Hey,
I've been looking closely at an '04 bianchi veloce tha's on sale at my LBS. I';ve always wanted a celeste steel Bianchi with Campy, and this one's in my price range. The problem is one of the guys I ride with, who's a big cannondale guy, says that in last few years bianchi's quality has gone down hill and that they are way to slow and heavy for the price. . .He actually referred to bianchi as "the Schwinn of Italy" since apparently they moved their facilities to Asia.

I always used to drool over the lugged Campione d'Italia and the tipo Corsa back in the day, but if they suck now It'd like to know. Anyone have any experience with the Veloce or new Bianchis?

thanx

I have been watching some left-over 2002 & 2003 model Bianchi Veloce's listed on Ebay (for my gurlfriend) and have been wondering about the quality of the frame myself. I would be willing to bet that they are not the Repart Corsa frames from Italy (not that that Asian frames are bad) but my bigest concern is the 'Chromolite' steel. What is that? Is it a full chrom-moly butted frame or a tre-tube frame with mild steel stays?

Any owners out there?

I have an '03 Double Veloce and I love it. I think 2003 was the last year they made the Veloce in Italy though. All I can say is take the bike for a ride. If you like it, then get it. Don't listen to your friend, Bianchi still makes quality bikes, and I think you'd be very happy with the Veloce, especially since it sounds like you've had your eye on one for a while. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

jaco

I would think that 2002 was the last year in Italy judging by the switch over to aluminum compact frame from the steel traditional style found in '02.
I too was looking into the 03 Veloce and it did feel a tad heavy compared to othe bikes I felt that day...I would almost swear it was a steel frame bike, in fact I thought it was.

Anyone know the actual weight?

After looking at BeeTL's link, and going to the 2002 site, the 2002 Veloce is steel, the 2003 is aluminum.

hahaahh "The Schwinn of Italy"...

jburnsdo,

I've got an 04' Bianchi Giro that I absolutely adore, even if the Easton frameset was constructed in Taiwan. Bianchi quality is still top notch, I wouldn't listen to your friend.

PS> You can't be that concerned with weight as you're looking for a steel frame, right?

As with many things from Asia these days the workmanship may be superior.

Ususally the Vendor issues sub standard parts to Asia and degrades the product. It's not the cause of Asian workmanship. Asians are usually meticulous by nature.

My 03 Bianchi catalogue says the Veloce triple was steel,the double was aluminum.The 02 was steel ineither case.

How about Asian robots?

How heavy is a 2003 Veloce Triple?

Didn't someone say that their 2002 Steel double weighed 23lbs or something crazy like that? I know the one I checked out felt quite a bit heavier than the Trek 1500 they had in that store!

The Bianchis that were having problems were maybe 3-5 years ago, and were made in Italy. Bianchi was flawless at the Bianchi shop I worked at, and all my Asian bikes are at LEAST as nice as the American/Euro bikes some of my friends ride. Saying a bike is "heavy and slow" doesn't mean much. I seem to pass plenty of people on my "heavy and slow" steel Paramount.

Second that question.

I saw that post last week.
A pound here or a pund there is not a big deal for me, but at 23 pounds I have to wonder if bianchi's drawing their tubes out of cast-iron. I'm waiting for my LBS to get a Lemond Sarthe in so I can test ride that and see how it rides. (same components but 19 lbs). I still ache for a celeste steel bianchi, but 4 pounds is huge.

Anybody know the weight of a Veloce triple???

I must say ther frames can be a bit on the heavy side.

The next time your buddy criticises a Bianchi, look down at his Cannondale, slowly shake your head and roll your eyes, and turn away. He'll get the message.

I have an 02' Veloce triple and it weighs close to 23.5 pounds. This was one of the reparto corse veloces... Note that the 04 veloce is made in taiwan from -- as already pointed out-- reynolds 631/525, and it feels lighter when I have picked up a couple in my LBS recently. If you're looking for a good steel bike, I've had my eye on the LeMond Sarthe, which is a veloce gruppo and weighs around 19-19.5 pounds for dbl/trp. But my veloce is fine - I do about 3-4,000 feet of climbing on my favorite local ride, and even though it's heavier, it doesn't really seem to matter that much. Celeste is nice..

And for the guy that's waiting to check out and ride the LeMond Sarthe, I test road one last week - it's much smoother and quieter than the bianchi veloce. Seems faster. While the gruppo is pretty much campy veloce, the crank is a bontrager with outboard bearings.