My new bicycle; Bianchi Oltre Race
For months I've been looking around for a new bicycle. I bought my current bicycle (a Cannondale Synapse) back in 2018. According to my Strava Statistics I rode 31,226 kilometers with it over the years. It has been my true companion on the road for 8 years. But now it's time to say goodbye.
Growing maintenance costs
As you might know I'm riding my bicycle all year round. That means that it has to deal with all weather conditions. Especially the Dutch winters with a lot of rain, mud and road salt (when it freezes) take it's toll on the bicycle parts. I clean my bicycle frequently and can do some replacements myself (like gears and the chain), but recently my bicycle started to develop more issues. I had an issue with the front brake. I could still brake a bit, but I couldn't adjust it anymore. I also think some of the bearings could be replaced. And finally last week the cable leading to my rear derailler snapped.
Unfortunately these are replacements I'm not able to do myself. The new parts and labor costs would cost me at least a couple of hundred euro's.
With the purchase of a new bicycle in mind, I didn't want to spend this amount on my old bicycle anymore. So I had to speed up my process to look for a new one.
The Bicycle Shop
A friend recently recommended a bicycle shop nearby that is specialized in road bicycles, so I decided to pay them a visit yesterday. The shop owner indeed confirmed that repairing my old bicycle would be quite expensive. After discussing my wishes for a new bicycle he told me he might just have the right bicycle for me.
There were two things I wanted my new bicycle to have; electronic shifting and hydrolic disc brakes (instead of mechanical).
The bicycle he had; a Bianchi Oltre Race, has both. Since it's not the newest model, it was on sale. Despite it being on sale, the price was still high.
But I was really enthousiastic about the bicycle. The technique, the aerodynamic look and of course the typical celeste mat color Bianchi is famous for.
I took an option on the bicycle and headed back home to do some more research on the bicycle and the price.
The research
After arriving back home I started my reasearch and it didn't disappoint me. This bicycle had a lot of good reviews and could be a great successor for my old bicycle.
One of the cool things of living in The Netherlands is that many employers have regulations for financing bicycles. Employers do this to stimulate employees to get out of the car and come to work by bicycle. And so does my employer. Last year, my employer even raised amount because many people want to buy electric bicycles which can be very expensive.
The decision
Today I went back to the shop to make a test ride. I brought my pedals and shoes and tried out the bicycle. After the first few meters I was sold. What a great bicycle. The electronic shifing is really easy and fast and the hydrolic disc brakes give a lot more control over the bicycle.
After a few rounds around the block I drove back to the bicycle shop and bought the bicycle.
My first real ride
Unfortunately it has been raining the rest of the day, so I had to wait before I could go for my first real ride. So I decided to the parts from my old bike, such as my water bottle cage, mount for my navigation device and my repair kit.
My bicycle is ready for it's first ride, which I hope will be tomorrow.
I will surely keep you updated!
For the nerds, here are the specs:
Bianchi Oltre Race
Full carbon frame
Shimano 105 Di2 12-speed groupset (electronic shifting)
Front: 50-34
Rear: 11-34
Hydrolic Disc brakes
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these images. Feel free to share your perspective in the comments.
Friendlymoose
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Oooh what a beauty, I am jealous! I would love to have a racer / gravel next to my MTB but I have no room to put in anywhere, our shed is full with 6 bikes already. 😅
Shimano 105, nice! DO make sure you charge the battery with only one derailleur or you will regret it 😆 I've heard in podcasts people with two derailleurs switched the empty battery for the front one so they still had all back cogs to choose from.
I'm looking forward to your first ride experience and also whether you like the twelve speed, I also ride a twelve speed group set but the much cheaper Deore. At some road rides with a certain amount of headwind I find myself choosing between two gears where it would have been nice to have a wider range of gears and I always thought this was an MTB drawback but now I see racers also have 12 speeds. I guess this just takes time to get used to because in the last months with more total distance on the bike I got more used to the fact and it feels less of a problem.
