Discussion
I have been thinking of buying a road bike and getting into cycling by cycling to work. I had my eye on a Triban 3 but a mate is moving to work in Dubai and is looking to sell his Bianchi,I think its a via nirone 7 2009. I had a quick 5 minute test ride on Saturday (pissing down and I wasnt dressed correctly being on route to somewhere else) but I will be honest I haven't ridden a bike for 10 years and even then it was a mountain bike so not entirely sure what I should be looking for when test riding a bike, it did feel light and somewhat wierd but I would suggest that would be expected. He had it serviced last week and the LBS said its worth £500.
If I could get it for roughly the same price as a new Triban 3, would the Bianchi be a better purchase than the Triban 3 or would it depend on ultimately what I want. If I was to buy it what should I be checking on the test ride apart from the fact that gears all go up and down and both brakes work?
Would be great if there was an autotrader for road bikes to help me!
If I could get it for roughly the same price as a new Triban 3, would the Bianchi be a better purchase than the Triban 3 or would it depend on ultimately what I want. If I was to buy it what should I be checking on the test ride apart from the fact that gears all go up and down and both brakes work?
Would be great if there was an autotrader for road bikes to help me!
Ebay completed listings is your autotrader to get an idea of price (it is about 4 years old though now - how much was it new?). The main point is size though, there's no point spending £500 on a bike which doesn't fit you with a decent spec if you can spend £500 on something that does fit you with a worse spec.
Appreciate all the replies, I am going to test it on Thursday, anything in particular I should be doing during a test ride? Sounds as if the Bianchi is the way to go. As I have said complete newbie to road cycling so all very new to me. The bar tape looks pretty dirty, is this a sign of mis - use or over use and can it be changed easily i.e. by me?
If the bar tape is not black it can be a bugger to keep clean.
It might be possible to clean it but you can redo it for less than £10.
I wouldn't say its a sign of misuse, you should check the bike over for cracks in the welds, noisy/slack bearings, gear changing up and down, brakes etc.
It might be possible to clean it but you can redo it for less than £10.
I wouldn't say its a sign of misuse, you should check the bike over for cracks in the welds, noisy/slack bearings, gear changing up and down, brakes etc.
cst said:
If the bar tape is not black it can be a bugger to keep clean.
It might be possible to clean it but you can redo it for less than £10.
I wouldn't say its a sign of misuse, you should check the bike over for cracks in the welds, noisy/slack bearings, gear changing up and down, brakes etc.
Agreed. Cracks, dents and misuse are the problems: check the fork very carefully. Check the wheel rims for wear too if its been well used (road muck wears the rims as well as the pads). It might be possible to clean it but you can redo it for less than £10.
I wouldn't say its a sign of misuse, you should check the bike over for cracks in the welds, noisy/slack bearings, gear changing up and down, brakes etc.
Oh, and "Bee-an-ki".
Thanks for all the feedback, friend has confirmed that its a Bianchi C2C Nirone which is 3 years old and he is looking for £350. Going to test it tonight, assuming it all works and its in decent nick plan on buying it, hopefully getting some money off it.
Apparently he has an issue getting the seat to move as it seems to be stuck, when it was serviced the lbs said some lubrication would move it but he hasn't done this yet and mentioned that he needs to get another LBS to look at it. Obviously the seat not moving is a concern, is it enough to not bother buying it?
Apparently he has an issue getting the seat to move as it seems to be stuck, when it was serviced the lbs said some lubrication would move it but he hasn't done this yet and mentioned that he needs to get another LBS to look at it. Obviously the seat not moving is a concern, is it enough to not bother buying it?
. Probably just overtight. Bought it for £350, gave it a clean yesterday, changing the bar tape today, will get a picture up when I have finished. Really light, had a quick ride yesterday, looking forward to the good weather!! any tips on removing pedals? It has SPDs but I want to start with normal pedals and work up to them. Had a go yesterday, they seem solid and don't budge
AMG01 said:
Bought it for £350, gave it a clean yesterday, changing the bar tape today, will get a picture up when I have finished. Really light, had a quick ride yesterday, looking forward to the good weather!! any tips on removing pedals? It has SPDs but I want to start with normal pedals and work up to them. Had a go yesterday, they seem solid and don't budge
Right-hand pedal = right hand threadLeft-hand pedal = left hand thread
Catches nearly everyone out, at least once!
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