Basso Bikes is not, as you might reasonably think, owned by Ivan Basso (who has his own Aurum bike brand with Alberto Contador); rather, it was started by engineer and cyclist Alcide Basso in Italy in 1977. Today, the brand offers a compact range of Italian-made road, gravel and electric bikes.The Balta III was quick uphill (Image credit: Andy Jones)The Palta II is its premium gravel bike, available in the UK with Campagnolo Record X, Shimano GRX or GRX Di2 and the SRAM Force XPLR AXS-equipped version that I had on test.Having just enjoyed a month or two riding Handslings A1R0evoG gravel bike with similar spec, I was looking forward to seeing how the Italian bike compared on my home terrain of the Peak District.There can be no doubting the brand's heritage (Image credit: Andy Jones)Design detailsThe Palta III (not to be confused with the cheaper Palta) is a nice-looking bike. With deep carbon wheels, full-height seatstays, one-piece handlebar and classy-looking paint job, it looks fast even when just leaning against a wall.At first glance, the carbon frame looks fairly standard, but on closer inspection, some angular, even triangular, shapes are evident; Basso calls them diamond-shaped. The seat tube and down tube both have slightly cut-out sections for the wheels, similar to the original Cervelo Aspero, and the top tube widens and flattens towards the head tube. The fork's forward-hunched stance also adds to the Paltas aggressive aesthetic.The Palta IIIs frame borrows tech and design from Bassos road bikes, with a reduced frontal area for less drag and increased torsional stiffness around the bottom bracket for better power transfer. The frame isnt only fast, though; Basso says a size medium weighs just 970g.The storage was very well executed and rattle-free (Image credit: Andy Jones)The in-frame storage is one of the neatest and most integrated Ive seen, with a subtle Fidlock magnetic latch fastening the hatch over the internal compartment. If you need to carry more luggage, it has top-tube mounts, down-tube mounts, and even three mounts on the underside of the top tube. It has no fork mounts, but the frame has the most OTT down-tube protector Ive ever seen: a chunky rubber number made by Vibram, the walking-boot-sole manufacturer.Proper down tube protection by Vibram (Image credit: Andy Jones)Tyre clearance is a healthy but not class-leading 50mm, and there is potential to mount a front derailleur, although there are no 2x models available in the UK. Sizes run from XS to XXL with three colour options: Purple Dust, Galaxy Dream and Carbon Chrome, or beige, green and black to you and me. SRAM Force XPLR 1x groupset and a UDH-compatible frame (Image credit: Andy Jones)SpecificationsBolted onto and into the carbon frame is an array of rather nice components, all very much in keeping with the Palta IIIs rapid character. Ive used SRAMs dedicated gravel 1x Force XPLR groupset on a few bikes, and it never fails to impress. The levers are fantastically ergonomic, and with 13 sprockets on the wide 10-46T cassette, the jumps arent too bad, especially lower down the range. The frame is UDH-compatible.At just over 1,500g and under 50mm deep, Miches Graff Aero 48 wheels looked the business and promised drag reduction if I ever reached the necessary speed. Talking of which, the Schwalbe G-One R TLR tyres were also aimed at dry trail speed rather than grip in mud. I had no issues with the hookless rims and these tyres, but I have previously had problems with hookless rims at low pressures, so I was a bit wary of them.Basso offers two handlebar options: a two-piece setup or a one-piece aero design. The test bike had the latter, in an incredibly narrow width 37cm centre-to-centre and 33cm at the hoods, with not much flare at the drops and a stem 110mm long. This is a standard size, but you could perhaps switch it at the point of purchase.These might be the narrowest bars I've use on any type of bike (Image credit: Andy Jones)Comfort comes in the form of an interesting seatpost clamp design, which includes a vulcanised rubber piece down the back of the seatpost as part of the clamp called the '3B Clamp System Gen II'. I was less impressed, though, to see that the two seatpost clamp bolts are tiny 3mm hex bolts and sit right in the line of fire from mud spray from the back wheel. Good luck not rounding those off when they are full of dirt a strip of gaffer tape over them would be my first modification if it were mine.The clamp system house the rubber compliance device, but the 3mm bolts quickly got full of mud (Image credit: Andy