Bianchi Sprint

MidlandsGrimpeur2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geHB7vkNgtI

One for you DeV!

I still have my C50 in the same PR00 colour as the vid. I don't really ride it anymore but have to say of all the bikes I have owned, it is the one that gets the most comments and interest by far. Purchased it in 2005 with full record, Deda kit and handbuilt wheels and it cost me less than £3500. Wouldn't even get me the current frameset today!

ugo.santalucia

Sorted…
awaiting written quotation to apply for the Cyclescheme voucher… at net of taxes it will cost me 1.3k which seems pretty good value for a new carbon bike these days

ugo.santalucia

Quotation arrived, application is in... fingers crossed. I don't remember how long it took last time for it to be processed, but I don't remember it being a drag either... so maybe quite quick...

gethinceri

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daniel_b

If it's anything like my work, they process them at the beginning of the month I think, so I recall I put mine in something like the 10th, and it took 3 weeks to come through.

Hinges on what point in the cycle you put the request in.

Love the C2W scheme, a real boon and great savings to be made, and in my situation, able to support local bike shops as well.

ugo.santalucia

approved today, it should take 10 days for the voucher to come through…
local bike shop doesn’t have anything desirable for 2k, so I headed to Wrexham… still somebody’s local shop

drhaggis

Can you get a decent estimate for the delivery at your LBS? Some people charge "admin costs" on c2w, so your friendly LBS may be more likely to be fair if they know you.

ugo.santalucia

drhaggis said:

Can you get a decent estimate for the delivery at your LBS? Some people charge "admin costs" on c2w, so your friendly LBS may be more likely to be fair if they know you.

bike is in stock, details have been agreed. Shops are charged 10% by the scheme, so they are unlikely to include heavily discounted bikes

ugo.santalucia

voucher issued, pick up next week 😁😁

ugo.santalucia

Ta-Dah

webboo

Very nice. But I can’t help wondering whether the next size up so you could get rid of that spacer stack.

pmannion9

Nice . Can you give us a spec list - I presume you have changed stock wheels ?

ugo.santalucia

webboo said:

Very nice. But I can’t help wondering whether the next size up so you could get rid of that spacer stack.

It's already a size up... I normally go for 54 and this is a 55. The image is taken with a fisheye lens, so the seatpost seems massive. As for the spacers, I will probably get rid of them in time... need to find the right TT position before getting the hacksaw out. Once you cut the steerer, there is no way back

ugo.santalucia

pmannion9 said:

Nice . Can you give us a spec list - I presume you have changed stock wheels ?

Yes, the Shimano wheels will be used on the winter bike, once they get a check over. These are DT 510 on Hope RS4, laces with CX ray spokes. Groupset is 105, except for the brakes and chainset, which are part of the 5 series, somewhere between Tiagra and 105, as I understand. I have already swapped the calipers for a pair of Ultegra I had on the other bike... functionally probably worse, but quite a lot lighter... and I will in time probably fit the Ultegra chainset I have, although that is not particularly urgent. Either way, I will replace the 34 T ring with a 36T I have. The saddle is a Fizik Antares I got for a bargain price on Ribble... it's basically half the weight of the original Bianchi. I have also replaced the bars in the picture with a pair of carbon Cyrano R1 snake, very deep at 140mm... the stem is a profile design -17 degrees one, combined with a 73 degrees head tube angle, it makes for a perfectly horizontal stem, a bit like the old quill stems used to be.
Been a busy day...

ugo.santalucia

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?

First ride today… did about an hour, was suppos3d to be relaxed, just checking that everything was OK, but as I got onto the A road I could not resist giving it some beans. It seems a rather efficient machine, power transfer feels better… maybe stiffer or the oversize bottom bracket. I would have easily averaged 30km/h for the ride, had it not been for a string of red lights in Warwick. Still, the highest average for this year…

MidlandsGrimpeur2

Good stuff Ugo, glad you are happy with it. I know you have swapped some stuff over already, but the original spec was good for £1300.

Was just thinking, I got my Caad12 with red 22, quarq pm, fizik bars/stem/saddle and ksyriums buillt for less than £2500 in 2019. Not a cat in hell's chance of getting something similar at that price these days.

pblakeney

ugo.santalucia said:

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?
...

Would a close ratio cassette not be another option?
Assuming you don't already have one of course.

ugo.santalucia

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?
...

