Bianchi Via Nirone xenon for first bike?

mervzila

Hi,

Decided to get into road cyclng and have been looking at the Bianchi range.

My budget is up to 800 so the best i can afford is the Xenon groupset.

http://www.awcycles.co.uk/brands/Bianchi/Via%20Nirone%207,%20Alu,%20Xenon,%202009/13281/index.aspx

I have been reading mixed reports on this range and would like to hear from anyone who has used, or is using it.

Thanks in advance

RedAende

I bought same bike 16 months ago and delighted with it, though was only £599 way back when the £ was worth something.

My brother then bought the same, and also pleased. I used it all through the summer then fitted race blades for the winter and its holding up well.

mervzila

RedAende wrote:

I bought same bike 16 months ago and delighted with it, though was only £599 way back when the £ was worth something.

My brother then bought the same, and also pleased. I used it all through the summer then fitted race blades for the winter and its holding up well.

thanks for the reply,

glad you like it

i take it you don't have any issues with the xenon group set? Been looking at the 105 but it's 300 quid more. Would be nice to keep to budget as there's shoes and other stuff to consider

RedAende

The Xenon groupset is fine, I was concerned that it was bottom of the range Campagnolo, but then it is Campagnolo, bit like bottom of range Mercedes.

In due course as parts wear I will upgrade to Veloce but think that might be a long time. I originally thought of buying the via nirone Veloce but that was £250 more and the only difference was shifters and derauilleurs so didn't think it was worth it.

I have heard criticism of the shifters being plastic but once they bed in they are fine.

The crankset is FSA and brakes Bianchi. So far the only rust shown is on the screws and springs on the brakes and there are some minor stone chips on frame. With a wash and polish the bike looks almost brand new.

gkerr4

nice looking bike!

As said above - the only concerns over the Xenon groupset was the plastic levers - veloce were alloy and centaur upwards were carbon fibre. other than that the rest of the groupset was / is fine (the levers are fine too - but it bugs some people - in reality it is no different to shimano sora & Tiagra which are also all plastic (and maybe even 105 - are they plastic too?))

If, after a bit, it really bothers you then could change the shifters to Veloce aluminium units failry easily - they cost £59 from ribble at the moment.

mervzila

cool, sounds like it can all be easily upgraded,

can't wait for it to arrive in the shop now....

RedAende

Xenon plastic levers - that was going to be my first upgrade and before I bought the bike I had already factored in Veloce levers from Ribble/parkers about £70 cos of the negative press.

For first month I wasn't entirely happy with levers but as mentioned above, once they had bedded in and LBS adjusted the cables a bit they were fine, so havent bothered changing. Being plastic they are also light, the Veloce alloy offers no weight saving.

keef66

FYI my 105's have alloy brake levers and plastic secondary shift levers

markmod

I have a Bianchi Via Nirone 7 as my everyday commute bike. I bought this very recently and am thrilled with it, it's a fantastic bike for the price, an excellent frame and the xenon groupset is a good budget groupset. The wheels are a little agricultural/ heavu but this is a plus point on winter roads and potholle.

The frame is light and stiff an the bike is a pleasure to ride, the shift is only slightly less slick than my Chorus'ed bike but the bike feels strong and really covers the ground well.

I ride with race blades when its wet, although these don't fit the front fork that well.

I would say as a starter road bike you can do no better... a real pedigree name, great quality parts, looks and so smart in Celeste... if you said you had spent £1200 on it I'm sure many would believe you... Although those that bought last year at £590 must be really laughing now!!! I paid £690 and there has been more price hikes recently :shock:

Give Epic Cycles a try http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk speak to Ben... and se what they are doing it at now... I'm sure it will be most probably less than the price in your link (AW)

mervzila

markmod wrote:

I have a Bianchi Via Nirone 7 as my everyday commute bike. I bought this very recently and am thrilled with it, it's a fantastic bike for the price, an excellent frame and the xenon groupset is a good budget groupset. The wheels are a little agricultural/ heavu but this is a plus point on winter roads and potholle.

The frame is light and stiff an the bike is a pleasure to ride, the shift is only slightly less slick than my Chorus'ed bike but the bike feels strong and really covers the ground well.

I ride with race blades when its wet, although these don't fit the front fork that well.

I would say as a starter road bike you can do no better... a real pedigree name, great quality parts, looks and so smart in Celeste... if you said you had spent £1200 on it I'm sure many would believe you... Although those that bought last year at £590 must be really laughing now!!! I paid £690 and there has been more price hikes recently :shock:

Give Epic Cycles a try http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk speak to Ben... and se what they are doing it at now... I'm sure it will be most probably less than the price in your link (AW)

thats great news, can't wait now

a bit expensive at 750, but my local shop are doing 10% off if paid at once. i have the money waiting so this helps a bit. Will put it towards a pair of shoes, any recommendations around the 60 mark?

Juju_uk_68

I bought one, and its fine.

TBH, I had no real knowledge of Roadbikes, but the 10 gear rear cog, and that the parts bar wheels were of a very reasonable starting quality appealed to me, and I did go campag route too, basic xenon.

Certainly the wheels are a bit heavy, but as a prev poster said, if you don't have smooth roads (and my commute up the a23 is't smooth at all, plenty of potholes) then actually, they make sense as acommutinng trade off.

As others say, the shifters are a bit naff too, but for the mileage I do thats not an issue, but its a surprisingly comfy bike, nicely finished, but do think about asking the shop to upgrade the placcy shifters for next up in the range - you won't regret it, honestly.

zedders

Just wanted to say I brought the same C2C nirone bike back in 07, with Shimano's lowest groupset - Sora (8 speed double).

I can say it's been a great bike to start out on. I haven't upgraded anything on it other than the wheels. I just ordered a new bike, so I can use the Bianchi as a commuter/winter hack - which was always the plan.

Its been said by many the frame can easily handle better components. When I compared my frame to my mates Giant's (both entry level-ish bikes) I can say my frame looked to be finished better.

Mine only cost £550 with pedals, a computer & and a pair of shoes! The credit crunch is here, so why not try and haggle just a little bit? If you don't ask you don't get? If they do you a deal, and you happy with the price, you'll be more inclined to go back and spend more money, and they know that!

ZEDDERS.