Question for Bianchi riders/enthusiasts

[ace]

Hi guys,

Sort of a weird question, but my lbs has told me that Bianchis are generally designed for people with long torsos/shorter legs. Is there any truth to that, or is that just bike shop "bike-o-babble?" Any of you shorter riders (5'5ish) with long legs who comfortably ride Bianchis?

I ask because the tour company I'm going to Italy with offers custom "Via Nerone 7" Bianchis for participants, but I have really long legs for my height (33" inseam), and I'm worried that no matter what they do, it won't be comfortable.

Thanks for any input,
Amy

[mimitabby]

Bianchi like most companies aims most of their product at average sized men.
They do make a bunch of women's bikes now though.
If you're asking whether or not you're going to have trouble on a men's bike,
i don't think it will be any worse than a mens bike from another maker.

I am smaller than you but of typical female proportions, and i love my Bianchi.
we had to do quite a bit of modification to fit it to my high standards of comfort.

[7rider]

Any Bianchi dealers nearby where you can ride a few of their bikes to see how they feel for you?

[melissam]

Hi Amy,

The first "real" road bike that I bought is a 1984 Bianchi Limited. 18" frame. Back in those days, they didn't have WSD bikes, and this was one of the few bikes that fit me.

Anyway, in the mid-90's, I tried a Trek non-WSD. I believe it was a 47cm, so the seat tube was about the same size as my Bianchi. I didn't like it because I felt really stretched out. OTOH, my Trek WSD in 47cm fits me really well.

When I bought the Trek WSD, I mentioned how I'd tried the non-WSD Trek and it didn't fit me so well, but my Bianchi fit me fine. The person at the store said that Bianchi's tended to have a more compact racing geometry, with shorter top tubes. This seems to directly contradict what you heard.

I guess the best way to find out would be to look up the frame geometries for the Bianchi you might be renting. Compare the seat tube/top tube lengths in the size(s) you're interested in. If you can't find the geometry for the model you'll be renting, look at seat tube/top tube lengths for the other Bianchi road bikes and see if there's a trend.

How does the length of the top tube relative to the seat tube compare to your Serotta's measurements? Just for fun, check out the geometries for other manufacturers -- does it prove the point that Bianchis have longer top tubes relative to the seat tube? Or all they all about the same?

Also, can you ask for a road bike on your tour and switch if you can't get it to fit you?

Good luck, and have fun on your tour! Take lots of pics!!

-- Melissa

PS I can't wait to see your beautiful new Serotta in the flesh (er, can you say that about bikes?!)

[michelem]

Amy,

Funny you should ask! I was worried as well (I'm short and have some neck issues that necessitate a shorter top tube). Anyway, this is the info that CC sent to me:

Geometry - Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon
Size, mm
500
530
550
570
590
610

Seat Tube, mm
470
500
520
540
560
580

Top Tube-virtual, mm
530
540
555
565
580
590

Top Tube-actual, mm
515
527
541
552
568
577

Btm. Brkt. Drop, mm
68
68
68
68
68
68

Head Tube, mm
120
135
145
165
180
200

Seat Tube Angle,°
74.5
74
73.5
73.5
73
72.5

Top Tube Slope,°
7
6
5
5
4
4

So, I would suggest comparing this to your current bike (which, I assume fits you) and then choose the Bianchi that best correlates to your bike's geometry. Jewel said they do have a new smaller size that will probably work for me (she's working on getting the exact geometry), but I'll probably need to bring my own stem.

Hope this helps!

