120 12-speed groupset which was released a few weeks back. The new model also comes with a few other changes: Mavic Allroad wheels and Schwalbe Lugano tyres, a Selle San Marco saddle, and Deda Zero bar and stem.

I am currently testing the new 12-speed groupset on another bike and it is very good. To be honest, it doesn't feel much different to the 11-speed version (which is a good thing), but you do get that extra sprocket on the cassette to either extend the range or limit the jumps between gears.

The shifting and braking are still every bit as precise and easy to use as they were on the previous version. Stay tuned for that review, which should be coming in a couple of weeks.

As for the cockpit on our review bike, we have parts from Microtech (MCT), Basso's in-house component brand. It's aluminium alloy, as you'd expect for this kind of money, with no real surprises. The bar is stiff enough, as is the stem, and a comfortable shape.

The seatpost is carbon fibre, and as I said earlier it's shaped to work with the clamping system. The saddle is a Selle Italia Model X, which has a pleasing flowing shape and cutout, although the padding is a little thick for my minimalist tastes.

Basso Venta Disc 105: Wheels & tyres

For the wheels, the Venta again dips into the Microtech parts bin. The MCT Discs feature 30mm-deep alloy rims, basic alloy hubs and Sapim stainless steel spokes. With a claimed weight of 2,030g it's easy to see where a lot of the overall weight of this bike comes from, and an upgrade would make a huge difference to the overall performance of the Basso. (The Mavics on the latest model will save about 150g.)

As they stand, though, they are good wheels; not only are they stiff enough, with no noticeable lateral flex when accelerating or climbing, but they've proved reliable and durable over the test period.

Wrapped around them are Continental Ultra Sport tyres in a 28mm width. This is a mid-range tyre designed to balance performance and durability, something it does well. I've ridden these tyres so many times on various bikes and they are pleasing all-rounders.

Basso Venta Disc 105: Value

This model is priced at £2,599 while the newer 12-speed version is £2,699, which is about the going rate for a carbon fibre framed bike with 105 mechanical.

Ribble's Endurance SL Disc, for instance, costs £2,299 with a Mavic Aksium wheelset and alloy finishing kit, but then that's made in the Far East, not handbuilt in Italy. That's not a slur on the Ribble – we were pretty impressed when we reviewed one way back in 2020, and we all know a huge number of bike manufacturers are based in the likes of Tawain, where there is a huge amount of development, design and high-end production plants. It's just that the whole 'made in Italy' thing brings a premium.

Merida offers some very good value builds; its Scultura 4000 uses the CF3 frame and a Shimano 105 groupset for £2,250, £2,300 for the 12-speed model. It's a similar kind of bike to the Basso, and close in terms of frame weight, too, coming in at just under 1kg.

We recently reviewed the Scultura Limited, a sweet-handling race bike with an impressively comfortable ride, which sits one level above the 4000.

Giant's TCR Advanced Disc 2 has similar geometry to the Venta and a similar build too. It's the same groupset, with shallow alloy wheels, and the frame eschews the full internal cable and hose routing too. It's a touch cheaper at £2,499.

We haven't tested the Advanced 2 Disc, but I was very impressed with the rim brake version.

Basso Venta Disc 105: Conclusion

Although it costs a little more than its rivals, considering its handmade Italian frame the Basso isn't bad value for money. It's definitely a frameset that will respond well to component upgrades over its lifetime.

I love the ride quality, too. It has a great blend of stiffness and performance but not at the expense of comfort. Yes, it's a firm bike, but not excessively so. Basically, if you are after a road bike that blurs the boundaries between race and endurance then it is definitely one worth considering.

Verdict

A racy take on an endurance bike, but one that blends performance and comfort well