# Opinions on Bianchi Axis



## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

While heading to work I spotted a Bianchi Axis hanging up on a porch with a For Sale $650 sign. I'm very tempted as I would love a CX bike. I am a mountain biker and while I own an old road bike I just use it for commuting. I race Cat 2 MTB and Cat 4 CX on my 29er MTB bike. This bike seemed like it was in great shape, I rode up and down the block and shifting seemed good. Reviews on this site are favorable, but they are all from folks who wanted a do everything bike, not necessarily a CX racing bike. That is what I would use it for, although I would also commute with it. It has fender mounts which I would like because I've got a set of 700cx40 studded tires that I put on the 29er for winter commuting but I have no legit fenders. This bike could be perfect for that. I was a little puzzled at the MTB XT rear derailleur and MTB cassette, but looking through the reviews it seems that this was the stock set up. Shimano 105 everywhere else. So what are the opinions from this crowd? I'm a Cat 4 and I have been on a podium, but that was before I had kids. Like I said I would be dying to race it, but don't get an illusion that I'm a hard core racer! If I cave and decide I'm taking it home, I'm thinking of showing up with $500 cash for an offer.


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## Britishbane (Mar 4, 2009)

No idea whether or not $500 would be a good price. The MTB rear mech. allows you to run higher tooth count cogs, not super unusual. Are you sure the bike fits you? That seat is absolutely slammed. 

Best of luck.


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## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

Thanks for the feedback. The frame says 57. I think I would be around a 56, but I've never bought a new road or CX bike to figure out what is right for me. I'm 5'10" with 32" inseams. The guy selling it got it free from his brother and slammed the seat to see if it would fit him and it wouldn't. He did not know a whole lot about bikes, he didn't know what cyclocross was. When I rode it, it felt like it definitely needed the seat up a few inches.


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## TWD (Feb 9, 2004)

I raced an older model axis ('01 or 02' model) for 5+ years in addition to use for daily commuting, winter road training, and lots of singletrack and fire road duty. 

It's a capable all-rounder, not a pure-bred race bike. Certainly good enough for Cat 4 or even Cat 3 racing. Not a super snappy handler, but stable. 

It would still likely be an improvement over a 29er, if for nothing more than the ability to properly shoulder the bike on a runup.

However, if you really want this as a primary race bike, you're going to want to ditch the triple cranks, get a short cage rear mech, road cassette and shorten the chain. Not saying you can't race on a triple, as surely it is done by some, but you're more likely to drop a chain with that setup. One consolation is that if you drop a chain, it may end up on the little ring rather than dropping to the bottom bracket shell like on a double. Better chance of pedaling the chain back on rather than stopping. 

The issue isn't so much riding with a triple (othwerwise mtb'ers would be dropping chains constantly) but setting the bike back down before remounting. Many lower category racers really slam the bike down before remounting, which bounces the chain off the chainring and causes enough back pedal on the crank to drop the chain off. 

A chain watcher like the N-gear jump stop is a worthwhile investement even when running a double if you're having issues with dropped chains.

So, you need to ask yourself whether or not you want to spend $500, and then put a bunch more $ into it to swap out the drivetrain. Of course, if you're racing a geared 29er, I'm assuming you've already been racing on a triple setup. If you're happy with it, then maybe it's a non-issue.

Another cheaper option would be to turn it into a single ring setup up front. You could keep the triple crank that way, replace the outer ring with a chainguard and ditch the little ring for a chain watcher. In thase case you could keep the mtb derailluer and cassette and have a little bit wider range of gearing while maintaining a decent chainline. 

Then, after race season, you throw the triple setup back on if it better suits your needs for commuting.

Last but not least, take a look at how hard this bike has been ridden. Sounds like not that hard, but it's worth considering. I probably got 15-20K miles of hard use out of the Axis frame before it cracked at the ST-BB junction. If the frame looks well used and tired, pass, if not, it's probably got a fair bit of life left in it.


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## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

TWD, thanks for the feedback. I have been racing the steel 29er as a 1x9 and that option has definitely crossed my mind. I ended up caving and getting the bike for $500. I have been running a Paul's chain keeper on the 29er when I set it up with gears. I also run a short cage derailleur but it is a SRAM so incompatible.

I took it out on a shakedown ride last night and had a blast. I'm thrilled, money well spent. I'll likely be towing the kids around in their trailer with this and we live in a hilly neighborhood, so that granny ring may come in handy! It weighs 22.0 lbs. THe saddle is hideous, is this the stock saddle? Can anyone say what year this bike is?


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## TWD (Feb 9, 2004)

I don't know what year it is. Bianchi used to keep archives of their prior years, but I haven't been to their site in a few years. 

Yep, that saddle is hideous. I very much doubt it is the original. If it's otherwise comfy, I would re-cover it. If you you're into DIY, it's not hard to do. See if you're LFS (local fabric store) carries marine grade vynil upholstrey fabric. I found it in both black and white at JoAnnes. For about $12 I got enough to do about 10 saddles. Tear off the old carefully to avoid ripping the foam padding, then trim the fabric to the shape of the saddle + about 2 extra inches. Coat the saddle and fabric in contact cement, and carefully stretch it over the saddle to the edges. Once at the edges, trim the fabric to about 1/2" below the edge, coat the inside lip of the saddle around the edge with contact cement, and wrap the fabric over. Then, I use a bit of super glue around the edge to make sure the fabric is really on there at the edge. 

The 1x9 for racing and triple for kid hauling would be a good setup. I ran my access as a double for racing and triple for kid hauling since many of my kid hauling rides include sustained climbs of 1000+ ft in elevation gain.


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## perttime (Jun 27, 2005)

The graphics (except for the hideous seat...) seem to match a photo POSTED in 2007:

http://velospace.org/node/2886

(found it with Google image search)

edit:
Maybe 2005?
http://ridewithgps.com/gears/6794


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## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

Thanks perttime. I'll go with 2005, that seems about right. Those pics both have a WTB Rocket V saddle, which I have a spare of in my retired parts bin. But to be honest the "Race Day" saddle is pretty comfy for being so hard on the eyes


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