[ace]

Thank you guys very much. It's down to the wire- I have to decide today :eek:

I went to talk to Ian, my lbs guy who so ably fitted my Serotta. He looked up the specs for the Bianchi frames, plugged the numbers into a spreadsheet he'd set up with my target measurements, and said that even with tweaks (and me bringing my own stem, etc.), none of their frames would be comfortable for me, given my knee stuff, my neck stuff, my carpal tunnel, and my looong legs. He also pointed out that I have cheater brakes on my Serotta, and the reach on the Bianchi will be even longer- I'd be pretty stretched out. I'd have to be comfortable riding on the hoods to reach the brakes. I also LOVE the stable feeling of my Serotta. He said the Bianchi will feel less stable because of the geometry. He also reminded me that I came back in serious pain (neck, shoulders and hand) from about 5 short test rides of bikes he set up to be close to my geometry when he was fitting me.

It ain't worth the risk for me, I think. So I'm going with the hybrid. Bummer. But thanks for participating in my last minute hysteria :)

[michelem]

Call Jewel at CC and see if she has the info on the smaller women's bike yet. You may be able to make that one work for you.

[ace]

I don't think smaller will help- I'm not small (when I was test riding stock frames, the 53/54s worked for me), just short-torsoed. Here's the comparison btwn my Serotta and the Bianchis (that are somewhere around my size). I can't get this to really format, but the numbers for my Serotta are the 480/490/174.8/73.5/11, and the other three columns are for the Bianchi 500, 530 and 550.


Serotta 500 530 550

Seat Tube, mm 480 470 500 520
Top Tube-actual, mm 490 515 527 541
Head Tube, mm 174.8 120 135 145
Seat Tube Angle,° 73.5 74.5 74 73.5
Top Tube Slope,° 11 7 6 5

[ace]

So I got in touch with Ciclissimo Classico, and they're willing to have both road bike and hybrid for me at the start of the trip, and if the road bike can't be adjusted for my comfort, I can ride the hybrid. My lbs guy has a couple of bits of hardware (a stem etc.) that might help, so I'll bring that with.

Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it works out.

[mimitabby]

wow, that's great! They are really trying to keep you happy. I like that.

[ace]

Yes, they are great. And I wanted to make sure Michelem knows, because she's going on the same trip with them, shortly after me!

[michelem]

Yay! Thanks for the update. :)

They've been very patient with all my goofy questions. I'm so looking forward to a detailed report of your trip! :)

[Crankin]

They are a great company, but I can't go on a trip with them, because of their bike situation. Too bad....

[ace]

Why's that, Robin? What bike situation? I'm curious. Even if you're not crazy about their bike choices, you can always bring your own.

[michelem]

So, I just heard back from Jewel at CC and they do have women's specific road bikes - the Bianchi DB She.

http://www.bianchiusa.com/007_db_she.html

I'm getting more and more excited now that I know they will have a bike that fits me! :D

Ace, you might want to take a look . . .

[ace]

Thanks, Michele. I emailed Jewel to ask about the wsd bikes. She must be ready to strangle me by now :)

I'm on the final countdown...my three week vacation starts after friday. I went and got some euros today. Now all I gotta do is pack!!!

[michelem]

Well, then, she can strangle us both! I've been a never-ending supply of questions. :confused:

[Crankin]

Our very close friends did a fabulous trip with CC, so when we were planning our 25th anniversary trip we seriously considered them. At the time I was riding a 47 cm Trek 5200 wsd and there was nothing even remotely in their stock that would fit me. I don't care which brand I ride on a tour, but the sizing CC had was totally like they had never seen a short person before. I have a different bike now, with different geometry, but still, it fits me. We have not had particularly good luck with shipping bikes, even in very good hard cases. Plus, the TSA breaks all the locks off of the case, which on a suitcase, I don't care, but on a bike case, I do. I guess I am not willing to do all of that work to make the bike fit (bringing a stem, etc). That's why we went with Trek Travel, and we were able to ride bikes pretty much like the ones we had at the time (even better, in my case).
I actually was thinking of applying for a job there, or even volunteering when I stop working, just to be in a "bike" atmosphere.

[ace]

That makes sense, Robyn. I'm glad you found a tour company that works for you. If you ever wanted to try CC again, sounds like (per Michele) they now have smaller wsd Bianchis.

Cheers,
Amy