himespau 

I'd be interested if they offered it as a frameset*. Though, I'd probably do something the designers would consider blasphemous with it like going to ribble and buying a modern triple athena groupset to put on it. At least I wouldn't be doing it to an actual vintage bike.

*if it were available at a pricepoint I could afford.

bulldog1935

but they'd be crazy to quit making a bike model that sells well...
a limited edition could just be a market test

and people in the $200 market will continue to hunt out $200 bikes.
When I was a 20-something professional, I bought a GTV6 - same money would have bought nice Japanese sport coupes


I can promise you "designers" at Bianchi don't care what you do with the bike you buy from them - all they want to do is sell them

armstrong101

It is a pretty bike.

So what's the cost of this?

Salamandrine 

Well truth be told I was only half serious. I do think they are good for many people, and I came close to putting them on my Mercian touring bike, as I prefer them to bar ends.

It was just some early morning cynicism. Don't take me too seriously! I remember when they introduced them at interbike and then we all had to figure out how to install them a couple months later. I'm pretty sure Shimano's rationale was about 25% performance improvement and 75% newbie bike riders will really eat this up. Just IMHO of course.

armstrong101

I'm all about brifters.

Downtube shifters work and can work very well, but if I want to ride hard, I want cornering and performance and I'm using brifters.

Bikerider007

What you do with and the reason you buy are two different things. If they had presented as special edition or limited and sell it every year that would not go over well with their next release, they do have to be concerned with image and customer base or they wouldn't have offered something like this in the first place. Again, I did not research, maybe this will go on as long as L'Eroica happens. Was a passing thought as a considered one.

noglider 

Brifters aren't world-changing, but they are definitely a substantive improvement for many of us. The added convenience of shifting, combined with more closely-spaced gears, means that we shift more often and pedal in our power band more of the time.

Bike technology moves slowly compared with many things. This is C&V, so we all know how well old stuff works. It would be stupid for most people to drive a car with drum brakes or without three-point seatbelts. It would be impossible to get work done on a 20-year-old computer. But 50-year-old bikes do the job pretty well, depending on what the job is. But having said that, newer stuff has advantages that are small but real.

DiabloScott

Some of the things this bike has going for it over true vintage:

1. Modern standards for threaded bottom bracket, headset, steerer diameter, and hub spacing - replacing components when necessary will be relatively simple and not require searching for obsolete stuff of questionable quality and condition.

2. Frame is new and undamaged by crashes, rust, or fatigue - of course that's a concern whenever you buy used.

Oldairhead 

Last year you could buy a Tipo Corsa which is also very nice.

Tipo Corsa Frameset | Bianchi USA

crank_addict

Disregard for a moment the actual bike, I think its terrific a manufacture recognizes heritage and offers representation at such large and significant events. For the bike itself, pretty cool. Twenty years from now, many will be dreaming they wish to have.

Oldairhead 

True, though you cannot have new for a fraction of the cost. I bought a "new" Colnago Master X-light in 2008, frame and fork. I built it out with an Athena 11 speed group, Record hubs, Brooks and some Deda bits. It is beautiful, fast and light (18 lbs riding weight). It was not however cheap. I could have bought the L'Eroica and a trip to Italy for less!

https://utahrandonneur.wordpress.com...nni/#more-1473

non-fixie 

I've seen quite a few in the 'flesh' and I like them. What does annoy me, however, is the ridiculous amount of seat post showing in this film and many publicity shots.

armstrong101

How much is the L'Eroica bike anyways?

I'm pretty sure that whatever it's priced at, you'd have a lot of room to get an "NOS" steel bike for less. And the L'Eroica bike, parted out, is probably not worth that much. I don't think any of those parts would sell very well. Who the hell is looking for "those" brake calipers? I don't see where the price is coming from on this.

martl

its as "vintage" as a VW new beetle, a "nouvo" Cinquecento or a new Mini. I can get a mint *real* CV bike for about 1/5th of what this is.

Kilroy1988 

Last year's model was $4,000. A NOS 1950s or '60s bicycle would cost at least as much or more. Original Bianchis of that era sold by Steel Vintage in Germany can be in quite "used" condition, and cost much more. And they sell.

A new VW Beetle or Mini have virtually nothing in common with the performance or material construction of their predecessors. The Bianchi L'Eroica is essentially a replica of a vintage bicycle with updated components that still function like that of old. It would be more reasonable to compare it to the differences between a new Caterham and an original Lotus 7.

davester

You've never raced, have you? Indexing, and later brifters, was a huge boon to racers. There's nothing quite as annoying as blowing a shift on an end-of-race sprint (something easy to do with friction), and there's a huge advantage to keeping the hands on the bars in a sprint...reaching down to shift really screws up your ability to apply max power in such a situation.

martl

It may be they sell - every day a nutter walks through the Karlstor, as we say at my place. SV adresses the clueless hipster market. The german vintage scene always has a good laugh at "Steel Vintages" price ideas.

