Cinelli Saetta Review

Cinelli is the quintessential Italian brand. It bears the name of it’s founder Cino Cinelli with great pride and has a long history in the sport both innovative and traditional. After all it was Cinelli who introduced the cork style bar tape, pioneered the nylon shell saddle the clipless pedal and dominated the handlebar and stem market for years. So what!. If all carbon frames are made in the same factory's using the same materials and all starting to look like tarmac. Why would you consider buying a bike from a brand like Cinelli over the many other brands out there. I set out to find the answer to this and also I wanted to establish if any of that innovative spirit and cycling heritage still exists and if it does how it stacks up to the competition.

The Cinelli Saetta I tested was equipped with a Shimano 5700 group set which BTW rides almost as well as my Ultegra 6700 does and looks really cool in a flat black. The Saetta might well have some of the most stylish tube shapes and frame design of any bike on the market. Italian style is somehow always just right and with that in mind the Cinelli Saetta stands out for me as a contender on it’s looks alone. Something about it had people who know the brand and those that have never heard of it stop and take notice.

The frame is constructed from 30 ton high modulus carbon fiber, has alloy drop outs and a Columbus carbon fork with an alloy steerer (the Saetta Sprint has a carbon steerer) All round it’s a pretty heavy frame coming in over 1200 grams. The finish is really nice and the white color a beautiful standout white in contrast with a striking metallic blue. The only visible carbon on the frame is two lightening bolt shaped windows on the chain stays, this has to do with cost. It’s less expensive to spray over carbon than it is to ensure it’s neatly laid.

The Saetta has a race geometry but the materials and components of a sportif bike making it a pretty interesting machine. The beefy bottom bracket is stiff yet the curved top tube ensures comfort. Designed and described to be stiff yet comfortable I can say it is just that. The Saetta is fun to ride without a comfort penalty. The 1 1/8th inch straight steerer is standard on framesets in the sub $2000 price range. The curved blade Columbus fork took me back to a time before the straight blade fork and reminded me just how well this design worked. Something about the curved fork kills road vibrations and makes for a really steady ride. In many ways the Saetta was like the Look 566 I had tested last year. It’s a really healthy mix of tradition and technology and a pleasure to look at and ride.

During the test ride process I decided to make a change to the position of the shifters on the handlebars and had to remove the black Cinelli cork tape and replace with some no name tape I had lying around the house. Getting out on the bike with the new tape was a shocker - the synthetic feel of the tape was terrible in contrast to the natural cork tape Cinelli brand tape and I realized I had become accustomed to the cheap imitation cork most of us use when I could be using the original stuff which is clearly better - lets face it there is nothing like the original - “Nothing tastes like a Coke”
The Cinelli bar, stem and seatpost were in a way similar. Proven designs that are still used because they work and not changed to create marketing buzz - the Cinelli handlebar had a really good bend to it and the diameter of the bar felt a little larger than the popular FSA and 3T bars I have been using once again going back to Cinelli was a pleasant surprise.
The Cinelli branded saddle was made by Prologo and hard as rocks - at first i was not crazy about it but as the weeks past I came to like it more and would leave it on if this was my own bike.

The American Classic 420’s were a fantastic compliment to the bike. They made it look great, lose weight and roll fast. The Saetta is sold in the USA as a frameset in red ot blue or as a complete bike with either 105 5700 or Campagnolo Veloce but the 420’s are not stock on the bike.

Bottom line - the Cinelli Saetta is a modern carbon bike. I it holds it's own with the best in it's category. Yet owning one goes a little deeper than performance. If all was even and carbon bikes in the $2000 - $3000 range are made from the same materials in the same facilities then why not go for something that inspires and pleases the owner. More than just fun to ride and own a Cinelli Saetta will make you proud to be part of the ongoing Cinelli cycling legend.