While the Olympia brand might sound like some sort of a contrivance in order to hang a name on a bike that sounds Italia, the company actually has a provenance that dates back to a time when Ernesto Colnago, Ugo De Rosa and Giovanni Pinarello were still a generation away from being in diapers. In fact, Olympia’s roots can be traced all the way back to 1893, when Carlo Borghi first founded the company in Milan, near Porta Romana.
However, unlike a lot of Italian brands that posses a storied history, Olympia has more of a sordid one, with a head-badge that at one point disappeared from all knowledge – save for the most knowledgeable aficionados.
Over the last few years however, the Olympia brand has been reprised with a numbered of sophisticated carbon fiber road bikes, some of which have even garnered awards for their design and innovation.
Olympia demonstrates this with its latest 125th Anniversary model called the Boost, which features not only one of the slipperiest looking framesets imaginable, it also undertakes a bold execution of cockpit integration as well.
In addition, Olympia says they worked closely with fellow Italian brand, Vittoria, in order to maximize tire clearance and performance for the Boost.
“The design of Boost is inspired by maximum air penetration efficiency and turbulence minimization goals – nothing protrudes more than is strictly functional to the bike’s performance. The T1000 carbon monocoque frame incorporates not only the harnesses, the seatpost and the highly advanced handlebar connector, but also the derailleur and the Olympia carbon fiber bottle cage, integrated in a low-mounted housing.”
“Boost is the road bike designed to ride into the future by achieving maximum efficiency in tire use – a component which is increasingly becoming the focus of construction technology. The tests developed in collaboration with Vittoria, an iconic brand in the production of tires and a partner of Cicli Olympia, have shown that the 28 mm cross-section version outperforms the more traditional 25 mm cross-section product in terms of slip and handling performance. The tire ability to adapt to micro-bumps in the asphalt is a determining factor for smooth riding.”
The Boost comprises a monocoque frame and semi-integrated fork and crown, along with an aero seatpost and proprietary stem that incorporates a series of integrated headset spacers that allows the rider to dial in the right amount of stack height without relying upon a fussy expander plug and spacer set-up.
The frame even has its own integrated bottle cage.
Other features that punctuate the Boost, are direct mount brakes (the rear is located behind the bottom bracket) and full internal cable routing.
The Boost is available in a range of standard sizes from Small to X-Large, as well as two unique paint schemes that feature an interesting mix of gloss and matte finishes.
Olympia
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