Submitted by
Eric Z
a Weekend Warrior
from Bay Area, CA
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2008
Strengths: Looks good, Great Geometry, Fast, very responsive, nice fork, great parts for the price, and climbs like a goat!
Weaknesses: Rear wheel movement (to be expected with horizontal dropouts), stock pedals, had "www.bianchi.com" instead of "You bike sucks" sticker on the chainstay.
Bottom Line:
Great buy! Looks good and feels great right out of the box (except for pedals).
Submitted by
Sam
a Cross Country Rider
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2008
Strengths: Great geometry, smooth ride. Really light and responsive.
Weaknesses: Needs new pedals, but thats a given. Standover is a little tall for me even though I have the smallest size, not a problem once riding.
Bottom Line:
This is my favorite bike so far, can't bring myself to ride my others any more. Love the reba fork. Great in the mud we get here in the willamette valley. Bottom line, I can't stop riding her, trails I used to struggle with have become easy. I got lucky woke up one morning dreaming of a ss 29'r went to a local shop and there it was, and for a price $300 less than I had expected to spend, I had no choice.
Submitted by
creekchubb
a Cross Country Rider
from omaha
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2007
Strengths: No Ebb, fun, handling, ride quality. looks nice
Bottom Line:
Love this bike. I dont have to worry about a creaky slipping ebb, sliding drop outs are the way to go! so much fun to ride, i dont ride my other bikes anymore. This bike rids smooth, it seems to smooth out the bumps.
Submitted by
Will Skillman
a Cross Country Rider
from Cincinnati
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2007
Strengths: Light and Fast. Bike sticky tires. Great Brakes. NO GEARS.
Weaknesses: Crank, but SRAM replaced with no hassle.
Bottom Line:
This bike is faster and more fun than my GF full suspension bike. It rolls over anything and turns really tight. The gearing is perfect. I did break the Truvativ Crank on my second ride. SRAM replaced the crank and Smitty's had me back on the trail in two days. Great customer service. This is a great bike for the money. I rode a lot of bikes before I purchased the Rita.
Similar Products Used: Niner SIR9, Redline Monocog Flight, Salsa Dos Niner, Jamis Exile, GF Rig
Bike Setup: Stock. Added Race Face flat bars and Ergon grips.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan Gersbacher
a Cross Country Rider
from Placentia, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2007
Strengths: Handles great, Fast, Easy to maintain.
Weaknesses: Geared a little high for any real climbs. They put on the standard 32/18 ss gearing but to be the same as a 26" SS bike you will need to put a 21 cog on.
Bottom Line:
This is a great ride. It realy forces you to work though. I started riding about 2 years ago and stopped making any significant improvments after the first year. Now that I have been riding a SS anything I do on a geared bike seems easy. Now I have to either power up the hill or walk, there is no down shifting on a SS. This bike handles great almost everywhere(moderate climbs, single track, Fire roads). The nice thing about it being a 29r is that the bumps are smothed out by the big tires. Mine was 25.1 lbs stock. You can drop a couple more pounds by upgrading the bars, seat post, and tires. I looked at a lot of other bikes in this catigory before deciding on the Rita, the others were just way to pricy for what you get. Buy the rita! you wont regret it. It will become your first choice ride.
Perfect geometry for me. Felt like I had been on it for years the first ride. Amazed with how fast I was going without trying. Basically I don't think about anything and it just works, enough said.
Similar Products Used: GF rig, Flight 29, Cannondale(geared), Salsa(sweet decked out $$$)
Bike Setup: Stock, save for oury grips, Zu ZU pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Hairy F
a Racer
from Woodstock, GA USA
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2006
Strengths: Chain stay sticker. Frame and 100mm fork. So far so good with the fork. It has been a looong time since i owned a Rock Shock and i will be critical of its performance. The 100mm model allows for some good absorption and with a lockout its a snap to go rigid. Shaped frame tubing. Like the tensioning tabs for the rear wheel. The bike comes with Truvativ 175mm cranks and I prefer 170mm and square taper for N. GA mtns.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
I swapped all my components from my Van Dessel except the fork to this ride and it rides better and lighter then steel bikes I've been on. It is a medium and I am about 5'10. The first few rides I could tell a difference between the Van Dessel and the Bianchi from a geometry standpoint with the Bianchi being more comfortable for my platform. FYI Bike does not come with eccentric BB. Less gears, more beers!
Similar Products Used: Van Dessel Buzz Bomb, Gary Fisher Rig
Bike Setup: King Headset, Easton Carbon Bars, Am Classic wheels, Hayes El Caminos, Maxxis tires, Ritchey cranks and stem, Surley cog/chainring, Thompson seatpost
Late last year I cracked the rear rim on my Bianchi, which had wheels built with silver Velocity Blunt rims. I have since replaced them with white Stans Flows (same Hope hubs...ju Read More »
Hey everyone. I've got a question here that I think the crowd might help me with. I've got a chance to buy a 19.5" Bianchi Rita in really good condition. Under $700. The frame is t Read More »
Has anyone put this combo together?
My Reba is into season 6, and getting tired. I have a G2 fox to swap. I will run at 100mm.
If I recall the Rita 19.5 has a 71.5 HA.
As the Read More »
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