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Submitted by
lee philippi
a Weekend Warrior
from phoenixville, pa USA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Estes Park Colo | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Dave's Bike Shop St | | Strengths: | lug frame, tight geometry, bullet proof | | Weaknesses: | none as long as you keep up with maintenance | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | brakes and shifters have been upgraded, still Shimano brand,
Softride suspension, Ritchy handlebars, Cateye computer | | Bottom Line: | Bought bike new in 86, have ridden in MN, CO, WI, NJ, PA. Gave to a friend who let it sit for 2 years. Got it back and for less than $100 I'm back on the trails. Riding position does put you forward and I've been "Over the bars" a few times. You need to position yourself farther back on the seat to avoid this. Local bike shop referred to it as "Vintage" They don't make em' like this anymore. I don't see myself riding anything else in the near future. FYI I'm 63 yrs. old!
Keep the wheels under you! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
maatin brando
a Cross Country Rider
from raleigh nc, seattle wa
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | the tighter the better | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$23.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay of course | | Strengths: | light weight for old steel frame, looong top tube (very hard to get at this price range)it has lugz!!! OF A SORT ANYWAY good basic geometry which means for than anything in the lonog run along with the comfy ride | | Weaknesses: | i never liked them there vertical dropouts on the rear wheelstays but whatchagonnado? 1" headtube limits options somewhat. | | Similar Products Used: | steel: brodie, kona, special ed, nishiki, raleigh, gary wisher, trek, rocky mountain, dekerf, fat chance, khs
aluminum: cannondale, trek, raleigh...uhh, didnt car for ANY aluminum bike | | Bike Setup: | bunch of 2nd hand stuff from ebay, STX der's with gripshift, softride stem and tektro brakes....nothing fancy but its all durable and relatively lightweight and with minor mods, pretty much as good as its ever gonna get unless i shell out for complete xtr...aint gonna happen. | | Bottom Line: | look at bikes owned...i owned most everything cause i been riding since day-1 when the only mtn. bike avail was a small-rear wheel cannondale or high priced warrior.
anyway, been through a lot of'em. wish i had the brodie or rocky or kona...those were sweet high end steel bikes. but you know what, this little podunk bianchi keeps me from upgrading because it is relatively light (25.6 lbs. with nothing fancy-lightweight on it!)
this is in the same league of comfort, manueverability and indestructiveness as my old steel specialized rockhopper but lighter, as light as my trek tru-temper oxII frame but tougher and with a longer top tube. I REALLY LIKE This bike, even better is the GRIzzly bianchi but cant find them quite as cheap. anyway, maybe the best bang for the buck on a 1996 frame out there, will not ever sell this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chet
a Cross-Country Rider
from Chas, WV
Date Reviewed: December 7, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Blackbear | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Climbs like a goat. Lightweight for steel. Ritchey megabite tires lasted/performed well. A great feel. | | Weaknesses: |
Stock rims a little soft. Bar end bolts slam top tube when you crash. DAMN CHAIN | | Similar Products Used: |
GT Rebound/ Cannondale m600/ GT tequesta/ KHS Alite 4000 | | Bike Setup: |
Manitou EFC Fork with speedsprings. STX-RC components. | | Bottom Line: | Great bike for the buck. Once I upgraded to front suspension I was pleased with bike. Had to have bottom bracket and chain replaced within first month, but after that all is well. Four flamin chilis! | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CX
a Cross-Country Rider
from Ottawa
Date Reviewed: May 27, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
good for tough climbs and easy downhills. Good sturdy frame with something i haven't seen before..overtop of the major welds metal renforcements cover up the joint. I don't know if this gives it any major stuctural support. | | Weaknesses: |
The chain seemed to break in no time and the handle bars hit the top bar | | Bike Setup: |
standard setup with a knew chain and front sprocket | | Bottom Line: | a good bike overall but i wouldn't trust it for long rides seems to fall apart after extended use without maintanace. Clean the chain often or else it will start to click around. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dloh
a weekend warrior
from Somerville, MA
Date Reviewed: January 12, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Bought 1998 model on sale at REI for $300. Rode well--for the first two rides, then the chain broke. Got it replaced for free. Now the chain skips a bit on the larger freewheels (will have to replace or adjust the chain). Yet, I like the bike. It climbs well and is stable on downhills. I can't, however, recommend it to anyone else based on my experience. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sean
a weekend warrior
from CA
Date Reviewed: March 21, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I got this bike in March of 97 and it was a 95' model, so it was only $299 instead of $540. Killer Deal!!! It is light, sturdy, and climbs like a mountain goat! My only complaints are that the cables for the shifters and
rear brakes run along the top tube, and for some reason that section of the cables isn't covered, so they bang on the paint. My other complaint is that
the screw on the Onza bar ends that came with it scraped on the top tube if
the handlebars swung too far around. When I tried to raise the handlebars as instructed in the manuel, it didn't work. Otherwise this bike is perfect!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ben
a cross-country rider
from ohio
Date Reviewed: October 12, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I've been a roadie for about two years and have been off road for about a month with theis bike. It climbs real well and handles well on light technical. Overall, I found it to be a good bike. However, I got some major chainsuck and collapsed the right chainstay. The whole side was mashed. Besides the frame now being destroyed, it was a good bike. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris H.
a weekend warrior
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: July 31, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
For the money this is a good buy, particularly if you can get a '96 model. The geometry does put you forward, but you can always change the stem easily enough, but being flatter helps climbing big time. I have a longer torso (sp?) and shorter legs, so this bike suits me perfectly. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Evan Dorn
a cross-country rider
from Boise, ID
Date Reviewed: June 14, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
The saga rolls on... Today (day 2), I tested (now six) bikes in the $450-$650
range to get an across-the board comparison. The terrain is the same as
yesterday, with drops, boulders, steep, sand, gravel, etc. Results:
I was unimpressed by the Osprey. The geometry put my upper body weight far
forward over the stem, making the steering overreactive and squirrely,
similar to the lowend stumpjumper I described yesterday. It was especially
difficult to navigate the bike down narrow, steep sections of 4 deep sand-
the bike wanted to overcorrect and jump one way or the other. Another
consequence of the geometry was the bike's increased tendency to endo-
I was nearly thrown twice on stuff I navigated fine on fisher and cannondale
bikes.
At first, I was skeptical of the tektro brakes after spending two days almost
exclusively on alivios. However, they seemed fine and were quite rigid and
grippy. After I go back and try them one more time, I'll write a separate
review.
All in all, I think there are better bikes in the price range. To my taste,
both the mongoose alta and the Fisher Mamba have superior geometries, and the
Mamba has a suspension fork (Quadra 5)... and both are within $50 of the
Bianchi. 2 stars at best.
| Overall Rating: |
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