Bianchi 2017 – overpriced?

If you are driven largely by

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

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.

Hmmmm tricky, I am a value

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.

Yes. Celeste is the colour of

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.

Not true on the tools.  The

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.

A tricky one.
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.

A lot of what we buy in

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.

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!