I like Bianchi's new L'Eroica bike and may buy one if I have the chance. I like the fact that they are responding to the market, in this case a small segment of the US market that values the qualities and workmanship of many older bike frames. This bicycle will be a functional work of art and I suspect it will be a joy to ride. Bianchi is not just responding to the US market though. Vintage cycling is growing by leaps and bounds in Europe with many more events than you may be aware of. There are literally dozens of major vintage events and many more smaller local ones every year. Italy may be ground zero for this phenomena but it has spread across Europe! Bianchi is making this bike primarily for the Europeans, not the US market. I understand that it was only a few months ago when they decided to offer this model in the states, and then through their online shop only. These things are prone to change as they see what the demand actually is.

I have many old bikes (dozens in fact), most of them are period correct but some are not. I have ridden three L'Eroica's, one each in Italy, England and California, all of them the long routes. I have used two different bikes for these events, both were period correct Legnano Gran Premio's, a 1962 and a 1974. To me, riding a period correct older bike is great, but it also means more suffering on a hard route. That however is part of the theme of the event, what you personally accomplish through overcoming a hardship. "Discovering beauty through fatigue" as Giancarlo Brocci (the founder of L'Eroica) might put it! It would be fun perhaps to ride a L'Eroica on a "modern vintage style" bike for a change!

There is a very good interview in Velo News with Giancarlo from earlier this year. It is worth the read and may help some of the doubters understand better what L'Eroica is about. Q&A: L'Eroica founder Brocci brings golden age of cycling to California - VeloNews.com