Bianchi Aria Aero Carbon Road Bike - £2250 + £1000 extras

Description

Bianchi Aria Aero Carbon Road Bike - £2250 + £1000 extras

Size 55cm

£950 O.N.O

Here we have a trulyexcellent example of a lovely aero amazing bike made by one of the most prestigiousbrands out there, Bianchi! Grab yourself some Italian sheek for a bargainprice!

This bike sold as standardfor £2250 in 2018 but this bike has had constant uprades throughout, slashingits build weight and quite frankly upping its speed, the groupset as standardwas Campag Centaur but the brakes where changed to Super Record (£230 alone!!),the shifter Campag Record (£280), the bar and stem changed to Deda Zero, thewheels changed to USB Aluminium Rim Carbon Aero 35mm fairing wheels. It isbasically a different bike and the upgrades costed more than the asking priceon their own.

The bike is in excellentcondition throughout, opnly blemish to be found are some light marks on the toptube, these are not scratches or damage of any sort but they are marks so Iwill always mention them.

New owner will be very happywith it!!

Bike radar review below:-

Bianchi Aria

£2,249.99

VERDICT:

8

10

A fast-reacting aero road bike in arace geometry for those with a need for speed

Weight:

8,250g

The Aria is hardly a budget optionbut it does bring Bianchi's aero bike range down to a more affordable (yes,it's all relative) level.

The first thing you notice whenriding the Aria is just how punchy it is and how ready to respond to increasedeffort. I went back and double-checked the weight of our 57cm model – 8.25kg(18.19lb) – because in use it feels a lot lighter and more chuck-aroundablethan that.

The oversized bottom bracket shell(it's home to a press-fit 86.5 x 41 BB) holds everything in check well when youcrank up the power, while the tapered head tube (1 1/8in upper bearing, 1 1/4inlower bearing) and full-carbon fork prove similarly solid at the front end. Icouldn't detect any flex either when cornering hard or throwing the bike aroundon steep climbs.

One of the Aria's other attributesis easy manoeuvrability. Some aero bikes are good for straight-line speed butthey're single minded and don't much like to deviate from that. The Aria ismore than happy to flick from one line to another to navigate through a groupor avoid something unexpected in the road.

Dragreducing

The Aria boasts many featuresdesigned to reduce drag, the most obvious being the fork legs and frame tubesthat are slim and deep-section. The fork crown is integrated into the frame,the down tube is dropped with a slight cutaway around the front wheel, and theseat tube is cutaway around the rear wheel.

Bianchi says that the design of theslim seatstays was inspired by that of its Aquila time trial bike. These meetthe seat tube low down to reduce the frontal area and manage the airflow in therear brake area. The seatpost has an aero profile and comes with a wedge-typeclamp that's recessed into the top tube.

Bianchi says that the bike 'has beenheavily inspired by our extensive wind tunnel testing and cooperation with proriders', although it doesn't say whether the Aria itself has been subject toCFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis or taken to the wind tunnel, anddoesn't put any specific figures on the bike's aero performance.

We don't have access to a windtunnel and we're not in the business of guessing, so the furthest I'll go is tosay that lots of tried and tested aero features are present and correct here.

With most of the drag when ridingcoming from you, the rider, rather than the bike, it's important that you getinto an efficient riding position, and the Aria is designed to help you dothat. Clearly, there wouldn't be much point going to the trouble of developingaero tube shapes and then having the rider sit bolt upright in the saddle.

The Aria is available in eightdifferent sizes from itty bitty 44cm right up to a big ol' 61cm. I've been ridingthe 57cm model (I'm actually between Bianchi sizes; I could do with a 58cm Ariabut there's no such thing) which has a 570mm effective seat tube (it would be570mm if the top tube was horizontal) and a 560mm effective top tube. The headtube on this model is 155mm, which is certainly short.

The stack on this model is 557mm andthe reach is 395mm. To save you the trouble of translating all those figuresinto something that actually makes sense, the bottom line is that the Aria putsyou into a low, flat backed riding position when you're down on the drops, whichis exactly what you'd expect.

All of the Aria's figures are thesame as those of Bianchi's top-level Oltre XR4, as ridden by Team LottoNL-Jumboin the world's biggest races, so you know what you're going to get here. Thisis a racing geometry aimed at riders with a need for speed. If you want a highfront end for comfort, well, you can run a few spacers underneath the stem but,really, this isn't the best setup for you.

