# Infinito CV - Ultegra or Chorus?



## Gregzilla (Feb 27, 2005)

Hi all,
So I'm the market for a new bike and I test-rode the Infinito CV, Colnago CX-Zero, Pinarello Rohk and Marvel, Cervelo R3 and Specialized Roubaix.

That's enough bikes that I now know, hands-down, I want an Infinito CV.

So, with that decision out of the way, now I need to choose between Ultegra and Chorus.

All of my experience had been with Shimano until yesterday when I rode a friend's Dogma with Super-Record. I REALLY liked the Campy "style" - I preferred the positive feedback when changing gears over Shimano's "smooth and light" feeling. I preferred the shapes of the hoods. And I actually found that I liked the thumb lever also.

Looking at the cost of the complete group-set purchased on it's own, I see $800 vs $1250, so $450 difference. Looking at the specs for the two versions of the Infinito, the only other differences I see are the wheels (maybe $150-200 difference) and the handlebars (what? $50-$100 different?). So worst-case, $750 difference?

Yet, the bikes are $1300 apart?!?!?

Does anyone know why there's such a large price gap between the two? Am I missing something?

Greg


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## jmess (Aug 24, 2006)

Ultegra 6870 Di2. Say bye to cables.


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## vic bastige (Jan 22, 2004)

I think the better wheels and bars are more than you think. Second, what he said on the Di-2. I can't believe how much more fun my bike is to ride. Necessary? No. "fixes" a problem with traditional cable shifting? No. Way gooder? Yes!


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I made that very choice just last week (or is it almost your choice as I'm not sure whether your Ultegra choice is for mechanical or electrical). 

Anyway, after trying a bunch of bicycles I decided the Infinito CV was the one for me. I'm a Campy guy, too, but I decided to try the Ultegra Electric just for kicks. It felt positive and excellent, and I really dig that the electric Shimmy brake levers don't swing. 
Nevertheless, I wound up with the Campy Chorus for three reasons:

1. Mechanical Chorus weighs a half pound less than electric Ultegra, and if I'm spending all that money on a bicycle I want to at least partially indulge my weight-weenieness.

2. The Mechanical Chorus Infinito CV costs about $300 less.

3. Chorus has been my go-to gruppo for the past fourteen years, and for good reason. It feels great. It's pretty. It only misses a shift once in a blue moon (though I have to say that it's taking about a couple of weeks for this new 11 speed Chorus to properly break in).

In any event, I love the bicycle. Review to come...... Whenever I get myself on Photo Bucket or some such, so I can show some pics.


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## Gregzilla (Feb 27, 2005)

Thanks for the replies!
My choose is between mechanical Ultegra and Chorus. I tried the Di2 Ultegra - it was neat, but I wasn't all that impressed. It was hard to know if I had shifted sometimes, and also difficult to control how many gears I would shift when holding a buttons down.

But, I also played with the Record EPS or Super-Record EPS (can't remember which, but one of them) and I really, really liked that. Even though it was electronic, the feel of shifting still had a bit of a mechanical feel to it - it had a very strong tactile feeling, but not as "hard" to push as the mechanical version.

I hear Chorus EPS is just around the corner - maybe an upgrade next year if I decide mechanical Chorus now. 

As far as the Fulcrum Racing Quattros - they're $350 for a set online - so there's no way they make up more than a small fraction of the price difference. No matter which group set I choose, I'll be getting lighter wheels right away anyway.

I guess maybe the price difference is just Bianchi getting a killer deal on volume purchasing Shimano stuff. I'm sure they'll sell way more of these bikes at the Ultegra price-point than the others.


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## vic bastige (Jan 22, 2004)

I am not trying to talk you into the Di2, but you can program it to shift as many or as few gears as you want by holding it down. Set it at two, three or continuous (as it comes pre-set).

That said, all the groups mentioned here work great. As for wheels, mine has the Enve 3.4s and I have to say they are the best set I have rolled along to date. Really worth a hard look.


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

Personally, I'd go Chorus but I'd do it piece-meal. Save a few bucks and use Athena brakes, and derailleurs. Watch for good deals on NOS later on and make changes along the way. I think the challenge is finding the best crankset... I'd rather have a used or NOS alloy ultra-torque crank than the current UT designs which are limited to carbon (but if you like that look, more power to you, it's not for me). I'd rather have an Ultegra 6600 crank or a Sram Red, or even the Sugino stuff that is HT2 compatible... I don't personally care about matching, I go for what works at the best price, granted I have a preference for Ergos on my handlebars. 

Given the $1300 apart thing, I'd probably go Ultegra and consider swapping the parts out down the road. You aren't missing anything, they think they can gouge you on price if you want Campy because Campy users are apparently only buying bikes between trips on the yacht. Is the complete bike US sourced? That would explain the problem. I would expect a UK sourced bike to be closer in price... but perhaps not?


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

My Chorus Infinito CV came with Campagnolo Zondas equipped with Hutchinson 25mm tires. Yeah, with the 25's, Bianchi really thought things through here. Not only were they thinking 'Cobbles,' they were thinking 'Older Customers.'

BTW, my fish scale tells me that the weight of the Zonda wheelset and the Hutch clinchers weighs only a tenth of a pound more than the Campy Nucleon/Vittoria Corsa EVO 21's on my Aluminum 'Nago Dream.


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## jmess (Aug 24, 2006)

For me Di2 fixed the problems of cable stretch, cable/housing wear, and shift issues caused by big temperature changes. It eliminated front derailleur trim issues. 

If you aren't good at cable adjustments and maintenance Di2 eliminates them. You can watch a 5 minute video and learn how to adjust the fine trim if you ever need it.



vic bastige said:


> I think the better wheels and bars are more than you think. Second, what he said on the Di-2. I can't believe how much more fun my bike is to ride. Necessary? No. "fixes" a problem with traditional cable shifting? No. Way gooder? Yes!


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## charlox5 (Jan 31, 2011)

Gregzilla said:


> I guess maybe the price difference is just Bianchi getting a killer deal on volume purchasing Shimano stuff. I'm sure they'll sell way more of these bikes at the Ultegra price-point than the others.


There's your answer: Shimano severely undercuts the rest of the OEM market with bargain pricing to the OEM's for using their stuff.

Campagnolo is happy to be campagnolo.

I love chorus, but like headloss stated, I put my group together piecemeal. Chorus shifters, crank, athena derailleurs, centaur brakes.


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## Gregzilla (Feb 27, 2005)

Since I'm going to buy the bike "as-is", I can't put a group together piecemeal. But, I think I WILL do that with my Volpe rebuild.

I'm about 80% sure I'm going to go the Chorus route for the new bike. Then maybe for Christmas, or next year (if I feel like it), I'll upgrade to Chorus EPS.

I'll be getting new wheels for the new bike soon, so if I do upgrade to EPS, I'll have a set of decent wheels as well as derailers and brifters for the Volpe.

That's my thought-process right now anyway...


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## freefall_junkie (Sep 4, 2013)

I have an Infinito Cv Di. To be honest I wasn’t at all convinced about Di at first, mainly because I found it hard to get used to the shift buttons, but now I love it. On the wheels front I recently swapped the Racing Quattros for Racing Ones and there was an instant, noticeable difference to the feel of the bike when accelerating and climbing. Off to the Alps at the weekend for a full blown test of the bike climbing and descending J


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