#Paltainabox
OTHERS DO GRAVEL. WE DO PALTA
PALTA II
Basso have a particular ride feel. Racy but stable; confidence inspiring yet engaging; fast yet fun. Like their road range, Basso instilled in the original Palta, these same traits, to deliver a fast and captivating ride all the while remaining adroit and agile on all surfaces. While rapid and controlled off road, the Palta was and is remarkably capable on-road.
Basso's original Palta, while faithful to Basso’s tradition and values for the road and while highly praised for its deft controlled speed off the tarmac, perhaps lacked the overall versatility that so many demand from a do-it-all rig. After all, not many of us - yet at least - would consider that our stables required more than one gravel bike.
Born from racing and after 4 years of success on the market, the Palta - still relevant for the speed obsessed gravel warriors - required some finessing to make it more apposite for todays broader gravel user base. Alcide Basso and his engineering team set out to address this and to create a Gravel bike that remains fast and reactive enough for the demands of the toughest gravel races - but that simultaneously delivers greater comfort and versatility than its predecessor. Fit for all aspects of this ever growing discipline.
The Palta II features a mildly tweaked geometry - the key to the ride. The original high top tube has been ever so slightly raised and a slacker head tube angle applied to create a positive position without the need for high headset spacer counts and to further enhance the off-tarmac capabilities of the platform. With this front end elevation there is a concurrent increase in the steepness of the slope of the top tube. Like many bikes have done in the past, this is to increase the amount of exposed seat post. Why? Well, this is where much of the compliance in bikes comes from - and what makes a ride more comfortable when grinding it out in the saddle.
As I’ve said in countless write-ups before. Comfort is king. Unless you are entirely given over to speed for the likes of prologues for example, where sacrificing comfort for small power gains is a tenable trade off, any bike fitter will tell you, that comfort has the potential to lead to speed. Particularly over longer distances and on varied terrain. This new seat tube flex is married to a new seat stay design (both aesthetically and from a carbon lay-up perspective) that conveys greater vertical compliance for comfort and wheel tracking, while maintaining lateral stiffness key to speed and pick-up. In addition, the new design further enhances versatility through improved tyre choice and the Palta II now comfortably accepts 45mm tyres on a 700c wheel. Further still - and this was most certainly a key element that was missed in the original, the Palta II will now accept 650B wheels with appropriate tyres.
A key element of the platform that delivers much of the ride is the specially developed fork that is held over from the original Palta - if it ain’t broke and all that….. Visually it stands out and it is fundamental to the versatility of the Palta II in varied terrain. Ultimately giving the stability and agility for mixing it up over a wide range of uneven surfaces, while still having the opportunity to cut it on the tarmac and smooth sections of fast, flat off road.
Beyond the critical elements of frame and fork that offer vibration damping, even the new seat binder has been improved to soak up more chatter. Constructed with a new rubber gusset and featuring a vulcanised flange, this small but helpful element removes excess trail noise before it makes its way into you!
Along with the upgraded compliance that delivers greater comfort and tracking, Basso have also looked at making you faster through changes and improvements to the aerodynamics of the tubeset. The new Palta II uses Kamm Tail aero profiles for the rear face of the forward facing tubing, with a rounded leading edge for enhanced airflow. Even the downtube features a ‘broken’ kamm tail that sits either side of the space that would be occupied by an additional frame bag.
By utilising a new 1.5” - 1.5” headset, Basso have followed the trend for internally routing and concealing from the wind, the hoses and cables of the control units. This is groupset agnostic and works for both mechanical and electronic set ups with perfectly smooth steering and function of the components - often compromised by similar set ups.
The oversized headset couples with stackable 5mm spacers with a split-lock design that allows them to be separated and removed without need for rerouting. Coupled with the innovative design of the stem which has a double stem cap construction - it allows the cables to pass completely independent of its mounting and further facilitates any maintenance or position change, without the need of rerouting cables.
With a -8° pitch it yields an aggressive look and aerodynamic position. Partnered with Bassos’ new gravel specific flared bar that deftly passes cables through to the shifters unseen, the cockpit delivers both excellent comfort and aerodynamic gains. Innovative bar recesses allow the use of thicker tape too, without excess girth and an odd aesthetic - good news for the trail hungry mile munchers! On top of all this, a new stem lock system has been incorporated into the headset to remove the possibility of impact from the bars against the top tube and protect the frame in the event of a fall or crash.
Made to ride hard and limit less, the Palta II delivers everything else that the adventure could require in terms of mounting points on the frame : three bottle cage mounting positions, hidden bento box mounting bolt construction and perfect clearance for saddle, frame and handlebar bags. In addition, the new Palta II offers two new adventure-focused head unit mounts compatible with both Wahoo and Garmin.
With a carbon fibre construction that carefully balances stiffness with compliance to keep you fast and comfortable (and therefore fast!), the carbon lay-up also pays attention to the need for resilience. For added protection the Palta II has a removable polymer shield for additional coverage on the down-tube for whatever the trail may throw at you.