Bianchi has revealed its new carbon-fibre Sprint road bike, an update of the Sempre Pro, designed to be lightweight and coming in a race geometry. The Sprint is available in both rim brake and disc brake options.
Sprint is a resurrected name for Bianchi, the original having been launched back in the 1970s. Like its predecessor, the new version is for those new to the world of competitive road cycling, according to Bianchi, as well as for riders taking on gran fondos and sportives.
"The carbon monocoque frame is constructed around a racing-specific geometry, providing an aggressive platform from which to chase down attacks, launch breakaways and sprint for mid-race primes," says Bianchi. "The aerodynamic profile of the head tube acts as further evidence of the Sprint’s elite racing DNA."
This means we need to update our guide to Bianchi's 2019 road bike range!
The frame takes a PressFit bottom bracket and a 27.2mm diameter seatpost. There's no brake bridge between the seatstays on the disc brake model.
Like the frame, the fork is full carbon. It comes with a tapered steerer.
Cable routing is internal while the chainstays, fork blades, top tube and down tube feature a recurring graphic of the Bianchi logo, with a single instance picked out in a contrasting colour.
The rim brake model will take tyres up to 28mm wide while the disc brake version will accommodate 32s.
The disc brake model follows bike industry trends by using flat mount callipers and 12mm thru axles front and rear.
Bianchi claims frame weights of 1,000g (rim brake) and 1,050g (disc brake).
The rim brake Sprint is available in eight sizes (44cm-61cm) while the disc model comes in seven (47cm-61cm).
The 57cm size (both rim brake and disc brake) has a 57cm effective seat tube, 56cm effective top tube, and a 15.5cm head tube. The head angle is 73°, the seat angle is 73.5°, the stack is 561mm and the reach is 393mm (giving a stack/reach of 1.43).
Although the geometry is not exactly the same as that of the top-level Specialissima road bike, it's very similar and the stack and reach measurements are identical in this particular size.
Options, pricing and availability
The Bianchi Sprint is available in various different builds:
Rim brake
Shimano 105 £1,850
Shimano Ultegra £2,100
Disc brake
Shimano 105 £2,350
Shimano Ultegra £2,675
The is also a SRAM Force eTap AXS build, but it's not available in the UK.
Some rim brake models are available now while the disc brake Bianchi Sprints are likely to appear in the UK in May or June.
Mat has worked for loads of bike magazines over 20+ years, and been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. He's been road.cc technical editor for eight years, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a past winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer.