Bianchi 2017 - overpriced?

Actually I've just re-read the thread and seen the "last bike before first baby".

Sorry buddy, you are screwed, man are those things expensive!

Forget any idea of costly bicycle upgrades for at least the next 18 years! You have other priorities now.

If you really crave the Bianchi then you are paying for all the reasons that you do so. The costs of sponsoring those teams and riders that you admire. The investment over decades in creating the brand heritage that you want to buy into. The development of the high end exotica that the company is associated with and the dedicated dealer network there to fluff the client with a personal service experience. And yes the result of all that passion, dedication, experience and commercialisation of a brand to you is that it is more expensive.

But cost aside, what is the value of opening your garage door, removing the dust sheet off your pride and joy and taking 30 seconds to just stand back and enjoy the satisfaction in ownership of something you always wanted?

If you cannot afford to spec the Bianchi you really desire right now, then settle for cheap second best and make the sacrifices necessary to save for another year or two. The bikes will still be available or maybe something else shiny will have caught your eye.

I have both brands. A Bianchi Impulso - alu bike with Campagnolo Veloce, and a Rose pro cross 2000 for riding in nasty weather and in the winter.

The Bianchi is fantastic, not just the looks of it, but it seems to me they know a thing or two about frame building (sorry, frame design, the frame is of course manufactured in Taiwan). It just feels fantastic, cornering, going uphill, accelerating etc. I got it at a discount for 700 at Wiggle.

The Rose bike is very nice too but I wasn't aware that cross bikes are shorter which continues to annoy me - not a fault of Rose though. It performs perfectly with a full 105 group set.  It was 1,200. But I don't love it. I would keep the Bianchi if I could only have one bike.

I am also annoyed that almost all the big brands put  cheap components into the build. I really can't understand it. Is their, very misguided, thinking that it has to be as cheap as possible to sell? FSA chainrings and BB are ok, but it's not Veloce! They also put on a Selle San Marco saddle that is a pain in the ass - one of the cheapest saddles around. 

However, I wouldn't trade the Bianchi for anything. It's all about emotional value. For me it's nostalgia, history, tradition, Italian etc. I would strongly recommend that you follow your heart in this. If you buy the Rose, you might regret it every single day as what you really wanted was the Bianchi. So think hard about it if the emotional values are important to you. It isn't about the bike in this case.

Saving a small amount will make you happy the day you pay for the bike but the pain of using it will stay for years if it's not what you want. It's tricky, but in my experince, after many years of making the wrong call, if you really want something, pay the price. Otherwise you'll regret the decision each and every day. 

I really think that 200£ is not even worth considering if its a Bianchi you really want. You can always change the chainrings and wheels later if you find that is really so important. 

I have to say that Campag 'bits' are easier to come by than those from Shimano, the latter usually means an entire assembly.

Ive got 1960's Campag hubs and 9 speed Record, I dont struggle for parts, either from Ebay, better on line retailers or indeed old school LBS'.

One other comment, I had Campagnolo Veloce on my old bike.  It was great, but...  Then the non-drive side crank arm came off, and I lost some little bits in the road.  It took me a fortnight to get it sorted out; I doubt you'd have to wait that long for the equivalent Shimano parts.  If you have something else to ride in the meantime it isn't so bad, but if it's your only bike?

They are not overpriced, you are paying for the brand and the dealer networks costs, you cant really compare to Rose and Canyon who are 'mail order' only with no hands on warranty.

I do chuckle though, as back in the day Bianchi was just Italy's answer to Raleigh/Peugeot/Gitane and they made some awful junk (in Italy) sure, like the other 2 they had some lovely hand built stuff for the pro teams, but their shop fodder weighed an absolute ton, was rarely straight and was dead as a dodo.

So really, it means nothing to me, they were never in the same league as Cinelli, De Rosa, Colnago etc. and even some Colnago's (at their peak of steel production) with the paint removed were not up to much either, £100 frame with a £900 paint job used to be the  adage.

If you like the look and the heritage buy a Bianchi, as many point out, ally and carbon frames are pretty generic at each price point, though I must say Canyon's carbon frames are offensive to my peepers.

