# My review of the Bianchi 2007 C2C Via Nirone (Alu/carbon)



## dpr

I have been meaning to do this for a while as a means of giving something back when for the most part I have been take take take given my relative inexperience. Here follows my attempt at an objective review of the Bianchi 2007 C2C Via Nirone Alu / carbon (fork & seat stays) with a priority being placed as I believe it rightly should be; on the intended use of the bicycle.

I was (when I had* it) relatively new to riding and I still am quite inexperienced. But I have ridden plenty of other bikes since. Some very cheap aluminium bikes which handled quite squirily through to a Trek Madone 5.5 which was super stiff and sublime to ride.

If your objectives are long distance comfort and you adopt an understanding that it is not a out and out racing bike, then I would give it a rating of 8/10. It was an extremely comfortable, predictable ride. In the short three months that I had* it, I rode it over 70 miles virtually non-stop several times and once did 106 miles. Sure I was tired, but the bike is smooth and I doubt I could feel much better on any other bike without compromising on performance with say, a steel touring bike. I attribute much of this comfort to the carbon seat stays. They really do dull that sense of "buzz" that other aluminum bikes suffer from.

If you did want it for some racing, it still has some snap to it and I found it to be good (not great) at accelerating. Wheel, tire selection and the rider him/herself will heavily influence that however.
The weight was about 20lbs which isnt really that bad in my humble opinion and if you can lose any weight off of your body (Im not ashamed to admit I can), thats performance gains for free.

Climbing hills hard and sprinting, I felt some flex in the bottom bracket but I am fairly heavily built for a 5' 9" cycling guy (but who's training to join the Royal Marines) and have strong racing ambitions. If your focus really is on racing, you could probably find something more appropriate for that but be prepared to compromise a little bit on comfort.

My current bike is Bianchi's "Axis" cyclo-cross bike (bought for commuting, light touring and winter training because of the versatility it offers) and with its carbon wrap, aluminium core seat post and aluminium seat stays, it is not far from being as comfortable as the Nirone was. Appreciate however that I am currently running 25c tires (at slightly lower pressure from the 23c's I had on my Nirone) and the Axis frame will have marginally longer seat stays which influences the amount of road vibration transmitted. The purpose of this paragraph is to draw comparison to ONE all aluminium (except fork) bike.

* I lost my Nirone to a incident with a car and unfortunately it had to be written off!

If I had the money for several bikes for different purposes (considering road disciplines alone - never mind MTB'ing! ) a Nirone would probably be my choice for a long distance steed if I were limited by budget.

But as I don't, I wouldn't get anouther Nirone given my racing ambitions.

Hope that helps. Any specific questions, just shoot.

Regards to all,
dpr


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## hrstrat57

Good review, thanks!


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## LX302

I recently purchased a 2008 model and love how the way it handles and how fast and smooth it is on the straights. It makes climbing enjoyable as well. I have to agree with "dpr" that it absorbs the bumps in the road nicely and makes for a comfortable ride.
The geometry fit me nice, as I wanted a more relaxed position than an all out race bike.
Plus it looks nice with the sweeping top tube and welds. I get a lot of compliments on it.

My past bikes were a Trek 1200 alum., a steel '84 Fuji, and an ol '83 Steel Nishiki, and I have to say I love this bike. compared to those other bikes, this is a race bike. I have the Ultegra/105 mix and it came with a FSA compact crank. The crank works well but I'm having some clicking problems I/my LBS need to sort out.
All in all I love riding it as I do mainly club group riding, both long and short rides.
I think my only complaint are the stock tires, Conti's Ultra Road, which love picking up debris and flating. But they handle nice.
HTH's


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## hrstrat57

LX302 said:


> I recently purchased a 2008 model and love how the way it handles and how fast and smooth it is on the straights. It makes climbing enjoyable as well. I have to agree with "dpr" that it absorbs the bumps in the road nicely and makes for a comfortable ride.
> The geometry fit me nice, as I wanted a more relaxed position than an all out race bike.
> Plus it looks nice with the sweeping top tube and welds. I get a lot of compliments on it.
> 
> My past bikes were a Trek 1200 alum., a steel '84 Fuji, and an ol '83 Steel Nishiki, and I have to say I love this bike. compared to those other bikes, this is a race bike. I have the Ultegra/105 mix and it came with a FSA compact crank. The crank works well but I'm having some clicking problems I/my LBS need to sort out.
> All in all I love riding it as I do mainly club group riding, both long and short rides.
> I think my only complaint are the stock tires, Conti's Ultra Road, which love picking up debris and flating. But they handle nice.
> HTH's



What other bikes did you ride? In particular did you try the 928 ctc carbon 105?


