Originally Posted by visitordesign
as much as i try to hate my 05 pista, the only time i really do is when riding up the few really steep climbs on the piermont ride. the chainstay/bottom bracket area's not stiff enough for my liking, but i guess that's not really what the bike's intended for and i'm a tall guy.
the wheels on mine really sucked, went out of true all of the time and spokes often got dangerously loose. the saddle and seatpost were uncomfortable as well. i also experienced hand numbness riding the stock drops. oh, and getting MKS tugs for it really helped keep the chain tension consistent (hasn't been a problem since upgrading the wheels though).
it can look hot though. i took off all of the decals except for the downtube one, put sugino 75s/sg75BB/crank bros candy pedals/thomson post/fizik saddle/bullhorns/and a phil & aerohead wheelset on.
now i'm building up a kogswell and waiting for a custom jackson and i keep wondering in the back of my head if the jackson will feel as quick as the pista. the geometry's really pretty nice. the components... enh.
yeah i got numb hands with the dedas and don't with the nittos. i haven't had a problem with flex in the frame. however the bike feels a whole lot better with a decent 1/8" drivetrain and stiff cranks. my stock wheels lasted a year of city riding without a single issue. others have had problems with them. they're machine built wheels so i guess it's a combination of luck of the draw and how rigorous your lbs is when it comes to putting the bike together out of the box—whether they pay attention to the wheel tension and trueness or just slap them regardless.
this is an issue with all lower-end bikes though. not a reason to pass the bike over.