Bikes i bought for 500€ or less:

Girardengo 1960ish - 350 in that condition at Ebay


Cinell B 1960 - 500 private sale. had to clean that a little



This restored Cambio corsa Learco Guerra was less than a 1000 on italian Ebay


And this i got for free from a neighbor (gave him a 50.- present for it which he almost didn't wanna take)


i'm not a dealer and i'm not a good negotiator. Compared to my collector buddies here, i usually overpay.
These are the real market values in Germany (Belgium/Netherlands/France is usually lower), not what "Steel Vintage" or "Cicli Berlinetta" ask.

no one pays 4000 for a 60ies bike unless its a Herse, a Singer, or a very nice De Rosa or Colnago. No one pays 2000 for a 70ies Grandis, either.

A buddy of mine snatched a Masi Gran Sport at the swap market in Gaiole for way less than a 1000 at the last Eroica. There were lots of bikes to pick from. I dare say, if you go to Gaiole with 500€ in your pocket, you'll ride the Eroica on something much nicer than the Bianchi, and original, too. Bring 1000 and you'll bring something home that will refinance your trip a good deal if you sell it in the US.

armstrong101

Steel Vintage is probably the most expensive place for bikes on the planet. They sell to a worldwide market and can access all the high roller buyers. I've met such buyers before. They enlist such companies to search out specific bikes for them, and basically cost is no issue. Do you consider it fair to treat their list prices as "typical" bike pricing?

Secondly, they are a business and are into making money. Do you agree that the bike they sell at $4000, was initially purchased by them, and was purchased at a cost LESS than $4000? If you agree, then the bike listed at $4000 was transacted at a lesser amount prior to them acquiring that bike. So the fact that Steel Vintage still exists and hasn't gone under proves that $4000 bikes on their site can be acquired for less than $4000, as their existence is proof that it is possible as no business can operate without generating profits.

Is your point that a new "vintage-looking" bike is a good deal at $4000 because all comparables cost at least as much? Yes or no.

iab

All the hand wringing about price. Without any particular reason other than to kvetch. What's yer point?

I can buy a new lugged bike for less. I can buy a new lugged bike for more.

I can buy a used lugged bike for less. I can buy a used lugged bike for more.

Get over it.

qcpmsame 

I'd buy one of I had the coin, kudos to Bianchi for building it, and I hope the marketing types feel good about its success.

Bill

Salamandrine 

A bit presumptuous, and a bit wrong. I raced back in the dinosaur age.

Anyhow you don't have to convince me. If I raced today I'd use brifters. But I think the young'uns today misunderestimate how good people were at anticipating shifts before that last corner and just before the hill. When you're using friction shift 3-4 hrs a day training, it becomes pretty instinctual, automatic and fast. The actual lag of a skilled vintage racer on DT friction compared to brifters is probably in the millisec.

bikemig 

+ 1. I like my brifters fine but I raced back in the stone age as well.

Kilroy1988 

My apologies. I assumed that a limited edition steel bicycle made as a joint venture between one of the world's most popular amateur cycling events and their sponsor company (Bianchi) was specifically being marketed for "high roller" buyers. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Whether that's the case or not, tell me... What's the difference between a $4,000 Bianchi L'Eroica and purchasing a brand new $2,000-3,000 lugged steel frame from the likes of Tommasini, Colnago, Cinelli, De Rosa, etc... And then equipping it with a new set of components? Whatever sort of shifting mechanism you prefer, you're still looking to spend comparable money in any scenario, if not more for the custom work.

I don't see people ragging on all of the custom builders out there who are still building lugged frames that cost thousands of dollars and function exactly like vintage frames. Yet suddenly when a limited edition bicycle is produced by an established company and promoting a specific event, it's all marketing and hype? Really? Perhaps. But that doesn't mean it's outrageously priced. They have people who think these things through and there is a market for this bike. If you don't want one or can't afford it, don't buy it! Someone else will!

armstrong101

Actually I don't know how to characterize the person who buys an Eroica bike. I haven't met anyone who has and I don't know anyone who would. Have you?

So I think you're making a big assumption about the type of person who buys this bike. I don't think the person looking to buy a 1980s Colnago/Tommasini/Pinarello for $1500 on Ebay is the person spending $4000 on the Eroica. Simply because you can buy a 1980s Colnago/Tommasini/Pinarello for $1500 on Ebay.

Kilroy1988 

I'm talking about brand new steel frame sets from Colnago/Tommasini/De Rosa, etc. They sell lots of them. And they're expensive. $2,000-3,000 is the typical range for a lugged steel frame and fork from one of the big Italian companies.