wildjim

Would $400 be considered a fair price for an original, nearly new condition 2005 Bianchi Pista 51cm.

https://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...id=31907&stc=1

LóFarkas

To my knowledge, it costs $549 new. So if it is in perfect condition, probably yes.
BTW: Am I the only one who thinks the chrome 2005 Pista w/ the silver seat is horribly ugly compared to tha black one w/ celeste decals of a few years ago?

queerpunk

it would seem like a fair price.
i gotta say, i'm not a huge fan of the color celeste.
can somebody give me the etemology of the link between hipsters and 2005 pistas?

adatewithatrain

Lo farkas...no. you are not the only one that feels this way.

Ken Cox

LoFarkas wrote:

"Am I the only one who thinks the chrome 2005 Pista w/ the silver seat is horribly ugly compared to tha black one w/ celeste decals of a few years ago?"

I have only seen photographs of the black Pista, and I consider it absolutely beautiful.
That does not make the current Pista ugly, to me.

I paid MSRP for my Pista, so $400 looks awfully good.

LóFarkas

Glad to see that some people agree... What I meant is the black one is mindblowingly sexy and this chrome is very ugly indeed. The seat is definitely a piece of junk for my money. Weird, 'cos they're the same bike after all... Anyway, one man's meat...
I have seen both of them on photos only:-((

naisme

I shopped around town for mine. Everyone seemed to have it at 550.00(USD), so when I found it for 500.00(USD) I grabbed it, broke me but I really enjoy it. I did change the seat out for this black Vetta "thong" seat with Celeste Bianchi on the sides, it's a sweet seat. I too would have rather spent bucks on a black frame, I went shopping, saw the "project" frame, but I didn't want to build it up. If I wanted to do a build up, there are two San Renshos that I'd love to work up into some sort of ride, but they would have to be a work of art that I just couldn't be out riding daily. I would have to cart them to the Velodrome and ride there. I guess I could think of worse things to do with 1500.00(USD).

Mr. Shadow

It's a good price, but for the same money you could rescue a vintage frame as well.

slopvehicle

Yeah, I was thinking the other day: what would I do if I wrecked my road conversion? Would I drop $250 on an IRO frame? No, I'd probably just find another road frame to convert.

fixedstep

i like the chrome but the seat is horrible i plan on replacing it in about a week, it is also uncomfortable.

talipdx

Yeah alotta peeps have the chrome bianchis in PDX, Im not so hot on the whole everyone has them aspect... but hell for $500 its a good deal... cheaper than the nessuno build Im doing currently

Slodo

Actually, you're not the only one- and I even own a 2005 Pista.

delay

I think the chrome looks all right if you lose the seat and the white bar tape. From some reason it looks better with black...I don't know why.

mr.o

Hey, it"s a complete bike for $400. If it's in good condition, more power to you. I'm a part of this growing bianchi family with the classic 2001 black w/aqua lettering, and some extremely tight bars(36's)that I love for squeezing through traffic.

dwj444

I don't know -- I have to say the newer pista's with the chrome are fugly (figure out the etymology on that one). I ride one of the older, much sexier battleship grey pistas. Mine came with black bar tape, but after about a month of riding it with the track drops, I pulled them off and threw a pair of Nitto pursuit bars on there instead. I wrapped them with some crazy looking half black half white reflective tape. It looked great when it was new (especially at night). Now it's worn away and the coolness factor is diminished significantly.

I saw someone with the same pista as mine in the shop the other day. I haven't seen my frame in about a year, since I got really into the idea of wrapping the frame to protect my paint (I lock up outside a lot, and I think messengers are cool). I'll admit it may seem posuer-ish, but I wrapped the top tube, down tube, and seat tube in old innertubes. It looks great. Nothing like a little broke-off flavor for a mass-produced bike.

My 2 cents.

Plinkerton

I've been having a hell of a time trying to find a decent frame to build on, and it seems that the Pista is the best bang for the buck.

I may have to just go buy one. Any build I do will pretty much cost at least 500 anyway...

BostonFixed

IRO? www.irocycle.com

Plinkerton

Yeah. I really like the IRO's and was thinking about getting an IRO frame and doing all the rest myself. Then I realized, since I have NO spare parts of anything lying around, I might as well buy a complete IRO. But, then I realized that I don't have any money...

But, It seems like an IRO might cost me a bit too much. I would want a flipflop hub, and I don't think they are standard, but I might be wrong, and I'd like a brake, so there's another 50, plus shipping... So altogether, It will probably cost me near $700 total, which is a bit more than I intended to spend...

Still not sure what I'm going to do. I'm not buying a Pista though. I've decided that much. Putting a brake on it, and whatnot, it just wouldn't make sense price-wise.

Ideally, I want a new Raleigh Rush Hour. And yes, I know it has a rear brake.

jayrooney

Flip Flop hubs on IRO wheelsets are standard. IRO wheels will probably be sturdier than the raleigh wheelset... which is important 'cause wheels are one of the most important parts of the bike. Tony sends hubs to velocity and velocity builds the wheels, and we know from previous threads that IRO and Velocity stand behind their products 100%. If you call IRO you can choose the quality of your parts to adjust the price.

Plinkerton

I guess actually, it comes out to about the same price as a new Rush Hour would be. There isn't a listing for my size on his site though. It seems as though he might be out of stock.

I'll see what I can do. It would be kinda nice to be able to choose bullhorns right awat, instead of having to change that later.

Are the IRO frames drilled for a rear brake? (Just in case...)

Thanks,
Plink

jayrooney

yup

zelah

let me just say Celeste is the worst color of all time ever and its gross