If you are buying the look and heritage though, you really do want a Campag groupset on it - a complete one! Not bothered about the crap wheels, virtually every complete bike comes with crap wheels.

The sad thing is,  it's not even made in Italy.

Performance, endurance and price-wise, a 105 Canyon would smoke that bike. The way they don't even give you a full Campag groupset is ridiculous, plus Vittoria tyres have more issues than Conti.

I'd also check out ebay for bikes around that price. If this was in my size I'd be all over it! Celeste, Super Record, Zipp 303...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bianchi-Oltre-XR-Race-Bike-/152564337741?hash=item23858b0c4d:g:W1gAAOSwt0FZBvv0

I'm sure the Rose is a fine bike and it has a fine spec. But you're never going to be able to pretend you're Marco Pantani on it!

For what it's worth I managed to get an Infinito CV on sale from here just over a year ago for £2000 so I'd possibly wait till end of season to see if you can get a better deal/spec:

http://www.startfitness.co.uk/cycle/bikes.html?manufacturer=2240

Oh, and if it makes any difference to you - everyone checks out a Bianchi

If you want a new Bianchi, buy a new Bianchi, and tell everyone to sod off.

Try to make peace with your own time, instead of pretending it's 1977.

Nostalgia is bullshit.

Don't marry the profficient Claudia Schiffer without first getting to know the flair of Monica Bellucci. It'll end in tears.

If you are driven largely by nostalgia, get a nice retro Bianchi frame on Ebay and put Veloce or Potenza groupset and some hand build wheels on it. The build will have more style and character than any current Bianchi model. You can search for pictures of "neo retro road bikes" for inspiration.

No, you won't be any slower.

Get the bike that makes you want to ride.  Wheels and crankset are some of  the easiest upgrades you can make, likewise seatpost and stem.  And when you've done that, it'll be YOUR bike, unlike anyone else's.

If you get the Rose, you'll respect it, but you won't love it.  You'll get rid of it next year and buy a Bianchi, losing a few hundred quid in the process and having a year less with the bike you want.  Ask me how I know.

An ex-Canyon rider now on a Cervelo.

I would go with heart, bikes are meant to make you smile. The Canyon is a better balanced build *now*, though I am not sure I would compare a carbon and ally frame like for like.

BUT those wheels would have to go pretty quickly - they are going to drag your lovely new frame down a dark black hole from which you will never escape Sh*t wheels will dull even the nicest frame and you may wonder why you bothered buying a nice frame in the first place. And the seat, obvs! With thoser swapped out you'd be set for a couple of years with gradual upgrades as and when. 

If you really can't afford a wheel upgrade then wait until the end of the season, or find a last years model, so you have the dosh to go for some nice campags, or fulcrum 3s etc. The heart might be the frame but the wheels are the performance...

Hmmmm tricky, I am a value seeker myself but everyone is correct about the heart versus head.

You'll rarely follow your heart and regret it for me (like an Alfa car) even if the Bianchi developed a little click, was a bit twitchy in the corners etc. you'd love it because you love it. The head decision developing the same issue will piss you off or if it doesn't have a single problem will strangely then become cold and clinical in your mind.

Having said all that, and throwing a massive curve ball into the mix, do the 'pepsi challenge'. How does riding 105 compared to Di2 grab you, if you can't tell the difference then heart wins. If the better spec components feel better then you may know how much you love one compared to the other.

I've always felt Bianchi were over-priced, so had the opposite reaction when I see one.  And comparing Rose who offer amongst the best value of any maufacturer you are always going to have the issue of price.

However, if you really want the Bianchi, get it, and you (probably) won't regret it.  In a few months you'll have forgotten the extra cost and be planning to upgrade all the bits anyway!

Yes. Celeste is the colour of "overpriced".

I don't understand why anyone would buy a frame from an Italian brand at or near full RRP. On the other hand, I can't help admire the built-wholly-on-bullshit "heritage" premium they command. I can understand why you might pay a lot of money for a truly bespoke bicycle, one built for you by hand from scratch. But I don't understand why there is any romance associated with a frame that is manufactured in Taiwan. This is not a dig at Taiwanese manufacturing prowess or at the (more often than not, superlative) quality of frames manufactured in Taiwan. Taiwan is the leader in carbon bicycle manufacture. But just because a frame gets a special shade of blue green doesn't suddenly imbue it with the ghostly presence of Fausto Coppi thus justifying paying more than an equivalently performing bicycle.

