why is this Bianchi so inexpensive?

I see the price difference coming from the frames. Reynolds
520 steel (great, cheap, not super light) versus the "high
tech" AL and carbon fiber on the Alfana. And the comp on the
Alfa are much more pricey, mostly Shim 105 stuff

"Warren Ginn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than the
few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy handlebars
and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out how they can
sell it for such a low price ($750 retail, $680 at my
LBS). I like the steel frame with the carbon fork, the
gears (SRAM cassette and rear deraillieur). Is there
something I'm missing or is this a really good deal?
Here's the complete info on the bike:

bianchiusa.comstrada.htmlOpen ↗

There's also the Alfana, which retails for about $1,400,
but I don't see hwo the component upgrades make the two
bikes cost so differently:

bianchiusa.comalfana.htmlOpen ↗

Can anybody tell me more about these bikes or their
components?

Thanks,

Warren

[email hidden] (Warren Ginn) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than
the few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy
handlebars and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out
how they can sell it for such a low price ($750
retail, $680 at my LBS).

This is a fake Bianchi. It is made in Taiwan and very heavy.
Real Bianchis are made in Italy and painted celeste green.
The fake Bianchis are no different from Giant or Specialized
or other bikes made in Taiwan.

Ken said:

[email hidden] (Warren Ginn) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than
the few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy
handlebars and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out
how they can sell it for such a low price ($750
retail, $680 at my LBS).

This is a fake Bianchi. It is made in Taiwan and very
heavy. Real Bianchis are made in Italy and painted celeste
green. The fake Bianchis are no different from Giant or
Specialized or other bikes made in Taiwan.

To add to that, Bianchi make some very nice bikes, some very
cheap nasty bikes, and motor scooters. The brand name means
very little really (BTW, the new and very expensive carbon
Bianchi is actually silver, not celeste).

Here are the three bikes I'm currenly checking out:

I have looked at the Motobecane Cafe Latte which looks like
a pretty good deal since in my area there isn't a local
dealer and thus I would need to buy from their website which
reduces the price from $1299 to $799 with free shipping and
no tax. I'm just not sure because I can't ride it before I
buy it. Plus, I would be kinda on my own for support...

I was also looking at the Bianchi Strada which I talk about
in the earlier post. At $750 retail, $680 at my LBS, it
seems to be a very good deal. I have heard a few very
positive reviews on this bike, but I still don't know much
about Bianchi. Any comments?

I also really like the Lemond Wayzata. Except for the Tiagra
derailleurs which I would probably upgrade to Ultegra. Also,
this bike can accommodate up to a 36c tire (I would probably
want a 28 or 32c instead of the 25's that come on the bike).
This bike ia about $1000, so it would be the most expensive
of these three bikes.

The main thing all three of these bikes have in common
is the steel frame and a carbon or steel fork which I
think will be good for me. The only problem now is:
which do I get?

If you could, can you help me understand the pros and
cons of each?

Thanks a lot,

Warren

The Wayzata has a aluminum fork.

"Warren Ginn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here are the three bikes I'm currenly checking out:

I have looked at the Motobecane Cafe Latte which looks
like a pretty good deal since in my area there isn't a
local dealer and thus I would need to buy from their
website which reduces the price from $1299 to $799 with
free shipping and no tax. I'm just not sure because I
can't ride it before I buy it. Plus, I would be kinda on
my own for support...

I was also looking at the Bianchi Strada which I talk
about in the earlier post. At $750 retail, $680 at my LBS,
it seems to be a very good deal. I have heard a few very
positive reviews on this bike, but I still don't know much
about Bianchi. Any comments?

I also really like the Lemond Wayzata. Except for the
Tiagra derailleurs which I would probably upgrade to
Ultegra. Also, this bike can accommodate up to a 36c tire
(I would probably want a 28 or 32c instead of the 25's
that come on the bike). This bike ia about $1000, so it
would be the most expensive of these three bikes.

The main thing all three of these bikes have in common
is the steel frame and a carbon or steel fork which I
think will be good for me. The only problem now is:
which do I get?

If you could, can you help me understand the pros and cons
of each?

Thanks a lot,

Warren

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than
the few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy
handlebars and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out
how they can sell it for such a low price ($750
retail, $680 at my LBS).

This is a fake Bianchi. It is made in Taiwan and very
heavy. Real

Bianchis

Quoted message said:

are made in Italy and painted celeste green. The fake
Bianchis are no different from Giant or Specialized or
other bikes made in Taiwan.

Just because a bike is made in Taiwan doesn't make it less-
decent than one made in Italy. It's up to the company (in
this case, Bianchi) to determine the quality of the product
produced by whichever factory in Taiwan. If a company
chooses to go the route of the best-possible parts for a
given price range, then sure, they're going to slap nice
stuff onto a dog-meat frame and sell it cheaply. But that's
not necessarily the decision they made. We don't carry
Bianchi, so I can't really tell you anything about the
quality of their Taiwan product, other than to say that,
just because it's from Taiwan doesn't mean it's worse than
something from Italy.

--Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

"Ken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Warren Ginn) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than
the few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy
handlebars and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out
how they can sell it for such a low price ($750
retail, $680 at my LBS).

This is a fake Bianchi. It is made in Taiwan and very
heavy. Real

Bianchis

Quoted message said:

are made in Italy and painted celeste green. The fake
Bianchis are no different from Giant or Specialized or
other bikes made in Taiwan.

I've owned one such 'fake' Bianchi and two Reparto Corse ('real'😉 Bianchis.

