docbluedevil

1) Brakes:

According to the Bianchi-USA website, it appears that a brake lever and brake caliper come stock with the Pista. Is this true? I always thought they came without brakes.

"Brakes/Levers: Alloy front caliper brake / single aero lever" [Excerpt from BianchiUSA.com]


2) Ride Quality

I understand that the Pista is a track geometry rather than a road geometry. And that it will ride differently subsequently. Although I'm sure it would be just fine for commuting and fooling around, I do wonder about its appropriateness for early season road training. Do you all encourage or discourage consideration of this bike for road training purposes? I'm aware that other makes are out there closer to a road geometry, but, heck, the Pistas are just so cool and timeless. And Gang Green is just out of sight!

incoherent

1. My 06 pista came without a brake. The shop will hook you up. Actually, I think they told me they were required to put one on the bike before it left the store which was probably some bull**** to charge me for a brake.

2. This might not answer your question, but I bought a track bike to improve my legs and core for ice hockey. weird huh? It has worked outstandingly well. Track bikes kick your ass in such a rewarding way. I don't know **** about geometry and haven't ridden a road bike in ... maybe never. 1 gear is ****ing cool and the bike was fun to ride. That's all you need to know. Go buy it.

docbluedevil

Not weird at all. I find that telemark skiing really helps my early season cycling condition as well.

docbluedevil

Oh, BTW, ya'll, I've been introduced recently to all the poser/hipster comments about the Pista. I'd kindly ask that we avoid such comments here. [Funny, I never knew the bike had such a following, good and bad; but, I guess I'm fairly sheltered living in a small rural town.]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the bike comes with a brake lever/caliper if that's how they advertise it. And for $500, even if it turns to to be terrible for roadie training, it's not a huge loss and I"ll enjoy riding it for commuting.

kated

the brake comes in the box, it's up to you whether you have the shop put it on for you. they'll probably ask when you buy the bike, and they'll probably also ask if you want a free-wheel.

genericbikedude

I really have no idea what sort of geometry you want for road training, as I've never road trained. But Pistas have sharp head and seat tube angles, minimal rake, and short wheelbase. This will make them very responsive and nimble, but less good for long rides, comfort, and stability on long descents.

Especially if you give it less than 70 gear inches like many fixed road trainers, the twitchyness wont be good on downhills. Most people that ride fixed gears for general transportation in urban areas seem to range between 70 and 85 gear inches, and ride in traffic, so the twitchyness is more of an advantage than a setback.

Look at the IRO. If you've got money, get a quickbeam frame and build it up with something other than GP's ridiculous parts. Or just convert a nice 70s 531 roadie. Also look at the langster. It seems rather roadish, but I havent seen stats.

dirtyphotons

give it a ride. i doubt you'll be disappointed. while it's probably not ideal for long rides, people certainly use them without problems.

iro is also awesome, and you can feel good about spending your money at a small company owned by a hard working cyclist, who happens to be a nice guy. the downside is you wont be able to ride it before you buy unless you know someone who has one.

many shops have their own policies about putting brakes on street fixes, it's really worth running one at first.

previous versions of the pista do not come drilled for a rear brake. if you plan on running a freewheel, it's really a good idea to have both front and rear brakes. cheers, enjoy!

chicagoamdream

Geometry-wise, you'll have to try it to really know. Yes, the conventional wisdom is that the steeper angles of a track frame will grate on longer rides, but plenty of people don't mind them at all, and saddle/handlebar type and placement will have an effect as well.

docbluedevil

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll give the Pista a try for training purposes; meaning I'll have to buy it to try it, as there are no Bianchi dealers around. I live in a town surround by hills in every direction which will be tough on a SS, but there are some tamer rides that'll suit a fixie training ride perfectly.

If it doesn't work out, it'll still be a blast riding it for other non-training purposes.

carleton

Yup. You got taken for a ride on that one.

1) If it were illegal to sell a bike with no brakes, then Bianchi wouldn't produce it.
2) You could have been buying the bike for the velodrome
3) I'm sure that if you said, "I don't want a brake and if you try to make me buy one I'll take my business elsewhere." they would have likely sold it to you with no brake.

Just my 2 cents.

srsly

my 06 pista came with a brake, it's standard equipement if the manf. page says it is i'd imagine...

can't comment on appropriateness for road training but i use it as a commuter and it works just fine. 75.90GI, gotta stand up and grunt on hills but gives me a nice pace for flats. my commute is 8 miles one way and about 2 miles of that is on this **** road with potholes that are more like craters (trucking road for the harbor) and it's a reasonably comfortable ride.

go try it out, if you like it, get it chrome so you can be all bling bling and tell any *******s that give you guff that they're just jealous because their bike isn't as shiny. i live in seattle and honestly i've never been given any crap for riding a "hipster" bike.

carleton

One thing to consider. The 48/16 gearing that is standard on the Pista is kinda tough for street use...especially for the unitiated. I would advise replacing the 16t cog on the wheel with an 18t. A new high quality cog costs around $30.

carleton

Also, if they are a Bianchi dealer, how do they sell Pista Concepts (which are not drilled for brakes nor are the wheels machined for brakes) with the all-bikes-get-brakes rule?

mattface 

They have to sell it to you with a coaster brake. There is a $100 upcharge if you want the stock rear wheel too

sfcrossrider

I started riding a ROMIC track bike in the late 80's to help w/ my off-season training. At the time I was a CAT 3 road racer, so I didn't see much, if any, improvement in my leg strength. I did notice a slightly smoother spin in higher gears BUT my sprint actually suffered. As a cyclist, watch your knees on a fixed. If your spending hours on the road, the extra stress could put you over the edge and you could fing yourself in the OR. I would also be careful with front wheel overlap. If you try to take a corner like your on you road bike, you'll end up on the ground.

The Pista is a cool bike. For the money you can't go wrong with it. The green is sweet.

fix

Telemark skiing helps your awesomeness.