Wilier brings out Filante SL - a cheaper version of the SLR

Italian bike brand Wilier has released an SL version of its Filante SLR, the bike used by WorldTour team Astana Qazaqstan, including their star rider, Mark Cavendish.

Read more: Mark Cavendish's special edition Wilier Filante SLR

© Wilier

The Filante SL shares the same shape as the SLR

Typically for an SL version, this bike uses a lower-spec carbon fibre, lower-spec components, and comes with a lower price tag.

The Filante SL starts at €5,100, specced with aluminium wheels and Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival. At the top end, with carbon hoops and either Shimano Ultegra or SRAM Force components, it comes to €7,000.

Visually, the bike is identical to the SLR. As Wilier puts it, the SL "inherits its forms, its lines, and its racing spirit from the Filante SLR".

The SL has the same geometry as the SLR, meaning that this shares the same aggressive, racy handling as the top-spec bike.

© Wilier

The bike comes specced with mid-range groupsets like Shimano's 105 Di2

The differences are hidden underneath the paint, where the brand has used a different carbon lamination. Usually, brands use lower-spec carbon weaves for their mid-spec bikes, which means lower-modulus carbon fibres with more resin holding everything together.

Although Wilier hasn't given many technical details for the Filante SL, it seems likely it's the same case here, with the brand claiming that the new layup gives the bike "a less extreme and more comfortable structure compared to the SLR version".

The Wilier Filante SL is available now, starting at €5,100. See Wilier for more information.