Dedaccai Nerissimo

Chances are you’ve probably already even ridden or dreamed of owning a frame made of Dedacciai’s superb tubing. You might not have realised it, but they’ve been supplying the raw materials for some of the biggest brands for 20 years.

Now they’re stepping out of the shadows, putting their name on the downtubes and producing their own framesets.

THE BUILD

This is a seriously good-looking bike. Carbon monocoques can sometimes be on the bulbous and ugly side, but this frameset is classically understated and has some lines that are simply stunning.

Looks aside, it appears perfectly reinforced in the key performance areas of the headtube and bottom bracket; its geometry appears to be a good compromise between racing aggression and long days spent in the saddle.

The Campagnolo Khamsin wheels – the entry-level wheelset of their performance range – are decent training wheels that have a reputation for durability and certainly don’t look out of place on a bike of this spec. We’d probably be looking to upgrade the Vittoria Zaffiro tyres, but you should get some decent training miles out of them.

The Campagnolo Veloce groupset might be their entry-level product, but there used to be two sets below it – Mirage and Xenon – and it’s generally felt to be on a par with Shimano 105. It’s a complete groupset, including brakes, and the 50/34t compact chainset and 12-25t cassette offers good versatility.

Unsurprisingly, given as they supply bars, stems and seatposts to a plethora of manufacturers, Dedacciai’s own components brand Deda take care of these with reliable alloy offerings. A Selle Italia SL Team saddle should be a comfortable and reasonably lightweight perch, and we can’t help but smile at the attention to aesthetic detail of the red anodised QR-skewers matching the decals of the frame and wheels.

THE RIDE

There’s a sense of flighty nimbleness right from the first few pedal strokes on the Deda. It skips up to speed willingly, encouraging you to dance on the pedals and rewarding even the smallest increase in effort with a noticeable burst of acceleration. Positioning is aggressive enough to feel fast and to encourage hard riding, but not so stretched-out and low that you couldn’t put in long miles on it.

On flat roads it punches along well at cruising speeds and delivers a road buzz- and vibration-free ride. Hit a small rise, click the pleasingly positive thumb switch and it launches you over the crest. Similarly, down on the drops and accelerating out of sharp bends, it’s a pocket rocket – you could easily imagine it mixing it up on a tight criterium circuit. Sprinting out of a fast moving line is good and you’d certainly chalk up a few village sign victories on it.

The Deda is at its absolute best, though, when the tarmac tilts upwards. Considering the fairly weighty wheels, its climbing performance is excellent. Yes, you’ve got a compact chainset but, on 25% Peak District climbs that would normally have us on 28t on our compact-equipped winter trainer, we danced up on the 23t.

Both climbing at tempo in the saddle and having a dig standing, it’s responsive, lively and the shifting from the Veloce groupset is faultless. On technical twisting descents, it’s in its element and wanting to be pushed hard. The Veloce brakes are as reliable as the rest of the groupset and, once you’re out of the corner, hit the gas and you’re gone.

Contact : www.chickencycles.co.uk