Would a close ratio cassette not be another option?
Assuming you don't already have one of course.

I have a 12-25… I don’t like big drops at the front and to be fair, I think the 50T ring is too big for every day use… I am not sure how those folks with zero power manage… they must be in their 32T sprocket all the time.
I have just retro fitted my Ultegra 36/46 crankset… might have to drop the front derailleur a bit, although it seems to work fine… if it’s a bit tall it gives me the opportunity to fit a bigger rind should I do a TT on a really fast course.

pblakeney

ugo.santalucia said:

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?
...

Would a close ratio cassette not be another option?
Assuming you don't already have one of course.

I have a 12-25… I don’t like big drops at the front and to be fair, I think the 50T ring is too big for every day use…

I'm surprised to read that. I have a 50/34 up front and find a 11-23 very useable on flatter terrain. I use bigger cassettes for bigger climbs. Just shows everyone is different.
I do understand the dislike of big jumps up front though.

drhaggis

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?
...

Would a close ratio cassette not be another option?
Assuming you don't already have one of course.

I have a 12-25… I don’t like big drops at the front and to be fair, I think the 50T ring is too big for every day use…

I'm surprised to read that. I have a 50/34 up front and find a 11-23 very useable on flatter terrain. I use bigger cassettes for bigger climbs. Just shows everyone is different.
I do understand the dislike of big jumps up front though.

This is totally OT, but a massive pet of mine. If you guys are happy(ish) with a 50-34, and are almost certainly faster than me (Ugo definitely), why do we keep seeing 52-36's on bikes below £3000? In endurance bikes no less! What are the manufacturers thinking?

pblakeney

drhaggis said:

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?
...

Would a close ratio cassette not be another option?
Assuming you don't already have one of course.

I have a 12-25… I don’t like big drops at the front and to be fair, I think the 50T ring is too big for every day use…

I'm surprised to read that. I have a 50/34 up front and find a 11-23 very useable on flatter terrain. I use bigger cassettes for bigger climbs. Just shows everyone is different.
I do understand the dislike of big jumps up front though.

This is totally OT, but a massive pet of mine. If you guys are happy(ish) with a 50-34, and are almost certainly faster than me (Ugo definitely), why do we keep seeing 52-36's on bikes below £3000? In endurance bikes no less! What are the manufacturers thinking?

Pandering to the macho mindset.

veronese68

pblakeney said:

drhaggis said:

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

pblakeney said:

ugo.santalucia said:

Actually, I was thinking to fit a 39T ring… is there anything wrong from a Shimano perspective in a 50/39 chainset?
...

Would a close ratio cassette not be another option?
Assuming you don't already have one of course.

I have a 12-25… I don’t like big drops at the front and to be fair, I think the 50T ring is too big for every day use…

I'm surprised to read that. I have a 50/34 up front and find a 11-23 very useable on flatter terrain. I use bigger cassettes for bigger climbs. Just shows everyone is different.
I do understand the dislike of big jumps up front though.

This is totally OT, but a massive pet of mine. If you guys are happy(ish) with a 50-34, and are almost certainly faster than me (Ugo definitely), why do we keep seeing 52-36's on bikes below £3000? In endurance bikes no less! What are the manufacturers thinking?

Pandering to the macho mindset.

Ignorance as to what's best, then those that don't know any better wind up grinding away in too tall a gear.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

If you guys are happy(ish) with a 50-34, and are almost certainly faster than me (Ugo definitely), why do we keep seeing 52-36's on bikes below £3000?

The move to smaller chainrings on road bikes is a pretty recent development over the last 10-15 years or so. When I started it was 53/39 and that was your lot. I think it's one of those areas where manufacturers just took what pro's used and copied it for commercial use, and have never deviated that much from it. It seems that it is only really in the last 5 years, largely thanks to gravel riding, that we are starting to see they move towards smaller chainrings gear ratios.l

As to why 52/36. I suspect there is a strong element of focussing production on one set of ratio's from a production/cost/supply perspective and bike manufacturers probably think that is the best compromise to cover most amateur cyclists. Whether that is actually the case is open to debate.

