Wilier Escape Xenon (2010-2011)

cheers for these reviews, it helped me make my mind up, i saw it today and loved it straight away, very light and great looking, nearly went for the boardman team carbon which costs more, but i think this actually weighs slightly less which is weird. cant wait to go for a big ride :)

I recently bought this bike as a winter trainer from my LBS. Also tried a Cannondale CAAD 8 and a Specialised Allez Elite and all three were the same price. In terms of weight the CAAD 8 was the lightest and the Wilier the heaviest, I'd say there was around two pounds difference between the two (that's just having a bike in each hand though, nothing more accurate than that).
In terms of componentry the Allez was slightly better equipped than than the CAAD 8 but really hardly anything in it, mainly Shimano Tiagra throughout. It was difficult to compare the Campagnolo of the Wilier with the Shimano of the other two but it is mainly Xenon throughout and I think it would be fair to say that Tiagra is a better groupset. Again not much in it but I'd place the Wilier third in that category also.

Why did I buy it? Well the Wilier really shines where it matters the most, the ride. Whilst the heaviest bike I tried it was certainly the stiffest and I honestly did not expect that, I had expected to be walking out with the CAAD 8 but the Wilier beat it hands down for transference of power and zip, the geometry also suited me a little better. I found the CAAD 8 to be a little cramped in 'my size' and too big in the next size up, whereas the Wilier was a great fit from the word go. The extra two pounds was not noticeable on my 2 mile test ride and I've found the stiffness shines through on long climbs since I've had it. I actually prefer riding this to my Carbon road bike that cost twice as much. All in all a good solid bike with neutral predictable handling that is ideal for what I bought it for. Slightly racier geometry than the other two but I'd still recommend it for beginners.

Also a bit different from the Trek/Spesh/Cannondales I usually see with a bit of Italian flair to boot!

I picked up my bike today am really impressed with it, firstly I like the look of it, would you ever be happy on a bike you never liked the look of?

The ride I undertook was a stop-start route (Thames walk No 4 and through Greenwich park) this being a way to get use to the manoeuvrability of the bike changing through the gears and me getting use to clip on road pedals. (I have only owned MTB before)

So this bike is one up on a budget range without spending large sums on a first ever road bike. The bike performed flawlessly no poor gear changes brakes up to the job and a very solid feel through the handlebars and I never fell off once. This bike gives me the confidence to go on long runs at a good speed knowing it feels solid and can stop safely. The only (slight) downside is pedals are extra but it does come equipped with the bottle as shown in the picture. 10/10 in my opinion am very satisfied and looking forward to plenty of riding.