Road Cycling - lbs for bianchi

I bought bicycle (trek hybrid) 8 months ago first time in my life and
I love riding very much.
This is the moment for moving to road bike. I'm considering
buy one among Bianchi's Veloce, Vigorelli, Alloro and Si aluminun/
Centaur. I have the following questions.

1) I live in Los Angeles area and visited 5 or 6 bianchi's dealers in
area.
But nobody carries bianchis on display. That means I can't
fit and feel on them. I don't know difference in feeling
between steel and aluminum. I have just some knowledge by
reading. Why those dealers don't have stocks?
That means Bianchi has inferior competition power in quality
and price?

2) You know which Bianchi's dealer in LA area has enough stocks
or some steel and aluminum bikes on display at least?

3) I guess my frame size is 51 or 53. I read that some
lbs measures very precisely if you pay around 50 bucks.
I think it has sense on novice like me. Who does this?

4) People said Veloce frame which is made in Italy, is better
than Vigorelli in Taiwan. Is this true? VIgorelli is
two hundred fifty more than Veloce in price. Ofcourse
Vigo has better component line (shimano ultegra) than
Veloce's (Campy Veloce). If my choice is steel frame,
what I'll pick?

5)Alloro and Si is aluminum frame with higher price which is
edge of my budget. What I'll pick again, steel? Or not,
aluminum?

Thank you for reading my questions. Good luck and ride.

1) Ask the dealers why they don't stock a wider variety of Bianchis. You definitely don't want to buy a bike without riding it first.
2) Can't help here.
3) You don't have to pay for a bike shop to fit you with a bike. You do have to pay for a custom fitting, such as with a Fit-Kit or Serotta size cycle. These require special equipment and someone in the shop spending an hour or so working exclusively with you.
4) There are lots of good frames made in Taiwan. You'll pay a premium for the Italian frame. In the world of road cycling, more $$ often buys lower weight rather than a better, longer lasting product. Again, ride both... if you feel $250 worth of difference, pay it.
5) Ride, then decide.

i bought a veloce in 2000. it was a great steel ride. the veloce group performed well, but needed to be tuned up every once in a while. i rode a lot of miles on that bike with no problems. i recently traded it in on the boron xl
with campy chorus group. i have aluminum bikes also, but for road i like steel.
good luck with your search. you might call bianchi to find a dealer with more stock. also, my dealer called bianchi about previous year's models and saved me over 200.00 on each of my bikes.

Premium for an italian frame?Give me a break! A mass produced tig welded Italian Bianchi Veloce, 'Chromo-lite",whatver that is, is no better and possibly worse than a tig welded Tiawan Bianchi Imola or Vigorelli made with reynolds 631.

Hi,

I own a 2002 Veloce. I also went through the same decision process...Vigorelli or Veloce?

I chose the Veloce as mentioned because the frame was italian made by the Reparto Corse and it is a very nice light, supple frame. (the frame sticker says its 'hand made' but im not sure what that signifies these days) The Vig frame is nice too but I do think the Veloce is superior. The welds are nicer and it just felt better on the road. Ive been quite impressed with the overall quality of Campy Veloce parts.
As for the frame being mass produced...well heh heh virtually ANY frame you buy from a big name company is mass produced, and more than likely TIG welded. The Chromo Lite tubes are just bianchis inhouse tubing....the veloce has alternated from Dedacciaci (sp?) and Columbus in the past, its still one of their top road bikes so I assume the tube quality has not changed. If you want true hand craftsmanship buy a sachs or something along those lines.

Also remember that the Vig costs a bit more because of the Mavic Cosmos wheel set...which I also think is a waste...if you want to upgrade wheels you arent probably going to upgrade to Cosmos anyways.

Originally posted by pokey
Premium for an italian frame?Give me a break!
You pay a premium because of the US rate of exchange with Italy and the insane Italian economy.

What a load. ;)

Bianchi does not make their own tubing......

Have you gone to this website and searched for dealers in your area? I'd try area code first.

http://www.bianchiusa.com/site/dealers/index.html

I bought Vigorelli yesterday. Thank you for good advice.
Have a nice weekend, dude! :)

Hey windyngt, I know you already bought your bike so this is kind of late but Bicycle Johns in Burbank has a lot of Bianchi's on display as well as a bunch of other high end bikes. That's where I got my 2001 SL Daytona for only $1200.00! It was a steal!

You want Italian?? I suggest that you buy a FONDRIEST instead. Buck up, throw down, beg, borrow, or steal. You won't be disapointed!!!

I was interested in the Bianchi SanRemo, but my LBS didn't have any in stock. They got Bianchi to send one in my size for a test ride. If I didn't like it they were going to send it back to them. (I bought it.)

Ask your LBS if they will do the same. I know that Bianchi will.