I think most people just get used to something and don't bother to change. I remember once doing a sportive and chatting to a guy for a big part of the route. He spent the whole time in 53-11/12 riding at about 55-60rpm!

ugo.santalucia

Cassettes are getting bigger and when I look at bikes parked outside cafes, it is rare to see a chain sitting on anything smaller than a 28T. So, basically people use the last 2-3 three sprockets all the time.
Because I normally have 25T cassettes, that means a 50 or bigger ring is a bit big if I am not racing. Ideally I like to be spmewhere in the middle of the cassette most of the time… 15-17T.
I did try bigger rings in time trials, but my PB on a 10 is still the one I did with the 46 ring, so there seems to be no advantage for the speeds I reach

webboo

I have had bikes with 52/42, 53/39, 50/34 and 52/36. These days I’m on 52/36 with 11 to 28 or 30 depending on which wheels I’m using. I do most of my riding on the big ring.l don’t live in the mountains being in the Yorkshire wolds but I do ride on the North York moors and 36 x 30 is usually ok.
When I was on 50/34 I found I rarely used the little ring.

ugo.santalucia

webboo said:

I have had bikes with 52/42, 53/39, 50/34 and 52/36. These days I’m on 52/36 with 11 to 28 or 30 depending on which wheels I’m using. I do most of my riding on the big ring.l don’t live in the mountains being in the Yorkshire wolds but I do ride on the North York moors and 36 x 30 is usually ok.
When I was on 50/34 I found I rarely used the little ring.

That also depends on the cadence you are comfortable at. Since having a power meter I have started paying attention to those numbers and if I average low 70s on a ride, then it takes longer to recover. I used to TT at around 80 and I have made an effort to push it closer to 90 and try to stay around 80 for general riding. Obviously that means lower gears… I prefer a smaller chainring over a massive cassette. I think 44-48 as a big ring is perfect… you only need something bigger for chaingangs or for very fast stretches of road where you exceed 30 mph. In testing, I only lose out on a downhill stretch, where some guys manage to exceed 40 mph and I only manage 33-34. We only have one course where this is relevant round here and I am trying to avoid it, as it is a DC.

pblakeney

Getting back to the original question. For someone buying a bike that is not used for racing then a 50x11 gear will give you 32mph at 90rpm on 25mm tyres. 29.6mph for 50x12. I'd say that is more than sufficient for a recreational/club/cafe ride.
Most rides will be at 18-20mph so that is 50x17 or 19. I can't see any need of a bigger front ring for average riders.

webboo

ugo.santalucia said:

webboo said:

I have had bikes with 52/42, 53/39, 50/34 and 52/36. These days I’m on 52/36 with 11 to 28 or 30 depending on which wheels I’m using. I do most of my riding on the big ring.l don’t live in the mountains being in the Yorkshire wolds but I do ride on the North York moors and 36 x 30 is usually ok.
When I was on 50/34 I found I rarely used the little ring.

That also depends on the cadence you are comfortable at. Since having a power meter I have started paying attention to those numbers and if I average low 70s on a ride, then it takes longer to recover. I used to TT at around 80 and I have made an effort to push it closer to 90 and try to stay around 80 for general riding. Obviously that means lower gears… I prefer a smaller chainring over a massive cassette. I think 44-48 as a big ring is perfect… you only need something bigger for chaingangs or for very fast stretches of road where you exceed 30 mph. In testing, I only lose out on a downhill stretch, where some guys manage to exceed 40 mph and I only manage 33-34. We only have one course where this is relevant round here and I am trying to avoid it, as it is a DC.

I suspect my cadence is somewhere between 80 to100 depending on the terrain although it will lower when climbing steep things as I’m a bit of grind it out type. The only time I know my cadence is on the turbo where I tend to keep it between 90 and 105 depending on what I’mdoing.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

My lower back, currently in a fragile state from unknown cause, is screaming at the 55cm's 545mm stack!

My Cube has the same 388mm reach with 610mm stack, at the opposite end of average, when my back is behaving I can lower the Deda adjustable stem to make an effective ~570mm.

Certainly explains to me why your test ride at moderate effort was surprisingly fast, it's putting you in a pretty aggressive aero position.

ugo.santalucia

longer ride this morning… again quite fast, despite the low temperature… it definitively feels more of an upgrade than I was expecting… power transfer feels more direct… like it was stiffer or something. The change of chainset to a 46T seems to have sorted the gear awkwardness of the 50T ring… back to using mostly 15-17 sprockets