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## LX302

Sure, I'll tell ya what I did.
I spent some time researching online for a couple months. I'm a sport/recreational rider, that likes riding in many a club ride, figure 1K a year riding year round in the NE USA. My budget was $1500.
I read in many a post,forum and article, you can't go wrong with a Bianchi as your road bike. Like I said in my other post, I had many bikes in my lifetime, even heavy Sears bikes.
So my local shop carries Giant and I test road the Giant OCR AO, and didn't like the wheelset at all. Too much flex in those rims. Bike had 105 and shifted nice.
Went to another shop that carried the Bianchi's and they asked meto test ride a Fuji Roubaix Pro, which had the standard crank on it, Ultegra/105 mix as well. I assume it was a '07 as I saw the '08's have the Compact crank now. Sweet bike BTW and $150 cheaper than the Bianchi.

Then I tried the C2C with the Tiagra line of components due to the cheaper cost, and I didn't like the shifting. They didn't have the 105 Bike in stock , qhich I would have purchased, but I could order it. But for the extra $150, I was told to stepping up to the Ultegra/105 mix was a good buy. The bike handled and shifted like the Fuji and I ended up with the Bianchi due to compact crank, fit and looks of the frame. A custom fit with all the measurements and lifetime service sold me.

Sorry, I didn't try the Bianchi 928 Carbon due to my budget. HTH's


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## hrstrat57

Nice.

My brother in law has the Fuji Roubaix with ultegra....loves it. My other bro in law has a Specialized Roubaix....comp I think not sure....likes it too....

I'm still riding an early 90's Bianchi steel with full campy chorus setup....didn't see a great reason to change as bike remains smooth and sweet albeit a dinosaur.

I do like the looks of the 928 carbon tho...planning a test ride.....I like the Fuji Roubaix, but not enuff to get me off the Italian steel steed 

Good luck!


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## leviathans_child

the 1885's worth the little bit extra..












i just bought my girlfriend one...in red...it's a really good looking bike in the red


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## lx93

leviathans_child said:


> the 1885's worth the little bit extra.


Specific reasons why the 1885 is worth more than the Via Nirone include...?


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## leviathans_child

lx93 said:


> Specific reasons why the 1885 is worth more than the Via Nirone include...?


1 a more "racing" geometry
2 better wheels included (campag kamsin)
3 carbon stem and bars
4 just that little bit sexier...here's my girlfriends one in red with veloce


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## mclarent

My current (and first for many years) road bike is the Via Nirone, and I've had good experiences with it to date, probably put 200 miles on it so far? I'm 6"1, 103kg, riding a 59inch frame. Thought I'd add my 2 cents worth...

Good points: 

Comfortable riding position, so a good step in to road riding for me
I can feel the power going down on to the road, and it's sweet. But that might just be a road riding thing... :wink: 
More than light enough for me as a first bike - managed to drag my sorry ass up some steep hills!
Feels good getting on it, and looks just how I wanted my first road bike to look - familiar enough that it wasn't scary, but with enough sweeping curves to show it's Bianchi.

Bad Points:

Some flex in the wheels, need upgrading really. Mine came with Shimano WH-R500, which I seen on boards described as "hell as wheels". I wouldn't go that far, but I would def upgrade first opportunity. I buckled the rear wheel slightly in a crash at the weekend - apart from that and a couple of dings on the bar tape, there was no problem. Read what you like in to that... and bare in mind the size of my belly...  
Large chainring is the (standard for a compact) 50, which I would like to change for a 53, as I sometimes run out of gears on straight descents. Small chainring is just right at 34. One guy I ride with says I must be mad to want to change it, so there you go...
Had some problems with gear selection - one ring in particular I have to downshift twice and upshift to get it. Also the chain ring selector is ridiculously stiff, but I have to "double click" to shift, which is annoying. However, LBS owes me a free service, think messing with the cables should sort this...

Overall, I love my bike, and I look forward to riding it, and the bad points I raise above are annoyances at most. Would I buy one again? If it went under a car, and I was looking for something in the same price bracket, I would. But then again, I could see myself spending another £125 on the Focus Cayo...


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