Sarto Raso Frameset

It's fair to say that the Italian company Sarto occupies a place at the high end of the bike market – and the Sarto Raso is a stunning representation of that. It's truly striking to look at, and the very stiff frame delivers a sublime ride quality. The result is a fantastic road bike for those of us who want speed, low weight and aesthetics – and it's also a bike that's pretty much guaranteed to draw a crowd.

Our best road bikes buyer's guide rounds up our top choices from just £300 upwards.

> Buy now: Sarto Raso frameset for £7,520 from Sarto

Ride

Sarto describes the Raso as a bike created to unite race speed with endurance comfort – and considering how stiff the frame is, it does an excellent job even on the poor road surfaces that many of us in the UK are all too familiar with.

It's worth pointing out that when Sarto says endurance, it doesn't mean the Raso has relaxed geometry, but rather it's down to the quality of the carbon fibre lay-up and design that makes it a very comfortable choice for long-distance riding.

As with all of Sarto's frames, the Raso can be made to a custom geometry, but even our bike's stock frame focuses on a relatively aggressive ride position for aerodynamics and getting the power down. That's especially the case with the cockpit slammed, as it is here.

The position I could achieve on the Raso felt absolutely great. Nothing felt too stretched or extreme, but I could get a good drop from the saddle down to the handlebar, so that when I needed to, I could get low to drop my centre of gravity or aero to get out of the wind.

When descending, being able to get that low centre of gravity makes a big difference to how planted and sure-footed a bike can feel – and it certainly works here.

The Raso's handling is quick but well balanced. It feels comfortable when you push it into any corner at speed, even the off-camber ones on the descent I use for testing each review bike's behaviour.

Thanks to the lack of any front-end twitchiness, the Raso is an easy bike to ride very quickly, while the carbon frame and fork offer a smoothness that doesn't feel jittery over rough road surfaces.

It can also take tyres up to 35mm wide, which is something I really wasn't expecting. This can soften the ride a little and provides a little more confidence, thanks to the ever so slightly larger contact patch compared with the test bike's 28mm rubber.

In fact, for a bike that screams peloton-ready racer to in terms of aesthetics and geometry, the Raso is a very pleasant place to be and rewarding too.

The build we have here weighs 7.08kg, so the Sarto feels lively and responsive to your commands. Acceleration, whether from a standing start or when rolling, is brisk, and climbing is an absolute joy. The fact that the Raso is so stiff helps both of these aspects of your ride too.

When it comes to the quality of the ride, I can't fault the Raso at all. It's so comfortable that it's a great bike to ride over long distances, such as a sportive or gran fondo, or for tapping out a flighty century at the weekend – yet it is so responsive that it works just as well as a fast race machine.

Frame and Fork

You may have seen the price of the Raso's frameset and drew a sharp intake of breath. It ain't cheap, but there is a reason for that.

Sarto makes every frame in-house right from the very first prototype to the finished product. This also means that any frame in its line-up can be made to a custom geometry.

The process starts with the creation of the tubes required from carbon fibre sheets – there's no off-the-shelf tubing here. It's then ready to be built into a frame using a tube-to-tube design, rather than the lugs that some other brands use for connecting their frame tubes.

Sarto says that every tube can be created to a precise length for a 100% custom frame, if that is what you require.

With the tubes joined together, Sarto's frame builders then wrap the joints with layers of carbon fibre to create structural rigidity and the various other characteristics required from the bike. On custom frames these pieces are all cut to suit each one individually.

You can choose from various bottom bracket options from press-fit through to threaded, and you can also choose between different cable routing options.

Our bike has Sarto's stock geometry, although the process is no less involved, and all bikes are finished with fully customisable graphics and a stunning paintjob.

The photos here really don't do the colour and depth of the finish justice.

As you'd expect for a bike of this style, it isn't adorned with loads of mounts, just a couple of water bottle cage positions and that's your lot – which, to be honest, is all you need.

The 12mm thru-axles and flat mount calliper points give a clean, minimalist look that is further increased by the full internal cable/wire/hose routing from the handlebar all the way until they exit the frame and fork just a few millimetres away from the components that require their input.

An integrated seatpost clamp finishes things off.

The Raso is available in seven stock sizes ranging from XXS to XXL. Those offer effective top tube lengths of 505mm to 590mm respectively.

Our medium has a top tube measuring 550mm, a 510mm seat tube and a 147mm head tube.

Stack and reach figures come in at 545mm and 393mm, while the head angle is 72.5° and the seat angle a steep 74°.

In terms of weight, Sarto says that an unpainted medium frame tips the scales at 890g, with the fork adding 360g.

Value

If you want to purchase a Raso in the UK then Sarto have a network of seven dealers who sell them as framesets, which can then be kitted out to the customer's specific requirements.

The frameset, or 'frame kit' as Sarto calls it, costs £7,520, which includes the frame, fork, headset, seatpost and two bottle cages.

Sarto says our build, which includes Campagnolo's new Super Record Wireless groupset (full review coming very soon), Bora Ultra WTO wheels, Continental's GP5000 tyres and Selle Italia 3D-printed saddle comes in at around €16,700 if you were to buy it direct from Sarto, so around £14,300 depending on the exchange rate.

That build includes Sarto's own carbon fibre integrated cockpit, which is also available in seven sizes. It's very comfortable with a flat, wing-shaped top and a smooth curve to the shallow drops. One thing I do like is the slight flare, which increases the bar's width from the hoods to the drops.

Ever since I've been riding gravel bikes, which tend to come with flared bars, I've switched to using them on my road bikes too, as the wider stance gives better control when you're riding in the drops. Sarto's offering has 10.75° of flare, which is 25mm each end.

The price actually compares well to the Colnago C68 that I have been testing alongside the Raso. With a similar build, albeit with the wired version of Super Record EPS, but featuring the same Bora wheels, the C68 will cost you £14,999.95. So, five pence short of 15 grand...

The Pinarello Dogma F that Aaron reviewed recently also came with a wired version of Super Record Wireless, but with a pair of Campagnolo's Hyperon Ultra wheels rather than Boras. This is a little cheaper at a mere £12,400.

Conclusion

Owning a Raso is without doubt a serious investment but even with our test bike's off-the-shelf geometry, the quality of the ride is amazing, and this is matched by the high-quality build and stunning paintwork, which I feel make the price justifiable. The Raso is a beautiful bike to ride, superbly balancing performance with comfort.

Verdict

Stunning ride quality and behaviour on the road from an exceptionally built hand-made frameset