[Feels_Good]

I have had a a Bianchi Pista for about a year and a half now. I originally got it for track racing, but lately I have been commuting on it and riding it around town, too. It's been a great bike, but I have a couple of issues with it and I'm hoping I can get some answers to a couple of questions:

1. The bike is loud for a fixie. The chain makes so much noise on the sprocket and chainring that it is annoying at times. Aren't fixies supposed to be quiet? If so, why would my bike not be quiet and what can I do to make it quiet?

2. I find myself wanting a water bottle cage, but the frame has no mounting screws. Has anyone come across a reasonably elegant solution for putting a cage on a bike that has no mounting screws?

Thanks in advance,
Feels_Good

 

[SS4life]

I really don't know what you might do about the chain making noice exept for maybe chain lube? I know this sounds to obvious and I don't want to sound like I'm making fun of you but I seem to get in this kind of lazy mindset were I think that since my fixie really doesn't need much maintenance it ends up getting none at all. This Includes not lubing the chain for quite a long time. As for the water bottles a good shop should be able to thread some mounts into your frame. It really shouldn't look to bad.

 

[Kennetht638]

My fixie makes a good deal of noise too. It's partially because one of the teeth on my chainring is a little messed up, but mostly it happens when the weather is good because I use DuMonde Tech lube which is thinner, drier, and less messy than the Finish Line Cross Country lube that I use in the winter. When I use the Finish Line lube, my drivetrain is dead silent, but extremely messy and annoying to work with.

For bottle cages, I just looked at bottle accessories at Nashbar and came up with a lot of solutions.

 

[mordecai]

1. Not sure yet. My Pista makes the same noise.
2.Two Fish. These guys make bottle cages you can stap on with elastic without drilling.

 

[scrublover]

1) really eyeball your chainline. if it's off, sometimes even a little, things can be really noisy. sometimes a *slightly* skewed sideways rear wheel can do it, as well.

2) second the twofish strap on bottle mount. or, drill the frame and stick in some riv-nuts.

 

[Guest]

how tight is the chain?

I guess if duct tape is not elegant I have no solution for your waterbottle.

I don't know what chain comes on a pista but alot of oem chains suck a new shimano or sram chain might help. Lube is good to as already mentioned alot of people do not lube their single speed/fixed gear enough. People also tend to run their chain to tight on fixed gear bicycles a chain that is to tight will make noise there should be some play in your chain.

 

[Fast Freddy]

I think the loudness of the drivetrain has had some great suggestions... you can also try another chain....

as for cages.... you can always have a shop instal the screw in rivets for cages... most of the time there is no issues with this (but catch a shop on a bad day and your doomed). I run a Profile AquaRack on my fixie - mounts to the seatpost and hold 2 bottles - no worries with the thighs as it is behind the seat. I used to run a 2Fish velcro cage but I didn't like the looks of the wide velcro strap on my bike (just me - it worked fine though). I like the AquaRack as It has room for a waterbottle as well as the bottle battery for my lights...

FF

 

[teamdicky]

Kinda the same thing.

I think the loudness of the drivetrain has had some great suggestions... you can also try another chain....

as for cages.... you can always have a shop instal the screw in rivets for cages... most of the time there is no issues with this (but catch a shop on a bad day and your doomed). I run a Profile AquaRack on my fixie - mounts to the seatpost and hold 2 bottles - no worries with the thighs as it is behind the seat. I used to run a 2Fish velcro cage but I didn't like the looks of the wide velcro strap on my bike (just me - it worked fine though). I like the AquaRack as It has room for a waterbottle as well as the bottle battery for my lights...

FF

I use the same thing but I dremmeled off one bottle mount. I only needed it for 24 hour races and I was looking for something sleeker. I figured that they probably make single bottle holders, but I had to work with what the shop had at the time.
Also, my chain gets noisy after some nasty days of riding. A few minutes with some degreaser and dish soap and it is back to quiet. If your's is already clean than it could be too tight, a mismatch of wear between the cog, chain, and ring, or bad chainline. Only reasons I know of. After riding fixy for years and doing it at least 5 X's a week I can "feel" the resistance of a dirty chain and I pitch them when my Park tool indicates .75 stretch. I want it to feel like butter.

 

[daveIT]

some info on the Pista

Info from Bikeforums.net Do a search there and you'll find a wealth of info about the Pista!

 

[joyride1x1]

I had a noisy drivetrain on my fixie that I remedied by putting in a new BB with a shorter spindle. Check out your chain line and determine which way it's angled then see if you can get away with changing your BB spindle length.