Quote Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl View Post
Mimi- your fundamental problem is that you don't understand gearing. First of all, groups, like record, chorus, veloce, indicate component weight and performance. For example Record is for racing so is lighter and more expensive than chorus which is lighter and more expensive than veloce. On the shimano line, it goes durace>ultegra>105. To choose the gear range you want, go to Sheldon Brown's website and click on his gear caluclator (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/). While gear inches may not have too much meaning to you now, try viewing the results by speed. Input a typical cadence for you, and this will tell you how fast you'll go in a given cadence in a given gear. Then, pay attention to what gears you use on what terrain, to get a sense for the range you need. Turn those numbers into gear ratios so you can start thinking about it that way, since there are lots of different ways to get the same gear ratio.
I wondered where you had been.
I do understand some of this. I looked at the pricey-er campi stuff and it's all carbon. I have been to sheldon brown's website and understand the concept.
What i know is i really really like the gearing on my veloce! (that's why i asked the dumb question, was the gearing part of the gruppo Veloce package.
Mimi- another warning, I am not sure you totally understand frame sizing/geometry. A 44 cm or 49cm frame only indicates the length of the seat tube, and even that can vary since some manufacturers report the measurement as center of the bottom bracket to top of the seat tube and some as center to center.
I understand this part a lot better than the other part. (thanks to your tutelage) I just assumed that two Bianchi steel bikes would be similar in their geometry, especially a cyclocross vs a road bike. The cyclocross is supposed to be a beefed up road bike, i thought.

If i go with the Marinoni (someday!) i would also do the Serrotta fit. And you do the fit before you get the bike, so I shouldn't be ending up with yet another bike that doesn't fit me the way it should.
thanks for adding your voice to the education seminar here. Much appreciated.