Longtime lurker, very infrequent poster. Happy to see this thread back, so thought I'd put myself up for criticism to show my support. This is a bit older, and might fit better in the budget hot or not, but it's mine.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=375994

I vote molto bene...

Hot

totally hot.

Very hot.

Finally got some bar tape on the Scapin. All she needs now is a proper seat binder bolt...

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5034/...8b184ca3_k.jpg

To be fair, I'm sure someone with a normally setup bike would be a better cyclist than someone with their hoods higher than his saddle.

The rudeness in this thread is epic....

I am moving along now.. Have errrrrrr, fun in here...

...that looks pretty swell. I bet it's very responsive.

...so what I hear you saying is you don't think that the brake hoods should be higher than the saddle ?

Not quite hot, but nicely looking none the less. Would probably look better with the newer dark Shimano groupsets. Very cleanly staged.

You might want to consider black tape & celeste hoods? Would be easier to keep clean and match the bike colors all the same.

Agree that a dark grey groupset would make it pretty much perfect, but great looking bike as it sits :thumb: Hot.

Budget or not, it's hot

Thanks everyone one for the comments, better reception than I was expecting. Of course there will always be someone who isn't comfortable enough in their manhood for celeste.

As for the tape, the fizik stuff actually stays surprisingly clean. Quick wipe down after a ride keeps it looking pretty new.

I've accepted the fact that the bit where my dogs do their business will never sustain grass growth.

Hot

Hot

Hot

^^^^
what he said

This is a sick looking bike but seems to need a bit of color somewhere to accent. The touches on the shifters and crank don't seem quite enough or maybe those touches are more noticeable in person. Matching skewers or barrel adjusters might be the ticket. In any case, it's still hot. Better wear oven mitts and asbestos shorts when you ride.

A Bianchi is budget? Really? On what planet? Even their steel bikes are over a grand.

There is a budget hot r not thread floating around that has a $2k price cap. So...on planet 41, Bianchis can be budget :roflmao2:

There's definitely a lack of color. Could do something with the skewers or the Nokon housing links.

Well.........to be fair....I just got it....haven't done setup yet......still working on it......

Bike is hot, although I'd love to see more color somewhere! But that saddle, yikes! Maybe it's just the angle, but it looks tilted up in the front to me! Ouch!
I love this bike! To me this wouldn't whip my head around, but a really nice bike nonetheless. I'm not drooling but rather doing a slow golf clap. Nicely done. I'm going to assume the celeste bar tape matches the celeste in the frame (cuz the photo looks like a slightly different color)

And cuz I have to chime in, obviously some people have a much more aggressive fit than others on here (me included) and I can't say that I don't admire that. I'm in my 40's and don't spend enough time cycling and will never have enough time to get that fit and the bars lowered so far, even though I'm slim. So good for them, and yeah, the bikes do look a little hotter to me like that, but mine will never be that way, unless I flip my stem just for a photo. (which is highly unlikely to happen) Does that mean they are a better cyclist than me?? Um, yes. Yes, it does. And I'm good with that!

It's the angle and the lens I used. The saddle is level nose-to-tail :)

Take a deep breath and see if you can follow my logic. I never said the Bianchi was budget. The original poster said; "This is a bit older, and might fit better in the budget hot or not, but it's mine." My point is--regardless of how one might categorize it, it's a hot bike.