Newbie saying hello, advice on bike choice?

[barnesy]

Hey,

Up until now ive been a runner, done a few local marathons and enjoyed cycling at the weekend to get a bit of cross training in. Ive been enjoying cycling more and have decided to get myself a better bike.
Ive been reading the forums for a while and the price id like to spend keeps going up. At the minute im happy with spending anywhere between £600 and £800
Ive had a look at the Bianchi Via Nirone with Veloce for £800 in my LBS. Pretty sure that i will go with this, unless i cant bear spending that much and opt for the Sora £525 or if i can find any better deals on the internet. Ive read somewhere that the Focus Cayo came down in price as low as £800, is this true?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Noodley]

Hi barnesy,

Bianchi Via Nirone Veloce is a great bike. I've had mine for a couple of years.

Looking at wiggle, the Cayo is 999.

P.S. your not THE barnesy are you? This one:

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuRbIocUffw

 

[barnesy]

Lol ive never seen that before, i can safely say thats not me. Wish i had his hair though...

Id love to go with my LBS because its my first road bike, and its good to get to know the guys who work there i suppose. Love the look of the Bianchis but they have no Xenon or Mirage so its a big jump in price from the Sora to the Veloce.
Will i notice a difference for the extra £275 between the two?

It will be mainly for weekend long rides and hopefully a few centuraries

 

[bonj2]

don't get sora, they've got that weird thumb lever

 

[Noodley]

Will i notice a difference for the extra £275 between the two?

I was in a similar position to you when I was looking, and posted a question on the old Cycling Plus website. I was torn between Mirage and Veloce, and was looking at the price. I have been given much good advice on cycling forums, and I still maintain the best advice I was ever given was to go for Veloce. I can even remember the name of the person who gave the advice.

Not sure if you will notice the difference, but you may get the Sora and think "I wonder just how good the Veloce is compared to this"...

 

[barnesy]

Yeah i dont want to buy something then a few months later regret not getting the better equipped one. But being a student sometimes price does swing things.
Im hoping whatever bike i buy will take me round ireland next summer, just over 1000 miles.

The guy in the shop showed me those thumb shifters on the sora and they looked like they would be a little difficult to use when using the drops.

Something maybe worth throwing in he has an ultegra equipped Via Nirone which he is also doing for £800 but its an older model either 2006 or 2007 i think

 

[Noodley]

....he has an ultegra equipped Via Nirone which he is also doing for £800 but its an older model either 2006 or 2007 i think

Okay, that could open up the old Campag v Shimano debate

I'd still go for a newer model Veloce.

It's an Italian bike it needs Italian components

Try to get a free service out of them after a few months (most LBS will usually do this anyway) and maybe ask if he could throw in a saddlepack and some spares as you are a poor student (I got a few extras when I got mine as I paid cash - if you are going for 0% credit it may be more difficult but not impossible).

I know it's a bit awkward to ask for add-ons, but if you don't ask you don't get: worst case scenario is he says no.

 

[barnesy]

Ive almost made my mind up to go down and hand over the cash tomorrow but another thing threw me.

Now seems to be the time of year most bikes are being discounted, and the Bianchi im looking at is down by £50 (not bad i suppose). But i mentioned before about the focus cayo. In reading threads from here i see that 2007 cayos went for £800 in and around feburary? Judging from this post anyway:

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=186463

Was this true and if so could they be pushing the 2008 cayos out for similar money at the start of next year?

 

[TheDoctor]

Hang on...
Sora has the thumb shifter, but don't Campag have a thumb shifter too?

 

[PaulB]

All I can say on this debate is that I absolutely love my Bianchi Via Nirone with Veloce. When I say love, I mean the kind of love a man can truly feel for a bike. The kind of love the fools out there laugh at and get embarrassed by. But that's only because they are scared of confronting it. The fools. The poor, blind fools.

 

[Paulus]

Hang on...
Sora has the thumb shifter, but don't Campag have a thumb shifter too?

Yes they do Doc. You are quite correct.

 

[Paulus]

Ive almost made my mind up to go down and hand over the cash tomorrow but another thing threw me.

Now seems to be the time of year most bikes are being discounted, and the Bianchi im looking at is down by £50 (not bad i suppose). But i mentioned before about the focus cayo. In reading threads from here i see that 2007 cayos went for £800 in and around feburary? Judging from this post anyway:

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=186463

Was this true and if so could they be pushing the 2008 cayos out for similar money at the start of next year?

Morning barnsey. At this time of the year most bike shops will be looking to get rid of 2008 bikes. Have a chat with your LBS, you say he has already come down £50, If he can't come down any further , you may be able to get some goodies thrown in with the bike.

 

[barnesy]

Well i picked up my 2008 Bianchi via nirone Veloce today. Got fitted and am going back tomorrow with my shoes to get further fittings done.
It was £850 down to £800, i didnt really get round to asking him to throw anything in free however he gave me 2 spare tubes and a 750ml celeste colour bianchi bottle and bottle cage.
Had a wee 5.5 mile spin on it, first time on a road bike and first time trying clipless pedals so i know i must have looked odd because i was using one clipped in shoe and one normal shoe incase of emergencies.
I was a little uneasy at high speeds on the bike, didnt feel stable taking hands off to indicate but other than that it was much faster, alot more maneuverable and so easy to climb on.
I hope i get a good few happy miles out of it

 

[Danny]

Sounds like you got a good deal. Personally I would rather get a bike from a shop that takes the time to adjust it so it fits correctly, than one that just wants to offload it on me at the lowest price and doesn't bother to set it up properly.

Enjoy your ride.

PS You could always fit stabilisers until you feel more confident on the bike