Boudicca

Talk about paying for the name. The Armani shop at London's Heathrow Airport has a tax-free special of 938 pounds on a jet-black Armani hybrid bike, built by Bianchi with bold silver markings telling you who made and designed it. It looks like a nice aluminum bike, and comes with Armani lights, water bottle and natty little handlebar bag, and would certainly get a few looks out there on the roads or trails.

But at that price couldn't they come up with something better than Sora for the rear derailleur? I would have thought Ultegra at the very least, or go Italian and Campy.

The well-dressed salesman confessed he didn't really know much about bikes but believes each Armani shop will have one of these bikes soon. He says it rides well. Presumably we're talking about quick spins up and down the airport corridors when the last passengers have left.

jhota

938 pounds? $1600? for Sora? they're nuts. just flat-out nuts.

huhenio

1600 dollars for a HYBRID> I could get a nice road bike for that money

bennyk

Yeah, but it might not go with your $1600 Armani suit.

Boudicca

You think a hybrid will go with an Armani suit?

bluebottle1

I'm surprised they're charging that little. You think this is a bike that anyone is actually supposed to ride?

Boudicca

Probably not, if you think about it.

You wheel it down to Starbucks and sit there with your venti double mocha espresso frappuchino and hope that your fellow travellers a) will admire the Armani water bottle/handlebar pouch and b) not realise that the bike is there for looks rather than for quality.

bennyk

Toooootally.

the beef

Just like the OP said, what you see is a Bianchi, specially made for Armani. It's only avalible in three sizes: small, medium, and large; coming in an aluminum frame with an aluminum fork (no carbon to be found). Here's a snippet from Bianchi's article on their Armani bicycle:

"Fitness should not depend exclusively on monotonous exercise programmes, nor is it necessary to push your body to the limit in the name of general good health.
Every type of movement is beneficial and cycling is acknowledged to be one of the most aerobically correct ways of combining physical activity with enjoyable leisure."

Basically: this bike's a fashion statement, meant to be used for 'leisure' or for being displayed behind glass inside a mansion. Sigh.



Link: https://www.bianchi.it/en/highlights/...io_armani.aspx

I-Like-To-Bike

I dunno, I think other name brands look better and are worth the premium when ridden with the right clothes.

Banzai

I hope they call it the "Armani OCP".

As good a deal as that is...I'm not buying...yet. I'm waiting eagerly for the "Paris Hilton Tinkerbell" bike...coming soon! Complete with whatever you can find at x-mart that's lower than Sora, for a mere $2000 USD! In fact, I hear that it doesn't even mechanically function!

Now that's hot...

Boudicca

Will it have pink streamers from the handlebars like a Barbie bike?

catatonic

I think the Paris Hilton model will have "stash" handlebar inserts, to hide your cocaine in.

Oh, and we can't forget the nightvision camera mount on the seatpost.