# New Vertigo vs Infinito questions?



## Tspeters

I just recently got into cycling for fitness and fun and now looking to upgrade from my Jamis hybrid up to a Bianchi road bike. I try to commute 2 - 3 days to work (14 miles round trip) and have been increasing my weekend rides from 15 to 25- 30 miles. I am working up to longer rides and find the hybrid OK but looking for more speed and better handling. I test rode the Via Nirone and Infinto recently and really like the Infinto carbon over the AL Nirone. I don't have any intentions of racing and like the relaxed geometry of the Infinito. So here's my questions. I am aware that Bianchi is coming out with the new Vertigo this year. There isn't much info out there on the Vertigo which I understand is a cheaper carbon and mybe a little heaver but maybe the Bianchi crowd here can help me with the decision process when I test ride the Infinto vs Vertigo. 

The Infinto 105 is $2800 
Fork - full carbon w/ Kevlar inserts
Wheels - Fulcrum 7
Crank set- FSA Gossamer
Stem -FSA carbon
Bars - FSA wing compact
Seat post - FSA SL-K


Vertigo 105 is $2000
Fork- alum/ carbon
wheels -Maddux RX 5.1
Crank- Shimono RFC 565
Stem- Reparto alu
Bars- Reparto alu
Seat post - Reparto al

Is the Infinto worth the extra $800 in upgrades. Can a newbie feel the difference in performance? I've out grown the hybrid after several hundred miles and have the classic obsession to upgrade my equipment so will I regret not going full bore right to the Infinito? Lets throw in another variable. The Vertigo Veloce is priced at $2400. Any thoughts on the carbon frame difference? What should I look out for when test riding or consider for long term ownership?

Thanks,
Tom


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## BrianVarick

If you have only done a few hundred miles, I would wait for a while before making a big decision like this. You might develop a better idea about what you are looking for.


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## Tspeters

Thanks Brian...thought of that but my question isn't whether I should get a road bike or which type of road bike. I wanted a good high-end road bilke from the start but chose a good entry level hybrid initially for several reasons; 1.) I wanted to make sure I would enjoy biking over the running I was doing for my cardio workouts. 2.) I wanted an upright comfortable bike to use for family rides with my wife and kids on local paved trails and versatile enough for commuting. 3.) I have a reoccurring tendinitis in my wrist that I wanted to try out different handle bar set ups. My Jamis answered all those questions so now I feel comfortable moving up to a higher end road bike. So the questions are now more about how much to spend on the important parts of the road bike purchase. Fit, feel, quality of the components. After a certain price point what is really just an indulgence vs. a must have in the purchase.


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## kbwh

The bars on the two bikes most probably have the same shape.
The wheels on the Infinito is better than those on the Vertigo.
Their geometries are the same except for size 55 where the Infinito is marginally more agressive.
The head tube is longer on the Infinito is longer across all sizes, but that doesn't really matter.
You cannot fit fatter tires than 25 mm on an Infinito. I do not know if you can get true 27-28 mm tires onto the Vertigo. You can on the Al Impulso, and that could be a point worth considering.


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## Tspeters

kbwh said:


> You cannot fit fatter tires than 25 mm on an Infinito. I do not know if you can get true 27-28 mm tires onto the Vertigo. You can on the Al Impulso, and that could be a point worth considering.


What would be the advantage of wider tires for a road bike of the Infinito caliber? I am interested in the Infinito for long rides,speed and handling. My Jamis which I plan to keep for commuting in bad weather and trail rides with the family has 700X 28 tires now. They serve their purpose of compromise between comfort and speed. Do you find the 23's to be too punishing or flat tire prone? The Via Nirone and Infinito I test rode both had the 700X 23 tires and felt fine as expected were faster and more responsive.

I am interested in test riding the Impulso for comparison but the LBS was sold out of the 2012s and did comment that everyone who tested the Nirone back to back with the Impulso ended up getting the Impulso.


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## kbwh

Tire width is a function of rider weight and you chosen terrain.
It is established now that for a given pressure a 25mm tire will roll better than a 23mm. It is also more pinch flat resistant.
23-25mm is normally enough, but clydes should in my opinion be on 28mm tires, also on normal roads.

On my Infinito I use 60mm aero wheels with 22mm Veloflex tubulars for the races, Conti 24mm training clinchers, and 25mm Schwalbe gravel bombing fun clinchers.
The Veloflexes are the most comfortable... 
I'm 71kg and run 6.8 Bar in front and 7.0 Bar in the back.


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## Tspeters

kbwh said:


> Tire width is a function of rider weight and you chosen terrain.
> It is established now that for a given pressure a 25mm tire will roll better than a 25mm. It is also more pinch flat resistant.
> 23-25mm is normally enough, but clydes should in my opinion be on 28mm tires, also on normal roads.
> 
> On my Infinito I use 60mm aero wheels with 22mm Veloflex tubulars for the races, Conti 24mm training clinchers, and 25mm Schwalbe gravel bombing fun clinchers.
> The Veloflexes are the most comfortable...
> I'm 71kg and run 6.8 Bar in front and 7.0 Bar in the back.


Good points! I did not consider that. I'm around 199 LBS or 90 kilos but still losing weight so I would consider at least the 25mm. My LBS did not mention tire/wheel concerns. I actually rode his personal Infinito bike and we are similar builds. He is 6' tall and looks to be the same weight. He had carbon wheels on the bike and looked to be 23mm.