Leaving aside the colour, that Bianchi looks a bit minging by virtue of black pie plate, ugly saddle and lots of spacers under the stem. Rose always seem to go out of their way to paint their bikes in a manner that combines offensively boring with borderline ugly. I prefer Canyon, although they don't look so exciting either.

Regardless it has an FSA cransket so not going to be any issue with campag tools - only the cassette has a different lockring tool to shimano. And anyway, as above, Ultra Torque uses 10mm hex key on the cranks and is v easy to maintain and install IME.

As for the OP I'm inclined to agree - the Bianchi package is poorer value but looks nicer. I wonder if you could get a frameset and spec it up youself?

Not true on the tools.  The old power torque cranks needed a puller to remove but Campag have seen sense and discontinued it.  Potenza crank has a self extracting arm and apparently the new version of this group and the new entry leve Centaur which will replace Veloce will be ultra torque, in line with Chorus, record and super record. All you need for service is Allen and torx keys.

Regarding the cassette, super record is designed for racing, with titanium sprockets on the larger cogs, which are lighter and wear faster. I guess the theory is either you're racing and the miniscule weight saving is worthwhile ; you're sponsored and don't pay for them ;  you're a recreational rider buying super record and cost is less of a factor.  If you shop around you can get 11 speed Chorus which is 50g heavier for less than £80.  Lasts ages and no difference in shifting quality.

Don't assume the Rose frame is so much worse than the Bianchi, they are consistently reviewed very well.  The biggest issue I have with them is their paint jobs are often rather lacking.  My Xeon CDX looks pretty nice (to me anyway!), but some of their paint jobs on other models are awful.

For me Campag would be a negative; a lot more expensive for no perceiveable benefit, and you need an new set of tools for Campag maintenance as they decided to be difficult.  

A friend has Super Record on his best bike, there is no difference in shifting quality between that and my Ultegra Di2 - I prefer my electronic shifting by some margin.  No doubt Super Record is lighter, but £1000? for what can only be 300g or so? (Going on commonly found sale prices for SR vs Ultegra Di2)

And spares are extorsionate - £180+ for a cassette??

A tricky one.

Like you, I've always had a thing for a celeste Bianchi. For the last couple of years I had a BMC Granfondo in matte back. This was an excellent bike that matched everything I wanted except....

It looked a bit dull. I kept seeing the Infinito in gloss celeste and waited until the end of last year before buying the frameset pre price rise and a small discount. It was still expensive, though not quite on the Colnago or Pinarello league.

I know it doesn't perform any better than the BMC. However, it just looks so good I get enjoyment from looking at it and cleaning it.

There are better bikes but I do not regret changing.

If you really want a Bianchi I would try to wait until the end of the summer. Chances are you will get one with a good 300-500 discount.

Totally agree with Simon, the Rose has a better spec but you'd spend every minute you owned it wishing it was Celeste green and Italian... Get the Bianchi and upgrade the wheels when they're worn out or you're fed up of them.

A lot of what we buy in cycling we buy for emotional rather than impassive reasons. Everyone has their reasons for paying over and above a product's material worth. But, as long as you've worked it out and have come to terms with it, then it's okay. For most of us cycling is an emotive passion, a dream, an escape.

For this reason I'd prefer to ride a Bianchi, and for me it'd be worth paying the extra - although I'd swap out the wheels for something better.

Head over heart perhaps.

I've a Rose bike that I'm very happy with, you get a lot of bang for your buck.  I'm toying with replacing my winter bike atm, the value of Canyon or Rose is hard to beat.

My main concern is a the aftersales dramas you hear about with Canyon - I have to say I had no worries with Rose in that respect - though I did have to wait a while for the parts to be available.

Rose also let you customise, Canyon don't.  I still prefer the look of a Canyon inflite over the Cannondale or Rose equivs.  A Mason would be nice - but it's close to double the price for something I hope not to ride to often!