The Frame is the Fit
VERA is made in one size: yours.
The last VERA AR build belongs to our co-founder Salvatore Botrugno.
Building a bike for one of the people who designed the process is a different kind of exercise.
Over the past year, Salvatore felt the need to change his riding position. A deeper analysis revealed that radical changes were necessary. By shifting the saddle much further forward, he could gradually get lower on the bars and unlock more power. However, the geometry also needed to match his specific flexibility. The goal wasn’t just to achieve an aerodynamic stance, but to ensure a sustainable position for longer rides. When your position changes that significantly, adjusting components on an existing bike only gets you so far. The frame itself has to reflect how you actually ride.
So we built one from scratch around his current position. The component specs were defined at the start to incorporate them into the frame design: super short reach, 37 cm handlebar width at the hoods, 165 mm cranks to match the new saddle placement without losing efficiency.
The result, measured from bottom bracket to hoods, is a stack of 608 mm and a reach of 556 mm, numbers that reflect a position built around how he actually pedals, not around what a catalogue would suggest. A compact frame, right at the limit of toe overlap.
This is where our modular monocoque mould does what it was designed to do: respond to the rider’s requirements, whatever they are, the way a tailor responds to a client’s measurements. There is no standard geometry being stretched or compressed to approximate the right fit: the frame is the fit.
Full build – Frame weight ready to paint, rivets already mounted: 831 g.
Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record
Wheels: Campagnolo Bora WTO 45
Tyres: Challenge Tires 4 Stagioni
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Superflow Racing Replica
Curious to hear from bike fitters and riders who’ve gone through a significant position change — how did you manage the transition between your old geometry and the new one?
