Bianchi Fremont
 

http://bianchiusa.com/07_b4p_fremont.html

$799

wtf is with the chainguard on the cranks?

integrated headset and garbage brake levers. boo.

"Its top-quality aluminum frame and carbon fork ensure you’ll get more mileage and enjoyment out of turning the 48x17 gear."

nothing says durability like aluminum and carbon fiber. at least the stock gearing has lots of skid patches...

Aesthetically, the Pista should take some notes.

What's wrong w/ a chainguard? Keeps your pants and fingers from getting shredded. Still, $740? That's a bunch of dough for not enough bike.

That sloping top tube makes me want to melt it. ;D

I like it.
chainguard = an excuse to use a cheaper road double crank with the ring on the inside.

though I'm more interested in the Roger

http://bianchiusa.com/typo3temp/d04f21d465.jpg

It's certainly a good idea to have a practical fixed gear production bike. Kudos.

For some real cool bikes you will never see over in the USA, check out Bianchi's Italian website.

All Italian construction, totally different than what we see at the lbs...

It's pretty but I thought disc brakes weren't legal for racing, and I don't see any rack/fender eyelets. I don't really get who this bike is supposed to be for when they already have the San Jose. I'd also like to know who rides cross with 48x17 gearing.

'Cross bikes are a marketing strategy. Just as sensible/practical as selling 7 pound race bikes to overweight day traders....but hey, gotta make that money, huh?

discs are still USCF legal.

masochists.

And soon, me!

yeah the fremont looks kinda cool in person. i wouldn't personally buy it, but i think it's a good idea.

Hahaha, exactly how is the Fremont the first FG bike for road training?
Leaving that aside, the whole point is moot because no roadie will ever swing a leg over a bike that has this pant leg protector thingie.

Also, I have a serious ***** for the Roger. If only they stopped putting these silly metal freezebees on perfectly good bikes...

"the problem has always been creating such a bike"? WTF does THAT mean?

Right, the san jose would be great in my life. The Roger is rediculously hot. What I don't get is the price difference .... $500 (almost 50% more) for a carbon fork and disc brakes? I don't get it. :rolleyes:

-Rob.

The money the "overweight day traders" pump into bike and component manufacturers makes your prices lower by making it cost-effective to develop higher-end products and materials that eventually can be produced at a large enough scale for the "cool people" to buy at an affordable cost.

They subsidize your ride. You should encourage the wealthy to spend their entire paychecks on bicycle technology.

i've got three years of pounding and thrashing an alu frame carbon fork with zero probs. it's a cross bike that gets ridden like a mtb on singletrack too. theres nothing wrong with aluminum and cf if its designed properly.

yeah, you're right. don't know exactly what prompted that comment, in the shop it looked like a perfectly nice bike.

is the fremont frame made in italy or taiwan?

I wouldn't mind getting a Roger, removing the rear brake, flipping the wheel over, and slapping a drilled cog on there. A nice winter fixed gear with a disc front for the snow and mud. ;) It's too expensive to be a winter beater, though.

it seems for that price you could get a name-brand steel frame (831, 631?)
and a carbon fork. If you really want to use the bike to train who cares if
it is light--I'm not into aluminum in this context.

Woah, that's perfect.

I think they mean the difficulty of obtaining a road-ready fixed gear bike from a LBS. You usually have to put them together yourself.

The Fremont was on my short list of bikes to buy for my commute. I located a dealer and test rode the bike. While it rode well, I was not impressed with the components. Everything seemed low-grade, especially the "Lee Chi" brake levers & calipers. In fact, you can peel the plastic (on the levers) over VERY easily. That was a huge mental barrier that I could not overcome; it was as if I was about to spend $750 on the name-brand frame, an aluminum one nonetheless. To be fair, I did not expect a $700 bike to be awe-inspiring, but the Fremont left me with just a "meh" kind of lackluster feeling.

In short, I didn't buy the bike. I bought a new '06 Lemond Fillmore (from another LBS) for less than the Bianchi. They're both good bikes, but I think I got more for my money with the Fillmore.