Enjoy! The weather today is great for a longer distance and I will be doing a ride as well.
Thanks! Your garage problem is recognizable. I would probably like mountainbiking too if I tried it, but limited space, time, funds prevent me from buying another bicycle 😂
Since this bicycle is also used for commuting and I save quite a bit of money I otherwise should spend on train tickets (which keep on getting more expensive as you know), this is why I can justify this purchase.
It is! I have to see how the planning goes. I didn't have a great night with a kid that became sick and threw up a couple of times 🙄
But I might do a smaller ride, just to test it out.
You have fun with your ride. Is your daughter coming along again too?
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geen spatborden en verlichting maar wel electrische versnellingen 🙃
Veel plezier en veel veilige kilometers !
🎉🎉🥳 Congratulations 🥳🎊🎊
Your post has just been curated and upvoted by @Ecency , keep up the good work !
!PIMP
fenders on a road bike, that's just really ugly 😆 on group rides it's nice for the people behind you I'll give you that...
I do think he will at least attach a rear light, almost all sport cyclists do.
i hope he will use the lights there are already to many cyclist in Holland without those lights.
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Ik heb een spatbord die ik erop kan zetten bij slecht weer. Die is echt nodig, want modder in je naad is niet fijn 😅
Voor woon-werk in de winter heb ik hele goede verlichting (ook makkelijk demontabel). Opvallen als fietser, zeker als je sneller dan gemiddeld gaat, is heel belangrijk.
Bedankt!
I'm not a big fan of bicycles and my knowledge is limited. But this one has a really aerodynamic design. From the specifications, I only know that carbon frames are lighter and stronger.
However, what fascinates me most is the color. It's stunning.🩵
Enjoy your new toy, which you so desperately needed!
Thanks! I will certainly enjoy it!
Very nice! My old mtn bike is a Bianchi and I put a lot of miles on it before it was just too broken. I'm curious about the electronic shifter and how that is managed. Road bikes are a bit of a different breed from mtn bikes. I have some nice road tires on my mtn bike which helps the ride a lot but it's no where near as fast as a road bike.
Hope you enjoy your first ride with it!
I've done some research on them. This video by GCN explains perfectly how they work.
I just didn't want the hassle with manually configuring the gears anymore. I never seem to be able to configure a non rattling chain that reaches all gears with the configuration screws. But that probably is my incompetence 😀
🤓🥳
How beautiful, my goodness! Congratulations. Now you have a new companion who already makes you happy without even having used her yet.
I'll be waiting to hear how that Bianchi felt.
Thanks! I'll be sharing my rides with the community soon!
I feel a bit envy - your new friend is AWESOME!!!!
(Do you plan to keep the old one to use it during the autmn/winter season?)
!BEER
Thanks!
I'm so happy with it!
I got rid of the old one. It needed so many repairs before I could safely ride it again.
And the limited storage space in the garage is also a thing.
I suggested to keep my new bicycle in the living room since it's so beautiful, but my wife didn't agree 🤣
Does your apartment allow you to store your bike in the transition area between the living room and the front door? I did so myself for many years. (A living room is a bit too much, hehe! Rare wife would tolerate that.) If theft isn't a big concern, the space inside the entryway outside the apartment is also a suitable option. My bike stayed there thru all fall and winter.
!BEER
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BEER.Hey @friendlymoose, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @qwerrie for you. Enjoy it!Do you want to win SOME BEER together with your friends and draw the
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Thanks!
!discovery
!PIZZA
Congratulations, beautiful bike, it has so much personality! 😍🚲 I hope you enjoy it to the fullest!
$PIZZA slices delivered:
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Looks like an awesome ride. Can't wait to see the trips logged!
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Wow this seems to be a nice bike. Nice color! I hope you will have some nice time riding it.
Thanks! I've been driving it to work and back home today. Very happy already with this bicycle. Even with these relatively short rides.
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