after weeks of reading and obsessively researching, i went with an 09 Bianchi Pista. i looked at a lot of bikes, but this is the one i've always wanted.

i haven't made any changes, other than adding a front OH-***** brake, chrome toe clips, and white leather straps.
LBS recommendation was to stick with the 48/16 until i get the feel of it, then go to 48/17.
the wheel stickers need to go.
all decals, INCLUDING THE "NO BRAKE" sticker, are under the clear coat.


this is my first time on a fixed; i rode for HOURS today.
i'm going around practicing modulating my speed by putting backpressure on the pedals, but right can't get the feel for how anyone could possibly skid or skip. in time, i guess.
the drops are lower than i've ever been; it's freaky.
and i'm seeing how i have to learn to balance better out of the saddle.

all in all, awesome first day. thanks for all the help, d00ds.
props to the NYCVelo store, too.

Hot bike. Try skidding by leaning over as much as you can over the front wheel (perhaps, depending on size of the bike, by nuts on stem) and pushing your strong foot back. Don't use the toe clips when skidding untill you master it, as its way harder to get out of if you mess up.

congrats on the pista. no real reason not to change the cog now. a 17t cog is easier to use than a 16t cog. i don't know the skid patches on 48/16 but i could only imagine it is better on 17.

and uh, to skid, all you have to do is unweight the rear wheel. put your nuts to the stem and resist. you'll skid. if you don't, lean farther forward and resist harder.

Sweet, that stem bugs me though.

EDIT: Yeah, skidding on a 17t is like... I don't know. Very easy.

The ratio for 48/16 = 3/1, the denominator is the skid patches - > 1 skid patch.
The ratio for 48/17 = 48/17, as it cannot be simplified furthur - > 17 skid patches.

Same with a 19 tooth, but the 17 will be the closest in riding feel but much easier for skidding.

learn to skid on a garage floor type serface. Garages have em, a lot of gas stations have em, quite a few schools have em. They are slick so sliding is easier to get the hang of.

Baseball fields are easy as well.

I would use the toeclips regardless. They are necessary in order to be able to pull up on the front foot while pushing down with the rear.

nice bike! I love everything about it but the saddle, the chrome fabric just looks cheap

swap saddle, flip stem.

olive garden

yeah, go ahead and switch to a 17t cog. The guy at your LBS doesn't know what he's talking about. 17t is a bit easier to pedal and will be easier for skidding, too. Looks like a nice bike.

It's got a little creak/rattle happening, but I can't tell where from...everything seems tight and the parts that need to be greased are. what should I check?

and yea...clean and chrome, would olive garden

Check chain tension.

Are you sure you can't tell where the sound is coming from? Does it creak when you're pedalling? When you're putting stress on the handlebars? When you spin the rear wheel? Listen carefully and come back when you have at least a general idea of where you're hearing the sound. Bike noise can come from a million different things, would definitely help to narrow it down.

what about olive garden?

yeah, for creaks test as much as possible to narrow it down.

Ride no hands to rule out the stem and handle bar, ride standing up to rule out the seat post.

They are the first 2 things that usually cause creaks.

^ Good advice. Also, your BB spindle may need a bit of grease. I've got the same crankset and when I first took my Kilo out of the box, it was creaking like a mofo until I pulled the crank arms, greased the spindle and properly torqued down those bolts when I reinstalled the arms.

sounds good. i'll check all those things and see if i can narrow it down.
i'm concentrating so hard on not physically dying that it's hard to isolate sounds

super nice bike!

I would change your cog, particularly if you want to skid. Just to reiterate what someone pointed out above, you only get 1 skid patch with a 48x16. That means you are going to wear out tires quick unless you are occasionally pulling it off repositioning it so that your skid patch will change to another part of the wheel.

Also might want to make sure your cog and lockring are properly installed and tightened before you go out doing any skidding. Those tend to be loose from the factory. I had a friend strip his hub on his first fixed gear ride when he did not check these things, no bueno. I learned from his mistake, you can too.

A new saddle will bring you comfort and joy. Brooks makes my bum happy!

Clipless pedals are the best. If you don't want to go clipless, definitely get a better set of straps, those are cheap and stretch and break easily. I recommend the ALE laminated single straps or some more blingy Toshi doubles. Many people swear by Kashimax singles too.

Considering that you say you feel really low in the drops, and the position of your brake lever, I'm going to assume that you are going to spend a lot of time on the tops of your handlebars. I see now that the tops are unwrapped. I would wrap them for comfort and better grip. Sure it's not as blingy, but it looks like you know something about bikes which is cool. Brooks leather bar wrap makes me happy! Another option would be to get a real brake lever and a dummy lever, then you get a sweet extra hand position, and your brake will be in a position where it's easier to use. (I should point out that in addition to my 95%-of-the-time bullhorns, I also have a pair of track drops that have only track grips, and unwrapped tops. It's super practical for commuting )

Don't believe the people that are going to be all, "oh, another chrome pista." Your bike is fine. Don't hate it and think that you need some super expensive non-pista to get street cred. So long as YOU like your bike (and I love my pista) and it's comfortable and fun to ride, that's all that matters.

Welcome to the club!

Nice pista! I still remember mine when I first started riding FG...

Don't worry about the no brakes sticker; it also plagues the higher caliber pista concept too

Anyway it makes your bike look manly toward the ladies...

if your suggesting he put grease on a square taper that is HORRIBLE advice. grease will allow the crank arm to slide too far onto the square taper and possibly ruin both surfaces. grease also prevents a true interference fit between the crank and spindle. the crank bolts only purpose is to "set" the crank on the bottom bracket, not to hold the crank on. properly installed, bolts on a square taper system can be removed and your cranks will stay on forever (thats why you need a puller to get them off)

quick google search:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=103

https://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6...5203-1,00.html


if its got a splined bb, grease is suggested and you can return to your regularly scheduled thread...

I was talking about his particular crankset. Truvativ Touros have a splined BB spindle, which is why I suggested grease.

Great buy, that bike kicks ass if you don’t mind me saying.
If you don’t like the drops flip and chop them into killer bullhorns.
I flip flopped from drops to bullhorns (city riding) for a long time and decided the bullhorns were the best choice for me.

Can I ride it?



Totally rad bike bro