Shoud beginner stay away from BIANCHI??

aznulrizal

I heard a lot of suggestion for a beginner to start with tripple chairing to develope the strength and progress to double/compact chainring for upgrade. I'm currently looking for my first road bike and very keen on the range of BIANCHI... but i'm struggling to find one that is equipped with tripple, they are mostly compact. i've seen a lot of discussion relating to Compact vs Tripple, and basically i'm aware that I'll need to get a bike with tripple c/ring to be in the safer side. Should I stay away from Bianchi then??

fto-si

I started my cycling obsession with a compact Bianchi , don't think it done me any harm.
In my opinion I don't see why you should stay away from Bianchi bikes at all.

redddraggon

There are Bianchis with Triples, easily one in each price range.

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B11.aspx

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B09.aspx

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B54.aspx

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B44.aspx

And I think Triple is overboard for a lot of people really, a compact would be fine, a 34-25 smallest gear is plenty small enough.

azzerb

All depends on your area really and your fitness and weight.

My first road bike had a triple, I'd adjusted it in about a month so that the middle and big ring had bigger gear range and the granny ring was less usable as i just didn't use it (has a 28 tooth rear)

Mystique

Unless you live in the mountains, a compact should be more than adequate.

You can always change the compact for a triple at a later date if you decide it's REALLY necessary...

CrookedCucumber

Five gear ratios should be enough for anyone -- provided they're exactly the right gear ratios Having more ratios available makes it more likely that you'll have ratios available that work for you. As well as your fitness, experience, and the terrain you live in, you also have to factor in the cadence you favour -- generally if you favour higher cadences you'll need lower gearing. If it's your first bike of this type, possibly your cadence will increase with training, and then you'll be glad of more ratios at the lower end.

I think with practice you'll get used to whatever bike you have -- it will just take a bit longer if your gearing doesn't immediately suit you.

Alibran

I have a triple (which I thought I needed, coming from a heavy hybrid), but I've found that I rarely use the granny ring after a couple of months of owning it. I live in Cornwall, so it's pretty hilly, but the only time I use the granny ring now is towards the end of a long ride if I'm getting tired, or when I go out searching for steep hills. We're spending a week in the Lakes later in the year, though, and I think I'll be pretty glad of the triple then.

CrookedCucumber

Alibran wrote:

I have a triple (which I thought I needed, coming from a heavy hybrid), but I've found that I rarely use the granny ring after a couple of months of owning it.

On my bike, I could get by with _just_ the granny ring, I think At a cadence of 80 per minute, with the gear ratios I have on the cassette, just the granny ring would cover speeds of 9mph to 29mph. That's my entire cycling range.

gematkinson

i got a bianchi compact double and its my first road bike and i LOVE it!

willbevan

i bought a double as my first bike, quickly changed to a compact, rear cassette was a 11-28 so more than enough range.

Sometimes from 20% hills i want a triple mind you :S

sicrow

I've not got a Bianchi (specialised for me) but even so I went with a compact and have not had a problem. I live not that far from Buxton, and we have some pretty good lumps around here but a standard compact will do fine. Remember the more you rid e the easier it will get and even depending on the terrain (in the UK anyway) you will be able to cope with compact.

p.s. I think it looks cleaner, less cluttered anyway

Garry H

Just bought a roadbike and it's neither a triple nor compact. I've not had a problem so far. Guess it depends on your weight and fitness.

Gary D

Firstly, in response to reddragon, not all the bikes you list are necessarily available in the UK. You have to enquire on a specific basis to the dealer.

I have just bought a Bianchi 928 C2C which originally was fitted with a compact but I had the dealer change it for me as I felt I still needed a triple - although to date I have not used the granny ring! The delaer only charged me £40 to change it. If you look at a bike with Shimano 105 on they won't have to change the shifters which is the most exepnsive part. My thinking is that I can swap back to a compact when my fitness improves. It is actually much more expensive to do it the other way around after you have bought the bike.

