Recreational & Family - Any Female Bianchi Milano Owners In Here?

I'm scheming to buy my wife one, the 8 speed variety. She is far to practical to pick out a bike, she's not overly fond of the one she has now but would never agree to spend money on a new one. We have money, she's just kinda mental when it comes to spending money on herself :-) I have been telling her I'm saving money to buy myself a road bike when in fact the money is going to be spent on a new nice bike for her. Well I'm thinking I might save a little longer and get us both Milanos :-)

Anyhow, I showed her one and she agreed it looked cool. So...I'd like to hear from any women who own a Bianchi Milano. What are your likes and dislikes? What do you think of the Celeste color? And do you have the step through one of the "normal" one? I'm not fond of the step through frames, I don't think she is either.

Oh, and she'll be riding this casually with the kids and myself on paved paths, not on dirt or mountains. We have mild inclines in our neighborhood/area but no actual hills. She and I will probably ride together to our local starbucks kind of thing.

Thanks

Chris

I'm scheming to buy my wife one

And here I thought you were just looking to pick up bicycling women.

And here I thought you were just looking to pick up bicycling women.

Um, no. Maybe I should change the title to make it more clear :-)

edit : dang, it acts like I can change the title but it didn't work. I tried to change it to "Need Opinions From Female Bianchi Milano Owners" :-)

Well until the Bianchi owners show up... I just bought a new bike, a Jamis commuter 3. My LBS salesman tried to steer me towards a Bianchi when he heard I wanted a 8sp internal hub... then told me it would be impossible to get one lol. It was okay though, because I had been researching bikes and had decided on the Jamis since it was cheaper than the Bianchi, but was comparable. I couldn't ride it because they didn't have one in the shop, so I was really nervous about the purchase, but omg, I have been so happy with the bike. It's a fast, fun bike.

So... I would vote for the Bianchi. I gather that it's a better bike than the Jamis, so I don't see how you could go wrong. If it's as fast as the Jamis, then your wife will love it because you ride 10 miles and you don't even feel it. I have two other bikes that are heavier and yikes, it hurts me on a longer ride.

moneal, the Jamis is almost as heavy as the Bianchi and yet it does not feel heavy for you to ride?

And thanks for your input.

Chris

No, and that may be because I've been comparing the Jamis to my other bikes with fatter tires. I've been a little amazed by how much I've enjoyed it... A friend of mine tried to steer me to a road bike because he said his wife got so tired riding her Trek hybrid and I thought about it and decided to look for an upright that handles like a road bike and after googling fast bikes and coming up with Jamis, I feel like the advertising was right. On the other hand, I don't notice that I'm going that fast (so maybe it isn't that light like you say) but I don't feel tired after riding 10 or so miles... and I feel it with my other bikes. I haven't had the time to go for a really long ride, but I bet it's going to be a good experience.

Thanks for all the info. :-)

Chris

While I can't give you direct feedback, my wife has a Bianchi Milano and really loves it. It is the regular one, not the step through (which she finds "too girly"). She has no problems on the street or light trails and the gearing seems sufficient for everywhere we ride which includes decent hills. The ease of the IGH and the comfortable riding position makes it the perfect bike for casual riding. The only thing that she needed to change was the stock seat, although that is certainly a personal preference. If you have any other questions, let me know and I can ask her.

I bought a Milano for my wife last Christmas. She loved it and thought it was beautiful. She rides it about once a week for exercise and recreation.

Pros:
- It is lovely (Celeste) and she get compliments
- Shifting is incredibly easy
- It is really comfortable
- She does 20-30 mile rides with me, and she is slower, but has fun

Cons:
- Its gearing is a little high for anything but flat and modest. I swapped out the front sprocket to get slightly lower range and she can now get over serious hills.
- It is slow - a rec bike, not for group road rides. It is a hybrid cruiser/road.

She catches a lot of flack from her friends who have road bikes, and that is irritating, but we are in a very active community with tons of bikers at the base of Mt. Tam in CA, so calibrate accordingly.

Hers is the step through, which is a complete b***h to get a bottle cage onto.

M

I bought a Milano for my wife last Christmas. She loved it and thought it was beautiful. She rides it about once a week for exercise and recreation.

....

Cons:
- Its gearing is a little high for anything but flat and modest. I swapped out the front sprocket to get slightly lower range and she can now get over serious hills.
- It is slow - a rec bike, not for group road rides. It is a hybrid cruiser/road.

She catches a lot of flack from her friends who have road bikes, and that is irritating, but we are in a very active community with tons of bikers at the base of Mt. Tam in CA, so calibrate accordingly.

Hers is the step through, which is a complete b***h to get a bottle cage onto.

M

She just needs two bikes. A road bike to ride up the hills with her friends, and the lovely Milano she has now. I've found my Breezer, with the step through frame, is perfect for errands and such. And if you are wearing a skirt, the step through frame is a must. Oh, any water bottle gets thrown in the basket. No need for a bottle cage.