Bianchi Pista 2007 vs. Lemond Fillmore 2007
 

Hi there,

I've searched the forums but could not find any in depth info comparing these two specific bikes.

Basically I have £450 to spend on a fixed-gear, but cannot decide between these two! I will use the bike for leisure riding and the occasional 20-30 mile country ride.

I love the look of the Pista, more than I do the Fillmore, but I have a feeling the Fillmore would be a better all-round bike? However, I heard someone say that the Fillmore's bottom bracket wasn't suitable for fixed?

The Pista (53) seemed to fit me well (I'm 5'10 and have short-ish legs for my height), however I found that atfter about 20 mins my wrists ached a bit. Could this be solved by moving the saddle position and/or using different bars?

I'm not up on componentry, so would like some informed opinions about these two models and how they compare!

Many thanks,

John

Get the Pista. Love mine; very reliable; fun to upgrade.

The Pista is a legit track back, the Fillmore is basically
a regular LeMond road bike with fork ends. Both good
bikes. I don't know what comes with the Fillmore, but
I have a feeling that it's spec'ed better than the Pista.

I think the Pista is a solid bike as far as a complete goes--functions well--but is a
little too flashy--it says "hey look at me--I'm chrome" or "weird green with big
labels." Why aren't you looking at a Surly steamroller--only a little bit more and
a better bike IMHO

I had the same issues with my Pista and ended up selling it. Fact is track geometry isn't as comfortable as road geometry and you might feel this. You might be able to solve it with different bars and seat positioning but your body might not fit the bike. I found the top tube a little too long for me and I never got comfortable on it. If you are buying it new, the bike shop should be able to tell you if it fits or adjust it to fit you. But I'd go with my gut and not buy something that wasn't comfortable. I see guys riding around on track stuff all the time that looks really ill fitting but it might not bother them depends on your body and how flexible you are. The Pista isn't a particularly subtle ride though.

The 2007 fillmore comes with a pretty sweet crankset for the money. The geometry is more road-ish than the pista, and it comes with similar wheels. I think it looks a little nicer, particularly the fork.

I have a 05 Pista and love it. When I first bought it I had wrist aches. I adjusted the tilt and horizontal position of my saddle and titled my bullhorns up slightly (I originally had them completely horizontal) and I haven't had any issues with wrist pain anymore. There is no question that the track geometry is different though, so at that point it is a matter of preference.

+1 on this. for the kind of riding you seem to want to do the Surly is a better, more versatile choice. i saw the complete bikes at the shop the other day and they are totally dope. really wish they would have been available when i bought the frame i had to convert. you can put some pretty fat tires on the surly and hit the dirt if need be.

with the right stem, bars and seat height you can make pretty much any bike fit. i'm 5'10" and commute on a 60cm KHS flite. it's comfortable as heck. i also have a 53cm IRO, fits just fine, but obviously with a different setup than the KHS.

Yeah, it's obviously all a personal fine tuning thing. My chop n flips are angled down, if anything, and sometimes my hands will be a bit sore, but that is solved by riding on the flats for a few minutes, but the only time my wrists hurt (and i've had issues with my left wrist since i road BMX when i was 12 [i'm 21 now]) is when I'm not paying attention/drunk and hit a small pothole or something.

Instead of buying a fixie, I would seriously suggest going on a drinking binge with your $450. Or gambling. Hell, why not head to Vegas?

it looks like the fillmore no longer comes with a carbon fork
2007
http://www.lemondbikes.com/images/bi...e/fillmore.jpg
2006
http://2006.lemondbikes.com/images/2...e/fillmore.jpg

i like the 2006 more, wonder what happened to those wheels & fork? did they drop the price?

I hope the price dropped...otherwise, get a Trek T1. haha

The '07 Fillmore is a downgrade from the '06:

- Cro Moly steel instead of True Temper OX Platinum
- Steel fork instead of carbon fork
- Alex rims instead of the Bontrager Selects
- Shimano 18T (freewheel?) instead of the DuraAce 16T/Shimano MX30 18T combo

Also, if it matters to you, the '06 were made in the USA. MSRP for the '07 remains at $1000!

Any reason you are looking at these two bikes only? For my money I'd get either a Surly Steamroller, a KHS Flite 100 (rode one--nice lugged fork, good tubing--nice solid feel). I haven't ridden either a Pista or a Fillmore but I think there are better deals out there that are less flashy.