My advice would be to go for a triple if you think you need it and find a dealer who will accomodate.

Cheers,
Gary.

aznulrizal

redddraggon wrote:

There are Bianchis with Triples, easily one in each price range.

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B11.aspx

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B09.aspx

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B54.aspx

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2008/Road_Y8B44.aspx

And I think Triple is overboard for a lot of people really, a compact would be fine, a 34-25 smallest gear is plenty small enough.

You must have got them from the website... however LBS in the UK don't stock them.

i live in Sheffield by the way and it's really hilly around here... and i really think that i would need a triple. Anyone disagree?

thamacdaddy

Do you currently ride anything at all even if its an old bike with smaller gearing?

My opinion would be with the majority here that I wouldn't see that a triple is necessarily needed over a compact here in the UK, if you were doing french alp style climbs then I can see the benefit.

Its interesting that Gary D has a triple fitted but to date hasn't used the extra ring right? Do you think you have areas where you will definately need it Gary?

aznulrizal

I have just bought a Bianchi 928 C2C which originally was fitted with a compact but I had the dealer change it for me as I felt I still needed a triple - although to date I have not used the granny ring! The delaer only charged me £40 to change it.

Gary,
Could you let me know what have you changed to get the triple? Was it the chainring or the whole groupset?

the 105 groupset are close to 300 quid... with 40 quid labour, that's a bit steep for an upgrade, don't you think?

Gary D

thamacdaddy wrote:

Its interesting that Gary D has a triple fitted but to date hasn't used the extra ring right? Do you think you have areas where you will definately need it Gary?

In my immediate vicinity - no. However I did a 50 mile sportive ealier in the year before I had my Bianchi and I definitely DID need a triple then!!

[quote="Gary,
Could you let me know what have you changed to get the triple? Was it the chainring or the whole groupset?

the 105 groupset are close to 300 quid... with 40 quid labour, that's a bit steep for an upgrade, don't you think?[/quote]

The £40 was for everything!! They did the swap when the bike was built up. The dealer just calculated the diffrence in new price between the items swapped and I guess just based it on the assumption that the parts taken off the bike would be sold in the shop eventually. The bike had an FSA Gossamer crank fitted to it originally which I think is a much more expensive option than the 105 triple one which was put on in its place. (When I was originally looking around I also had another dealer which quoted a very similar price to do the change).
The parts that were changed would have been:- chainset, bottom bracket, front mech and possibly the rear mech.

When I made the choice to go for a triple, I thought long and hard about it. There will always be posters that say "you should be able to get up any hill in the UK on a 34/27" (compact set_up). That is to a certain extent true. A triple with a 30/27 lowest gear, is in fact, the equivalent of having only 1 extra lower gear than the compact if you compare the gear charts on Sheldon's site. However, my view was that the range of gears would be more usable with the triple. I know from riding my other bike that I would spend a lot of time using the middle ring but that on the compact the smaller ring would be too lower geared to do this and my concern was that I would constantly be using the smaller chainring and smaller rear sprockets or the large chainring and the larger rear sprockets. Neither of these conditions being ideal for cross chaining and also my concern was that I would be constantly changing between the 2 front rings and the jump between the 2 is quite large.

There will always be the purists who say you should only ever need a compact, and that may be true for riders that are fitter than I and better at climbing hills. I genuinely hope to be reporting that in 12 months time I will have improved my fitness and capabilities such that I could consider changing for a compact - but for now, I will stick with my triple thanks very much!!

Gary.

redddraggon

Gary D wrote:

Firstly, in response to reddragon, not all the bikes you list are necessarily available in the UK. You have to enquire on a specific basis to the dealer.

They are the ones available in the UK. Whether or not the retailers sell them is up to them.

ilovesherbet

When I started riding again I bought a Bianchi with a 53/39-12-25 and 2 months later I did this route

http://www.bikeradar.com/routes/?bpath= ... -Crow-Road

I was 2.5 stone overweight when I started riding again and was constantly using my inhaler - now I don't need my inhaler (apart from when I want to beat people in a sprint ala Alejet). It could just be that I'm stubborn though and when I decide I'm doing something I do it. Never even considered a triple or a compact - I thought that would be like cheating.

