Bianchi / Campag Athena
Discussion
Following my earlier thread about a possible carbon framed bike purchase (currently have a 3 year old Boardman Comp Ally Frame) I popped into a bike shop whilst down on the coast over the weekend and really liked the look of the Bianchi Intenso specced with Campag Athena.
I had suggested i was keen to stick with SRAM gears as i wasn't overly taken with Shimano when I tried them (didn't like using the brake levers) but hadn't realised till i saw campag in the flesh that it is slightly different again (i.e. buttons and levers). So campag seems like a possible option now and I really liked the Intenso - sad i know but sometimes you lay eyes on something and just think that looks damn fine.
I also liked that the bike was more an endurance geometry rather than an out and out racer - I'm currently building up to a day run at the C2C later this year.
So couple of questions:
- Would I be right in guessing you are paying a bit for the name (a bit like apple tax) - the bike/frame did however seem to get pretty good reviews.
- Has anyone got an Intenso and if so what do you think
- Whats campag like in reality - the guy in the shop said they were a 'bit agricultural' below the Athena level. Is Athena 105/rival equivalent or Ultegra/Force.
- Does £1500 (budget creep) for a 2015 model with Athena Groupset (apart from cranks) and Fulcrum Racing 7's sound like an ok deal ? Id swap my Racing 5's onto it and either keep the 7's for my Boardman or sell them.
- Could I put SRAM on as a replacement as I could get the tiagra specced model with Shimano WH R501 wheels for £1000 and stick an SRAM Rival groupset (minus cranks) on for £260 - that way I also get to keep a 32 on the cassette (and get a few pennies back on selling the tiagra)
Will probably go and have a test ride to see what I think
Cheers
Pot Odds
I had suggested i was keen to stick with SRAM gears as i wasn't overly taken with Shimano when I tried them (didn't like using the brake levers) but hadn't realised till i saw campag in the flesh that it is slightly different again (i.e. buttons and levers). So campag seems like a possible option now and I really liked the Intenso - sad i know but sometimes you lay eyes on something and just think that looks damn fine.
I also liked that the bike was more an endurance geometry rather than an out and out racer - I'm currently building up to a day run at the C2C later this year.
So couple of questions:
- Would I be right in guessing you are paying a bit for the name (a bit like apple tax) - the bike/frame did however seem to get pretty good reviews.
- Has anyone got an Intenso and if so what do you think
- Whats campag like in reality - the guy in the shop said they were a 'bit agricultural' below the Athena level. Is Athena 105/rival equivalent or Ultegra/Force.
- Does £1500 (budget creep) for a 2015 model with Athena Groupset (apart from cranks) and Fulcrum Racing 7's sound like an ok deal ? Id swap my Racing 5's onto it and either keep the 7's for my Boardman or sell them.
- Could I put SRAM on as a replacement as I could get the tiagra specced model with Shimano WH R501 wheels for £1000 and stick an SRAM Rival groupset (minus cranks) on for £260 - that way I also get to keep a 32 on the cassette (and get a few pennies back on selling the tiagra)
Will probably go and have a test ride to see what I think
Cheers
Pot Odds
Edited by Pot Odds on Monday 9th May 23:57
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cervelo-R5-/231936658948
If the auction god is smiling down on you, something like this
If the auction god is smiling down on you, something like this
Campag geared bikes use a different freehub to Shimano/SRAM so the wheels aren't a straight swap unfortunately.
If I were you (I think I might have said this in another thread actually) I'd buy a Shimano equipped bike and convert it to SRAM shifters and mechs so the Tiagra option makes sense in this case.
I'd also look at something like a BMC Teammachine ALR-01, SLR-03 (or 02) with the lowest end Shimano groupset available as that gets you a great frame for a reasonable price ready to upgrade.
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-alr01-...
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-slr03-...
The ALR looks like a brilliant deal actually, and should even come in on budget once you've swapped it to Rival and sold the Tiagra bits you don't need.
If I were you (I think I might have said this in another thread actually) I'd buy a Shimano equipped bike and convert it to SRAM shifters and mechs so the Tiagra option makes sense in this case.
I'd also look at something like a BMC Teammachine ALR-01, SLR-03 (or 02) with the lowest end Shimano groupset available as that gets you a great frame for a reasonable price ready to upgrade.
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-alr01-...
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-slr03-...
The ALR looks like a brilliant deal actually, and should even come in on budget once you've swapped it to Rival and sold the Tiagra bits you don't need.
I don't understand the desire for carbon with "comfort" geometry. Carbon is largely for race bikes, and even then aluminum is still a great choice. If you want a comfort bike for distance riding, steel is best. If you want a great all-rounder, just stick with aluminum. Your wallet will thank you, and you can invest the savings into some proper components (Campy, of course).
jamiebae said:
Campag geared bikes use a different freehub to Shimano/SRAM so the wheels aren't a straight swap unfortunately.
If I were you (I think I might have said this in another thread actually) I'd buy a Shimano equipped bike and convert it to SRAM shifters and mechs so the Tiagra option makes sense in this case.
I'd also look at something like a BMC Teammachine ALR-01, SLR-03 (or 02) with the lowest end Shimano groupset available as that gets you a great frame for a reasonable price ready to upgrade.
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-alr01-...
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-slr03-...
The ALR looks like a brilliant deal actually, and should even come in on budget once you've swapped it to Rival and sold the Tiagra bits you don't need.
You just have to get over the challenging looks of the BMC rear end, blurgh.If I were you (I think I might have said this in another thread actually) I'd buy a Shimano equipped bike and convert it to SRAM shifters and mechs so the Tiagra option makes sense in this case.
