Basso Updates Palta III Gravel Bike

Now in its third generation, Basso has updated its Palta gravel bike, aptly dubbing it the Palta III, adding both some geometry tweaks, as well as more tire clearance to its popular gravel grinder, resulting in Two Souls. One Bike. Zero Regrets, boasts the Italian brand.

How?

Basso says the new Palta III cheats the wind more efficiently than its predecessor, reducing drag by a claimed 18% courtesy of a more streamlined fork and a revised down tube, as well as newly sculpted seat stays. Stiffness has also been bolstered thanks to a more robust bottom bracket and rear triangle, enhancing rigidity by 19% and 12%, respectively. Interestingly, the reverse was done with the head tube, dialing back stiffness by 15% in order to promote more front end comfort and eliminate chatter along rough terrain.

Additionally, Basso decided to add a sixth size to the Palta III, making the bike more accessible to a wider range of riders, while stack height and wheelbase measurements have been increased along each size, making for a less aggressive riding position, as well as providing enough clearance to accommodate tires up to a hefty 52mm.  

Elsewhere, the Palta III has been treated to a new internal storage compartment that’s secured via a Fidlock closure, along with two Apidura waterproof bags with their own dedicated bolt-on mounts that are located above and below the top tube, thus eliminating the need for straps.

Not surprisingly, weight is also down on the Palta III, tipping the scales at 970 grams in an unpainted size medium, roughly a 10% decrease in weight over the previous generation.

Lastly, Basso offers three cockpit options for the Palta III, its Fuga and Levita one-piece handlebar and stem, or a traditional two-piece setup using its new Strato alloy stem.

The Palta III is available as a frameset only for $4,895, or in a number of different build options that span Shimano and SRAM groupsets, with pricing starting at $5995 for a Shimano GRX 1x equipped bike, up to $11,000 for the top-tier model that comes fitted with a SRAM Red AXS Xplr groupset and Zipp 303 Xplr SW wheels.

Basso