Ben_H

aznulrizal wrote:

I heard a lot of suggestion for a beginner to start with tripple chairing to develope the strength and progress to double/compact chainring for upgrade. I'm currently looking for my first road bike and very keen on the range of BIANCHI... but i'm struggling to find one that is equipped with tripple, they are mostly compact. i've seen a lot of discussion relating to Compact vs Tripple, and basically i'm aware that I'll need to get a bike with tripple c/ring to be in the safer side. Should I stay away from Bianchi then??

A bog standard double chain ring (52-39) is all you need unless you are riding in the Alps or doing a difficult sportive ride like the Fred Whitton, which I rode witth a compact.

In the long run using a triple means it may take you longer to get your fitness up to speed.

If you go a double - then make sure you also get a 12x27 cassette - this will give you a nice granny gear to twiddle up the hills on

Happy riding !
Ben

Mossrider

I live in Huddersfield, which is probably even hillier than Sheffield (and used to live in Sheffield) and bash around your back yard quite often. I started out on a 53/39 12/25 with no problems. I still ride that as a winter bike, but have swapped to a 50/36 on the dream machine (also a Bianchi) but only because I did Mont Ventoux a couple of seasons back. However I was converted as its perfect for sportifs and I find it good for perfecting the cadence. I also keep a spare 11/23 cassette in case I go anywhere flatter. You also find yourself in the big ring most of the time, which makes for smoother riding. Your fitness is likely to rise to the occasion which ever gearing you have, but I certainly wouldn't be afraid of either standard or compact. My thoughts are that the leap from a 50 to a 34 seems a big jump (as compared with a 53/39 or 50/36).

Mossrider

Thinking about it, I had the same fears as you when I bought my first road bike (53/39 12/25), but the shop let me take it for a spin up a local steep road; it was so much easier than a mountain bike, I realised my fears were groundless. Ask them if you can do the same. I really don't think you need a triple, but these things are down to choice.

Alibran

Mossrider wrote:

Thinking about it, I had the same fears as you when I bought my first road bike (53/39 12/25), but the shop let me take it for a spin up a local steep road; it was so much easier than a mountain bike, I realised my fears were groundless.

Even with a triple, I was worried about getting up the hills on a road bike after riding mountain bikes and then a hybrid. I couldn't get over the fear that I wouldn't have low enough gears, and I'd end up walking. It never occured to me that the lightness of the bike would more than compensate for the slightly higher gearing. The other day, my partner and I decided to try out one of our local steep hills for the first time on our road bikes. We both stayed on the middle ring all the way up, whereas before we would have been in the lowest gear possible, and got to the top laughing and saying, "That was easy."

Personally, I would say get a triple if you feel more comfortable knowing you've got the extra low gears there if you need them, but don't forget, if this is your first road bike, it's going to be very different to anything you've ridden before.

Gary D

redddraggon wrote:

Gary D wrote:

Firstly, in response to reddragon, not all the bikes you list are necessarily available in the UK. You have to enquire on a specific basis to the dealer.

They are the ones available in the UK. Whether or not the retailers sell them is up to them.

RD, sorry to be pedantic but I am not so sure this is correct. I can't speak for the other models you have referred to, but I would have liked the 105 Triple version of the 928 and enquired at 2 separate dealers as to availability. Both of them rang Bianchi UK importers (one of them while I was there) and were told they were not available. If they had been made for any other European country I could also have ordered one and had to wait but apparently they are not. I guess if the demand is not there - then they just don't make 'em!

Incidentally, if you look on the pictures you linked to, it says in the top left corner "you are riding on the International site" - not specifically the UK site.

I am certain that if the dealer could have ordered the 105 triple - he would have - rather than having to swap components over.

Gary.