I'd also look at something like a BMC Teammachine ALR-01, SLR-03 (or 02) with the lowest end Shimano groupset available as that gets you a great frame for a reasonable price ready to upgrade.
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-alr01-...
https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-teammachine-slr03-...
The ALR looks like a brilliant deal actually, and should even come in on budget once you've swapped it to Rival and sold the Tiagra bits you don't need.
Black can man said:
Have you looked at Canyon & Rose ?
Superb value if you can wait a few weeks.
Those BMC & Bianchi bikes look so overpriced to me.
I think the alu BMC looks great value - £850 for a really good alu frame, full carbon fork and full Tiagra group as well as Shimano wheels. It's also a bike which was only launched last year so it's up-to-date in terms of technology, tyre clearance etc, and has had decent reviews too suggesting the frame is a good basis for upgrades.Superb value if you can wait a few weeks.
Those BMC & Bianchi bikes look so overpriced to me.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...
Matt_N said:
Black can man said:
Have you looked at Canyon & Rose ?
Superb value if you can wait a few weeks.
Those BMC & Bianchi bikes look so overpriced to me.
Weeks?Superb value if you can wait a few weeks.
Those BMC & Bianchi bikes look so overpriced to me.
More like months for a Canyon!
I sometimes ride her bike. Don't diss them until you've tried them. She has an Infinito and it's a beautiful ride, in every way.
She bought her Infinito with Athena 11. That was soon ditched for Di2 on the same Campag drivetrain. It all works perfectly together and is to my mind, probably the best solution. She now runs Chorus 11 cassettes. Campy cogs do look nice.
Athena 11 shifting needed constant indexing and never really felt like it was optimum. Rival would be a better option for a mechanical set.
Edited by Raven Flyer on Tuesday 10th May 11:43
Raven Flyer said:
Matt_N said:
Black can man said:
Have you looked at Canyon & Rose ?
Superb value if you can wait a few weeks.
Those BMC & Bianchi bikes look so overpriced to me.
Weeks?Superb value if you can wait a few weeks.
Those BMC & Bianchi bikes look so overpriced to me.
More like months for a Canyon!
I sometimes ride her bike. Don't diss them until you've tried them. She has an Infinito and it's a beautiful ride, in every way.
A buddy of mine has a Bianchi with Shimano Claris & seems more than happy with it , personally i think it's a heap of s
te .Go with Athena - it's a great groupset, even if it's at the lower end of the Campag scale.
It's roughly equivalent to 105.
I doubt you could really tell between the shifting quality of Campag/Shim/Sram at that level - it more depends on whether you like the Campag ergonomics and thumbshifting button.
If you up the budget you could run to Chorus!
PS - it's an Italian bike - it needs an Italian groupset
It's roughly equivalent to 105.
I doubt you could really tell between the shifting quality of Campag/Shim/Sram at that level - it more depends on whether you like the Campag ergonomics and thumbshifting button.
If you up the budget you could run to Chorus!
PS - it's an Italian bike - it needs an Italian groupset
Edited by option click on Tuesday 10th May 11:49
option click said:
Go with Athena - it's a great groupset, even if it's at the lower end of the Campag scale.
It's roughly equivalent to 105.
Veloce has traditionally been the 105 counterpart. Athena is a step up. Campy no longer produces anything below 105 level.It's roughly equivalent to 105.
Edited by option click on Tuesday 10th May 11:49
OP dont overthink it, if the shop has a bike you like, seems suitable and good service then buy it!
Dont underestimate how handy it is to have a good lbs that supplied the bike for any future issues or adjustments
I like bianchi's , yeah pound for pound against competition they seem expensive, but hey ho
They look great, well though out bikes, nice to look at, slightly more than some competition
Online is great, but is a bloody ballache when it goes wrong
Dont underestimate how handy it is to have a good lbs that supplied the bike for any future issues or adjustments
I like bianchi's , yeah pound for pound against competition they seem expensive, but hey ho
They look great, well though out bikes, nice to look at, slightly more than some competition
Online is great, but is a bloody ballache when it goes wrong
For what its worth, 11 spd Campag, Shimano and Sram rear cassettes are all compatible so you can use a wheel with a Shimano/Sram hub on an otherwise Campag equipped bike (provided it's 11 spd).
I have a Chorus/Record mix on one bike and Ultegra on the other. I've had no issues with either but I prefer the thumb shift and mechanical feel of the Campag. I can understand why some folk wouldn't though.
I have a Chorus/Record mix on one bike and Ultegra on the other. I've had no issues with either but I prefer the thumb shift and mechanical feel of the Campag. I can understand why some folk wouldn't though.
Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 10th May 14:51
benny.c said:
For what its worth, 11 spd Campag, Shimano and Sram rear cassettes are all compatible so you can use a wheel with a Shimano/Sram hub on an otherwise Campag equipped bike (provided it's 11 spd).
I wondered if the neutral service bikes in pro races had to carry two different types of rear wheel to support Campag riders, I guess this answers the question.
option click said:
although Veloce is 10 speed only. Athena is the comparable 11sp version.
Although agree - Campag is leagues ahead of Shimano IMO.
Same as it ever was, IMO. I have Campag stuff from the late 70s that sees daily use on a commuter and will not die. I have, in contrast, bent several old DA parts. Although agree - Campag is leagues ahead of Shimano IMO.
scherzkeks said:
option click said:
Go with Athena - it's a great groupset, even if it's at the lower end of the Campag scale.
It's roughly equivalent to 105.
Veloce has traditionally been the 105 counterpart. Athena is a step up. Campy no longer produces anything below 105 level.It's roughly equivalent to 105.
Edited by option click on Tuesday 10th May 11:49
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