The 'fake' (2001 Bianchi Giro) was clearly labeled "made in Japan" on the head tube. The quality of the bike was actually quite nice, and the bike was a solid all around touring/training machine (Shimano 105) with no inherent deficiencies. It was solidly as good as anything in its price range (aluminum and carbon frame), and I actually hated to sell it.

Naturally the two Italian made Bianchis I've owned since are lighter, race pedigree machines, and cost more. At least the Asian-made bikes make it possible to offer many mid-level consumers a fair degree of selection and decent componentry at reasonable prices. If these same bikes were made in Europe (or elsewhere), they would simply cost more, that's all.

Warren Ginn said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than the
few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy handlebars
and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out how they can
sell it for such a low price ($750 retail, $680 at my
LBS). I like the steel frame with the carbon fork, the
gears (SRAM cassette and rear deraillieur). Is there
something I'm missing or is this a really good deal?
Here's the complete info on the bike:

bianchiusa.comstrada.htmlOpen ↗

There's also the Alfana, which retails for about $1,400,
but I don't see hwo the component upgrades make the two
bikes cost so differently:

bianchiusa.comalfana.htmlOpen ↗

Can anybody tell me more about these bikes or their
components?

Bianchi is nearly 120 years old and huge, with plants all
over ( Milano, Bergamo, Austria, Santiago and a relationship
with Hodaka in Taipei). They are pretty good at making bikes
and their talented designer is simply inspired.

Think that's cheap? A full Campagnolo 3x9 Italian built
(Deda CrMo )Bianchi Eros is $1000 with CrMo fork, $1100
with carbon. And you don't have to spend additional money
removing the Shimano equipment later. It's the #1 road
bike here.
--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

This is a fake Bianchi. It is made in Taiwan and very
heavy. Real

Bianchis

Quoted message said:

are made in Italy and painted celeste green. The fake
Bianchis are no different from Giant or Specialized or
other bikes made in Taiwan.

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles said:

Just because a bike is made in Taiwan doesn't make it less-
decent than one made in Italy. It's up to the company (in
this case, Bianchi) to determine the quality of the
product produced by whichever factory in Taiwan. If a
company chooses to go the route of the best-possible parts
for a given price range, then sure, they're going to slap
nice stuff onto a dog-meat frame and sell it cheaply. But
that's not necessarily the decision they made. We don't
carry Bianchi, so I can't really tell you anything about
the quality of their Taiwan product, other than to say
that, just because it's from Taiwan doesn't mean it's
worse than something from Italy.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Warren Ginn) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was looking at the Bianchi Strada and, other than
the few generic components (Sugino crank, Kalloy
handlebars and stem, VP headset), I can't figure out
how they can sell it for such a low price ($750
retail, $680 at my LBS).

Quoted message said:

"Ken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a fake Bianchi. It is made in Taiwan and very
heavy. Real

Bianchisare made in Italy and painted celeste green. The
fake Bianchis are no

Quoted message said:

different from Giant or Specialized or other bikes made
in Taiwan.

The Asian Bianchis are indeed very well built bikes. But
there is no point sending equipment halfway around the earth
if you can avoid it so generally Shimano equipped bikes are
built East and Campagnolo models in Italia.

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971

Quoted message said:

their Taiwan product, other than to say that, just because
it's from Taiwan doesn't mean it's worse than something
from Italy.

Don't worry, Ken is just scared of a possible
"bastardization" of the Bianchi nameplate. Remember, blind
brand loyalty takes precedence over all else 😉

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"ZeeExSixAre" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

their Taiwan product, other than to say that, just
because it's from Taiwan doesn't mean it's worse than
something from Italy.

Don't worry, Ken is just scared of a possible
"bastardization" of the Bianchi nameplate. Remember, blind
brand loyalty takes precedence over all else 😉

Agreed. Hate to bring reality to some of us, some of
Taiwan's products, including high tech, are second to none.
The best overclockable memory chipsets are made in Taiwan,
the second, Korea. If you are willing to pay someone name
Luigi Chang $4000, I am sure his steel framesets would make
Faliero(sp?) proud. BTW, I am not from there.

Ted B said:

I've owned one such 'fake' Bianchi and two Reparto Corse
('real'😉 Bianchis.

One of each, in my case. My Biancho Giro was bought in 1992
and came with Ultegra STI at that time. It was my race bike
for several years. I moved "up" to a Reparto Corsa built
Bianchi, which weighed the same as the Giro and handled just
the same. No perceptable difference in performance. The
Reparto Corsa's paint was better, the investment castings
for the BB, lugs and dropouts were fancier. But it wasn't
any better to ride.

A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote

(regarding the Bianchi Strada)

Quoted message said:

Think that's cheap? A full Campagnolo 3x9 Italian built
(Deda CrMo )Bianchi Eros is $1000 with CrMo fork, $1100
with carbon. And you don't have to spend additional money
removing the Shimano equipment later. It's the #1 road
bike here.

So well put. I had a Italian Cromo Bianchi with Mirage (even
lower end)and it rode like a dream, no overstatement. The
shifting/braking was excellent. BTW my commute bike is a
Volpe with 28c's (Taiwanese 520 frame)& lock it outside on a
rack, and enjoy that too. Anything nicer would disappear in
NYC or would require giant chains that would offset the fun
of riding.

I wish we had a homegrown from-scratch bicycle industry in
the US, but it isn't going to happen until consumers demand
it, which is not too likely.