A tribute to speed worth over 30,000 €, that's Stefan Küng's Wilier Supersonica SLR

The team time trial of the Paris-Nice was the chosen stage for the official debut of the new time trial bike manufactured by Wilier that was tested by the cyclists of Groupama-FDJ, including one of the world's best specialists in individual time trials, Swiss rider Stefan Küng, who had already taken one of the prototypes of this bike to victory in the final time trial of the 2024 Vuelta a España.

Wilier releases the Supersonica SLR, the time trial bike of Groupama-FDJ

Almost two years after Groupama-FDJ signed a collaboration contract with Wilier to supply their bikes to the French team, the Italian brand has been working on a new time trial bike. Prototypes of this machine were used by the professionals of this team throughout the last season and have led to the creation of the Supersonica SLR, which is now part of Wilier's catalog.

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In the Supersonica SLR, the brand has worked intensively to improve aerodynamics, with an ambitious goal of at least 10% compared to the previous Turbine SLR. According to the numbers obtained by this new machine in the wind tunnel, this goal has been exceeded, reaching 16%.

To achieve this, they had to produce multiple models using 3D printing, invest hundreds of hours in CFD analysis, and build two functional prototypes that were tested by the cyclists of Groupama-FDJ, especially by Swiss champion Stefan Küng, who was impressed by Wilier's work "Seeing all the people involved in the project, who have worked for so long, who have followed me and listened to me, is something that motivates me enormously to give my all in the race. The bike is designed to go fast, you can feel it immediately when you get on it."

By the way, special mention to the Supersonica SLR whose design pays homage to the Swiss time trial championship held by Stefan Küng with a design that mixes red velvet and bright silver white colors reminiscent of the Swiss flag. The flag is represented on the fork legs. This customization is complemented by the work done by Miche on the graphics of the Kleos RD Crono lenticular wheel and the three-spoke front Kleos RD SPX3 wheel, as well as on the single chainring also made by Miche X1 RD, inspired by airplane turbines to convey a sense of speed.

As expected in a modern time trial bike, the handlebar extensions, fully adjustable, are made through 3D printing in titanium or carbon after scanning the cyclist's physiology to make them custom-fit to the millimeter to the arm. A service that Wilier offers to any cyclist looking to maximize aerodynamics.

Obviously, such technological development is not cheap. The frame kit of this Supersonica SLR has a price of 9,000 euros, while the brand offers three assembly levels whose price varies depending on the chosen handlebar. The most economical, with a conventional cockpit provided by the Profile brand, Shimano Dura-Ace components, and the mentioned Miche wheels, reaches up to 20,500 euros. Above that, with the same equipment, we have the option of the 3D printed titanium handlebar which costs 27,400 euros, and if we choose the custom carbon handlebar, we will have to pay 32,400 euros.