The Aria provides quite a firm ride,which isn't a euphemism for harsh – it's certainly not that. There's not awhole lot of up/down frame flex but the 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyres offer adecent level of road buzz damping while the flat San Marco Quadra saddle comeswith a generous amount (by race bike standards) of Biofoam padding. There's alot of flex in the glass-fibre-reinforced shell too. Taken as a whole, though,the Aria feels more solid and sturdy than soft and yielding. I didn't feel theride was as smooth as that of the (much more expensive) Bianchi Oltre XR4, forexample.

We told you previously that Campagnolo was bringing its Centaur groupset back frombeyond the grave and this is the first bike we've had in for reviewwith the new version fitted. It's now 11-speed and features technology that hastrickled down from the brand's higher level groupsets.

It's worth saying that the Ergopowercontrols provide all the comfort of Campag's top-level levers and theVari-Cushion natural silicone hoods are grippy even when rain or sweat has madethem wet.

The other key feature, as far as I'mconcerned, is that the dual pivot brakes (front and rear) are good. Reallygood. I rode a bike fitted with the Centaur groupset when Campag took me out tothe launch and I've ridden the Aria with a couple of different wheelsetsfitted, and the brakes have bitten hard on all of them. Seriously, you'll besurprised. It's particularly impressive given that Centaur is Campag'sfifth-tier groupset.

The one groupset component choice Ihad an issue with was the compact chainset (50/34-tooth chainrings). An aerobike necessarily has an emphasis on speed – that's in its DNA – so I'd ratherhave a 52/36-tooth chainset (Centaur isn't available in a 53/39-tooth option)to keep piling on the power that little bit longer on the descents. That's anindividual preference, obviously.

Speaking of racing, Bianchi bills upthe Aria as being suitable for triathlon if you fit some clip-on aero bars. Ofcourse, you could fit aero bars to any road bike with a suitable handlebar, butI guess the point Bianchi is making is that an aero frame with a short headtube has better tri credentials than most. Fair enough. That said, the seatangle on our 57cm review bike is 73.5 degrees which is well short of whatyou'll find on a dedicated time trial/triathlon bike, so getting into a fullaero tuck will always be more of a strain.



Overall

The Bianchi Aria might not havequite the glamour of the Oltres, but it's still a solid proposition. It comesequipped with tried and tested aero features, handles sharply and reacts fast.If you're after something relaxed for getting in the big miles in comfort thenthis isn't the best choice for you, but if you're performance-driven and you'relooking for a like-minded bike, the Aria is definitely worth checking out.

Verdict

A fast-reacting aero road bike in arace geometry for those with a need for speed

road.cc test report

Make and model: Bianchi Aria

Size tested: 57cm

About the bike

Frame Aria carbon,mechanical/electronic shifting compatible, PressFit 86,5x41mm BB, head tube 11/8in-1 1/4in, integrated seat clamp, full carbon dropout

Fork Bianchi Full Carbon Aero

Headset FSA Orbit C-33, NO.44E, 11/8in - 1 1/4in

Shifters Campagnolo Record PowerShift 11sp Ergopower

Rear derailleur Campagnolo Record11sp

Front derailleur Campagnolo Centaur

Crankset Campagnolo Centaur Potenza Ultra-Torqueblack, 50/34T,

BB Campagnolo Ultra Torque OS-Fitintegrated cups 86, 5x41mm

Chain KMC X11-1 EPT finish

Sprocket Campagnolo Potenza 11sp11-29T

Brakes Campagnolo Super Record (dualpivot F+R)

Brake levers included w/shifters –Campagnolo Record

Wheels USB Aluminium Rim Carbon Aero35mm Wheelset

Tire Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Slick700x25

Stem – DEDA Zero 1

Handlebar – DEDA Zero 2



Seatpost Bianchi Full Carbon Aero,offset 20mmm, length: 250mm-44cm, 300mm-47/50cm, 350mm-53/61cm

Saddle Selle Royal Seta S1

Bianchi says this:

"The Bianchi Aria is a fastperformance-oriented aero road bike. Built for lovers of speed, it is theperfect partner for your road challenges.



I amperfectly happy to post a bike which I have done so many times without issue,price will be £75 with full insurance

Posted: 7 hours ago

Ad ID: 1508833528