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## kbwh

Correction: A 25mm tire will roll better than a 23mm at the same pressure. Fixed above.


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## Tspeters

kbwh said:


> The bars on the two bikes most probably have the same shape.
> The wheels on the Infinito is better than those on the Vertigo.
> Their geometries are the same except for size 55 where the Infinito is marginally more agressive.
> The head tube is longer on the Infinito is longer across all sizes, but that doesn't really matter.
> You cannot fit fatter tires than 25 mm on an Infinito. I do not know if you can get true 27-28 mm tires onto the Vertigo. You can on the Al Impulso, and that could be a point worth considering.


So all things considered, (in your opinion ) do the specs justify the 40% difference in price? Are the difference in components, fork, wheels, etc. worth the $800 difference either contributing to the feel, performance or quality of the bike? I know the new Veritgo frame is the wild card in the equation and can't be factored in until available for test rides.


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## kbwh

The components on the Infinito are a whole lot nicer, and so is the paint job. They made shambles of the paint job on the Vertigo.
$800 buys you some very nice wheels and tires, though. 
Ask to ride the Infinito or an Impulso with Maddux wheels and some nice wheels like Fulcrum R3 or Mavic Ksyrium Elite with good 25mm tires (e.g. Conti GP4000s, Michelin Pro4 sc) and see what you think.


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## Tspeters

*Saw a Vertigo in the wild!*

I was in Boston taking my wife to a Dr appointment. (We live in southern NH about 50 miles north.) After the appointment I checked my iPad for local Bianchi dealers and found one only about 3 miles from our appt which was more like 20 mins driving time:. They had a 2013 Vertigo 105 in stock and a couple of left over 2012 Infinito Ultegras in smaller frame sizes. I have to say the new Vertigo looks really nice. I didn't see any of the frame where the carbon weave was revealed so couldn't compare the quality to an Infinito. The paint looks nice. The LBS was fairly new to the Bianchi line and didn't seem to know much about the bike. They offered to let me test ride it but wasn't really comfortable riding around in down town Boston on a test bike. I have no problem driving in town but did not know the area well. And my wife was being kind to indulge my hobby and didn't want to take advantage of her time. I am excited for my LBS to get in his 2013 order so I can do some nice back to back comparisons on the Vertigo and Infinito and probably the Impulso as well. Here are some photos. Sorry for the bad quality. I took just a couple of pictures with my iPhone but didn't really plan it too well with the background.


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## Tspeters

And another 
View attachment 268189


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## sculpin

I'm also torn between the two bikes/frames, and can't decide.

I have to presume that the Infinito frame is far 'better' (whatever that means in the real world) than the Vertigo frame, given that the Infinito frame price alone is higher than the price of a complete Vertigo, but I can't find any information at all about what constitutes the difference, just that they are both in the C2C line, and are both CF.

Anyone have any information about the difference between the framesets, without regard for the wheels and components?

Thanks!


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## Tspeters

The few things I could discern between the two were; (someone please interject if I'm wrong) :the fork on the Vertigo is Aluminum/carbon vs full carbon Infinito, the Infinito use Kevlar inserts on the seat stays and front fork to help absorb vibration, ( BAT and K-VID) not used on the Vertigo. I was told by an LBS that Bianchi uses a slightly less expensive carbon process which allows the Vertigo to be just a little heavier . Though I can't confirm that and have not weighed the two. I did feel the two bikes weight by lifting an Infinito and Vertigo. Unscientific but the Vertigo felt a little heavier . Might have been just me . The components could have made a difference. The Infinito had Ultegra vs the Vertigo's Shimano 105. Some mentioned a difference in the quality of the paint but I thought the Vertigo looked really good in person and would not use that as a deal breaker. There is only a $800 difference in the the two base models. The components alone could make up a lion share of the difference. Brakes, seat post (AL vs CF) grips, handle bar, headset, stem etc. I bought the Infinito because the $800 was not too big a leap for me and also because my LBS said that Bianchi was behind in production. In December he was told the Vertigo's would not even go into production until Jan or later and that Bianchi would only fill prepaid orders first, then the dealers would get the their orders if any left. So I just ordered the Infinito which was already produced and received it a couple of weeks later. (Just after Christmas ) I didn't want to wait until Apr or May for a Vertigo and find out they didn't have my size. I don't think you can go wrong with the Vertigo. It's a bargain! I'm just too impatient to wait .


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## sculpin

Thanks, Tspeters! Exactly what I was looking for.


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## Flying Foot Doc

Hello al, new to this forum & would like to add a few comments on the Infinito. Can't speak about the Vertigo, though. I have had my Infinito 105 for about 3 years and 4000+ miles. I am 65, so not ridding at all for racing speed, but have completed some bucket list items with it: 1000 m/yr, 1st Century before I was 65 and my age in miles every year. I had to choose between the 105 and the Campy version for budget rationalization and stayed w/ the 105 as my 1st every new road bike. My thinking was buy a good frame and upgrade as I could (afford it & convince myself I needed it). So far the changes have been better wheels - a big difference; Carbon handle bars - Bontrager Race xxx IsoZone handle bars - has taken almost all of the road numbness out of my hands, tried 4 different seats - personal preference only, and the crank set, my FSA started to oxidize due to the salt air down here. It is a lively ride, more than I could have imagined, always able to do more than I am capable of making it do. The story line in my home is that it is my mistress and she lives up to her name, always asking for infinitely more of my time, energy and ways to spend my money...but my wife knows who she is... Andy


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