carlton

In your above post I apreciate you for testifing to the fact that horizonal drops (actually track ends) are available in Italy on Bianchi Bikes. So I guess you really meant to say it is the same parts department.Since it is avalable for one it must be available for another. Bottom line is that I really don't care if it was made in Italy or Taiwan or by whoever. The Panigan is butt ugly and a cludge which is a shame because all the ingrediants where available to make a nice bike. I guess they could pull a Rollo Bell out of their parts department and install it then hire PeeWee Hermin as there spokesperson. Surely that would make it a sales leader. Hopefully some other bike manufacturer will build a decent bike to showcase the new Alfine Line.

Baldanzi

Available yes - but only on TRACK bikes. I was attempting to explain that just because their are bikes here in the states called "bianchi" it does not mean that the europeans have access to them for their bikes. Go to Bianchi USA's website - any bike on their that is not "reparto corse" is a Bianchi USA bike, designed and manufactured for the USA only. This "Ducati" bike should have been a Bianchi (USA) Milano frame outfitted with the Alfine line. ....but there are no Milano bikes in Europe.

carlton

And I am trying to explain to you that track ends are available on italian bianchi bikes and you agree in writing. Have you ever heard of shipping? It involves moving products from one location to another by trucks, airplanes,ships, or donkeys. Bottom line the parts are available and bianchi screwed up severely on this one. Maybe they will sell you a boat load of them at a discount since you seem to like them.

dynaryder

Bike looks cool,but the chain tensioner is just goofy. At first I thought it was set up like their Bergamo with a dual-drive rear. Is this an actual production piece,or just a concept bike?


What's wrong with the Milano? Looks cool,has a Nexus hub,and rides like a rigid MTB.

Baldanzi

The only track bikes bianchi sells (in europe) are carbon fiber. And a CF fram is not going to help you build a commuter bike.

You are missing the point of my post - I was just trying to state that other than the Reparto Corse line of bikes in the USA (the ones actaully made in Italy)...the stuff we get here called "bianchi" has nothing to do with the bikes in Europe and vice versa. Bianchi is part of the "cycles europe" group....but surprisingly the Bianchi USA arm sells a lot of bikes that are designed ONLY for the USA market and come from Taiwan. It appears (wrongfully so) that the two branches really do not "talk" much. I agree its absurd that they don't share parts on their consumer level stuff - but that's the way it is. If you surf the actual Italian Bianchi site for their consumer level bikes...there is not a single internally gear bike -except for this Panigale. Again, as odd as this sounds, internally geared bikes are just not popular in Italy. I did not see a single new one in any bike shop I visited. Maybe they want to use the frame for more conventional drivetrains too - hence the normal drops? Also I see no indication of this line even coming to the USA? Don't get me wrong I want to see the Alfine line put on a great bike to.... its a head scratcher to me too that they are using a chain tensioner???

Here's the fancy Reparto Corse site https://www.bianchi.it/it/home/home.aspx where the Ducati line is listed.

Here is the Italian Bianchi site...the "cheap" bikes...it's loaded with cool commuter bike - but not a single one is an internal hub believe it or not.

https://www.cycleurope.it/

I almost brought this one back to the states with me for my wife:


I like this one... (one gear though, since Milan is pretty darn flat)

YoungerNow

Bianchi's Volpe has horizontal dropouts (or at least, mine, a 2006, does). So does the Castro Valley (it's based on the Volpe frame). And yes, I mean forward-facing horizontal dropouts, not rear-facing track ends.

moxfyre

Cool! My coworker has a 2001 (?) Volpe and it has vertical dropouts. I'm glad they switched back to horizontal. It also appears that they switched to 1-1/8" threadless fork and headset for the last couple years, another good move.

carlton

You are the one missing the point. What part of the parts are available to build a decent bike and the panigale is butt ugly is it that you don't understand?

carlton

Nothing wrong with the Milano.

Baldanzi

Wow, I don't mean to continue this bacj-and-forth...but...I thought I was trying to thoughfully explain to everyone here that none of the frames they currently make have frames that will take internal hubs in Italy - it is just something they are not interested in. I know we have the Milano, volpe, san jose (all of which I really like) in the USA - HOWEVER Bianchi Italy does not have those bikes. Would it be easy for them to utilse the bikes from Bianchi USA in Europe? I'm not sure. The panigale is for the italian market and they simply don't make bikes (normally) with internal hubs (not sure why).

Is the panigale ugly? - god yes. Could Bianchi make the frame with track ends or forward facing horiz. drops? Sure. Did they? No. They also built it out of no name "alloy" tubeset. Right or wrong, generic steel in Italy is typically reserved for the very bottom of the market. The panigale is a very cheap frame by the looks of it - strangely cheap for the relatively costly alfine group they put on it. The bike is a real head scratcher. It makes no sense to put all of that stuff on a frame that requires a chain tensioner - especially since it seem to be a frame specific to this model. So why did they not put horizontal drop outs on it? I am guessing that since no other bike they make uses internal hubs maybe they eventually want to use this frame in other applications?