Tom Butcher

Whether you need a triple is really an individual thing. I'm fine with a double but there may come a time in the future when I decide I need a compact then a triple. Personally though I don't think a reasonably young bloke (I'm not going to put an age on that to avoid offence) needs a triple for fitness rides or training around the Peak.

timbo58

well Ive only just got back into cycling 'properly' after 2 years of riding a good hybrid (claude butler chinook) and bought after advice a bianchi c2c via nirone 7 with campagnolo setup @ £600.
its a semi compact 10 speed cassete and double chainring, I rarely even go to the 2nd chainring to be honest.
Im doing over a 16 mile circuit village-hopping every day, averaging about 14mph (slow, i know!!) and enjoying getting fitter!
Theres a few small inclines/hills to make it interesting and breathtaking english countryside, and if I get bored I can watch people on the M4 at various locations! lol
IMHO the lower end Bianchis are perfectly ok for begginners, I love mine, it rides and looks superb!

CrookedCucumber

In my view, the idea that using lower gearing will hinder your development of fitness is mistaken. And, quite frankly. snobbish.

Suppose I climb my local steep hill at a cadence of 80rpm and a speed of (say) 8mph. Is it being proposed that if I were restricted to taller gearing I would grit my teeth, maintain the same cadence, and climb it at (say) 12mph?

That's just nonsense. What would happen is that I'd still climb at 8mph, but at a cadence of 50 rpm instead. I judge my training effort -- as, I think, does everybody else -- by how hard my heart is pounding, not by how fast I'm moving. If you want to push yourself on hills you can push yourself, whatever gearing you have.

As I said before, I think a reasonably fit beginner would adapt very quickly to any kind of bike. I don't think there is any reason for a beginner to avoid a double-equipped bike. But the idea that triples are for unfit, slow folks is the kind of elitest silliness that puts people off cycling in the first place.

Tom Butcher

CrookedCucumber wrote:

In my view, the idea that using lower gearing will hinder your development of fitness is mistaken. And, quite frankly. snobbish.

Skimming back through the thread I can't see that anyone argued lower gears hinders development of fitness - unless I've missed it.

CrookedCucumber

Tom Butcher wrote:

CrookedCucumber wrote:

In my view, the idea that using lower gearing will hinder your development of fitness is mistaken. And, quite frankly. snobbish.

Skimming back through the thread I can't see that anyone argued lower gears hinders development of fitness - unless I've missed it.

Well, I only had to look back a couple of posts to find this comment:

``In the long run using a triple means it may take you longer to get your fitness up to speed.''

scapaslow

I think the triple is never given its proper merits. Saying that i have a compact :!:

However, if you have a triple you have all the gears covered from low to high. If you don't need the granny ring - don't use it, but it's always there when you do. There is little difference in weight between a double/triple so i don't think that's an issue.

If i were choosing again i'd seriously consider a triple. I find that the 39 middle ring covers most of the gears i use most frequently without having to change up/down rings and would be best for me in keeping an even cadence.

There are a couple of hills in my locale which are so steep i cannot get up them in a 12-25 50/34 compact. Of course i could try 12-27.

Every one is different - horses for courses and all that, but it seems to me that the triple covers all eventualities but isn't deemed "cool".

Is it more difficult to setup a triple for easy gear changing than a double/compact? i.e is there more chance of chainrub at the extremes (big ring/bib cog, granny ring/small cog) than on a double?

CrookedCucumber

scapaslow wrote:

Every one is different - horses for courses and all that, but it seems to me that the triple covers all eventualities but isn't deemed "cool".

I think that's about the size of it.

I suspect that a double does give you a slight weight advantage, and I guess there's less mechanical complexity. These could well be serious considerations in the top end of competition.

But outside of top end competition, it's mostly just an image thing. Doubles are more `serious', more `professional'.

And that's a shame, really, because I reckon there are people -- not just `amateurs' -- who really would benefit from the increased flexibility of a triple, and are put off because of the image thing.