Jones)The seatpost has a unique shape, deeply concave at the rear (where the 3B Clamp System fits) and round at the front. Basso says that the stack has been raised and the reach reduced from the previous iteration, and the geometry figures seem to back this up. The 370mm reach and 570mm stack on the size medium are certainly at the shorter/higher end of the scale compared with many gravel bikes, especially speed-orientated ones. The back end is also a bit longer than the norm at 430mm, and the head tube is on the slack side for a gravel bike at 70.The Palta III felt stiff on rougher trails (Image credit: Andy Jones)PerformanceGiven the Palta IIIs set-up and spec, it was handy that my tenure coincided with such a warm, dry summer - the Schwalbe G-One R tyres might not have been so happy in autumn slop - and I enjoyed lots of fast, dusty miles on the bike.My first thought about the bike was its speed, followed pretty quickly by its stiffness. Coming straight from the super-comfy Handsling A1R0evoG, the Bassos rigidity stood out. This was more apparent at the front end than the rear, probably not helped by the narrow one-piece bars. Smooth trails were fine, but as the stones got larger, above kiwi fruit-sized perhaps, the ride became less comfortable.A lot of my gravel riding involves plenty of roots, rocks and other trail obstacles arguably better suited to a mountain bike, and here the Basso did struggle to provide as much compliance as I would have liked. I think this comes down to a few things: the 45mm Schwalbe tyres actually only measured 43mm, narrower bars naturally offer less flex than wider ones, and the frame/fork are tuned more for speed than comfort. Even with the tyres running at rim-threatening pressures, many impacts were transmitted through the bike to me.The 3B Clamp System and long seatpost do work to an extent, but only when seated, and of course rough terrain and techy descents are often tackled standing up. Interestingly, the test bike was a size Medium, whereas i would usually expect to be a size Large/56. This meant that the stack and bar height was actually pretty good for me (whereas a Large would be too high), but the reach did feel a bit short even with the 110mm stem. This is neither good nor bad, but it is worth being aware that the Palta III does fit slightly differently to some other gravel race bikes.After 400km+ on the bike, I enjoyed the speed and responsiveness, but I was never tempted to load it up and head off on a multi-day adventure. Instead, it was better suited to shorter bursts, where its directness was acceptable and its stiffness a benefit, especially when climbing. It would have been interesting to try it with some bigger tyres to see how much compliance they added, but I had nothing suitable available.The Basso is responsive out of the saddle (Image credit: Andy Jones)ValueWith the Palta III overlapping with the Handsling A1R0evoG in my garage, and both bikes aimed more at speed than adventure, they made for an interesting comparison.The long, low Handsling blended pace and compliance well, whereas the Basso leaned more toward outright stiffness despite its more upright fit. With both bikes retailing for around 6,000 in similar spec and weighing just over 8kg, the choice comes down to sizing and ride characteristics. The price spread for Force XPLR-equipped bikes is wide: the Canyon Grail is 4,799/$5,000, while the Cervelo Aspero-5 is 7,000/$9,000, putting the Italian-made Basso in the mid-pack.Despite the multiple luggage mounts and Bassos talk of versatility, the Palta III isn't a bike for long-distance epics carrying all your worldly goods. The ride is too stiff and speed-orientated (and there is barely any room between the hoods for a bar bag). It's better suited to short, fast outings, where you can relish the unfiltered ride.It is a lovely-looking bike with good components and a brilliant groupset, and a great history behind the brand. If the geometry suits you and you want an outright speed machine, this might be it.Tech specPrice: 5,999/$6,995Brand: BassoFrame: Palta III carbonFork: Palta III carbonSizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXLWeight: 8.44kg (actual, medium)Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS E1 13-speedCrankset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS 40T, 170mmCassette: SRAM Force XPLR 13-speed 10-46TWheels: Miche Graff Aero 48 TubelessTyres: Schwalbe G-One R TLR Folding 700x45cBrakes: SRAM Force AXS hydraulicBar/stem: Fuga Carbon integrated 370mm/110mmSeatpost: Basso 15mm laybackSaddle: Prologo Dimension RS