I thought I was taking the time to explain to everyone here that we can buy a lot of stuff that is marketed as Bianchi here in the USA that is not Bianchi in the rest of the world. It was not meant as an argument at all.

carlton

You entered this thread by headlining your post that the parts are not available. You are wrong. If you want to talk about bikes go right ahead but do not try to tell me bianchi does not have trackends, horizonal drops, or any other part needed to manufacture a bike available to them. Have you figured out that the parts are available yet or are you going to keep dodging the question?

jordanb

If you want a rigid MTB, quit *****-footing around it and buy a rigid MTB.

The Milano is sold as a cruiser bike, which it is not. It is a rigid MTB with a hub in it.

Baldanzi

I don't get it? Dodging what question? - I NEVER said the parts did not exist. The only bike [I know of] that is part of the cycles europe/bianchi empire *and* has at least track ends is one of their carbon fiber track bikes.

I was (I thought) taking my time explaining the big differences in Bianchi USA and Bianchi. There were several posts here regarding - "oh the f-d up and could have used the Milano/volpe/san jose frame". I thought I was trying to be in the spirit of these forums and "share" some insight. Just because we (a bunch of forum sufing monday-morning quarterbacks - like me) think its "easy" doesn't mean we know what thier business orginization is capable of doing between divisions and between continents. The Panigale is for Europe....the Bianchi USA bikes are not available over there. Also as I said, for whatever reason, There are VERY FEW bikes on the market in Italy that use internal hubs. There is not one internally geared bike in all of cycles europe's brands. Cycles Europe is a huge company and could have done the bike right - but did not. Obviously they could have made a frame with track ends or front facing horiz drops.


I really hate to use wikipedia as a source...but its the quickest thing I can find right now....

Bianchi USA is the United States division of Bianchi. Located in Hayward, California, they produce bicycles specifically (and only) for the American market, which are built in Taiwan and Italy. The design director for Bianchi USA is Sky Yaeger. The "Chick Designed" decal on some of the US bikes is a reference to her. In the United States, only the Reparto Corse range are still produced in Italy. Non-Reparto Corse models are not available elsewhere.

Do a web search for "Sky Yeager" and you start to understand the huge differences in the Bianchi USA bikes and the Bianchi europe stuff. If it was not for her, it sounds like there never would have been a Milano, Volpe, San Jose, etc. She really understood the USA market and the whole fixie/singlespeed/internal hub/steel-is-real trend in the USA. When you look at the dogs breakfast of a bike that Panigale is you can see she had NOTHING to do with it.

I-Like-To-Bike

Are there any bike commuters who really give a darn about Sky Yaeger, or the provenance/availability of obscure Bianchi bicycle parts?

ducati

Yes. She designed the Pista, which as I just found out from a test ride, is a fun little bike.

I-Like-To-Bike

What is a Pista?

Allen

Pista is Italian for track, and it's a sweet looking bike.

I-Like-To-Bike

Any features that make it good for commuting?

moxfyre

Uhm... not really. People like to ride track bikes because they're cool-looking, but they're really not too good for commuting.

They have twitchy handling, very low handlebars, poor tire clearance, and sometimes use bearings with no seals to keep out dirt and water (because they're meant for indoor track use). Also, most track bikes have to have the forks drilled to put on a front brake. And the rear-facing track ends mean that it's impractical to put a full fender on the rear wheel, because you won't be able to remove the wheel to change a flat without removing the fenders. Not that there any eyelets for rack or fender, or any water-bottle braze-ons for that matter

I think a converted road bike is a better choice for riding a fixed gear on the road. Either that or something like a Surly Steamroller, which at least has more forgiving geometry, a drilled fork, and one set of water bottle braze-ons.

carlton

Better Reread your original post and my post that you were replying to. I stated that the parts were available. You replied "Not Really". You are wrong. The parts are available. What part of your op is it that you can't decifer?

ducati

Yes. It's fun.

Depending upon my mood, that may be enough for the day.

I-Like-To-Bike

Fair enuff. Of course that qualifies every single bicycle ever made as being good for commuting.

sauerwald

An interesting bike is something that Harris Cyclery puts together in Newton MA - they take the Bianchi San Jose, and replace the Rear hub with a shimano 8 speed internal hub, and call it a San Jos8 - If I were to look into getting a new commuter, I would look closely at that.

carlton

Good choice. There is a link to this bike in post #23.

carlton

Does this include the Panigan too??? Might make a good commuter for a night shift worker. It would be dark so none of your friends would see you riding it. Surely nobody would steal it. Well maybe for the hub.