Range topper Oltre celebrates company's 125th birthday
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The Bianchi Oltre road flagship is also available in this stealthy matte black.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi adds a high-end 'cross bike with the Canaria.(Image credit: James Huang)
The tall and fat chain stays are matched to thin seat stays.(Image credit: James Huang)
Urban fixie riders can look to Bianchi's Pista Dalmine with its flat bar and front and rear rim brakes.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Bianchi Pista Sei Giorni could certainly be used around town but less skilled riders might want to add some brakes.(Image credit: James Huang)
Steel inserts on the Pista dropouts protect the frame from aggressively knurled axle nuts.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi includes a BB30 bottom bracket on the new Sempre.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi aims the new Sempre at fast recreational riders.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Sempre uses a conventional non-tapered, integrated head tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi is currently the official bike sponsor for the Ceramica Flaminia team.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi claims the chain stay ports in the D2 time trial/triathlon bike lend greater rigidity to the tube by adding surface area.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi's D2 time trial platform carries on in 2011 as the Pico Crono.(Image credit: James Huang)
The internally routed derailleur cables exit down by the bottom bracket.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Oltre is Bianchi's new top-end road frame.(Image credit: James Huang)
Stays on the Canaria are slightly flattened for better rider comfort.(Image credit: James Huang)
A flattened underside on the Canaria top tube should make for less painful run-ups.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Bianchi Methanol SL is fitted with a BB30-compatible bottom bracket shell.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi's top-end mountain bike is the Methanol 26" carbon hardtail.(Image credit: James Huang)
Ribbed extensions from the top tube and down tube wrap around the sides of the head tube to prevent torsional flex.(Image credit: James Huang)
The stout-looking rear end features medium-sized tubing throughout.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi has adopted the BB30 standard across much of its upper-end range.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bianchi says the all-carbon fork on the Oltre weighs just 350g.(Image credit: James Huang)
The top tube on the Oltre wraps partially around the sides of the tapered head tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
The aluminum seatmast head on the Pico Crono boasts a wide range of fore-aft adjustability.(Image credit: James Huang)
Sitting at the top of Bianchi's 2011 road range is the new Oltre, created in part to celebrate the company's 125th anniversary and boasting the most comprehensive list of features yet from the Italian brand.
Claimed weight is 930g for a 55cm frame plus 350g for the matching fork, which now sports a tapered steerer tube for more precise handling. The correspondingly larger head tube affords a bigger joint with the down tube for more front triangle stiffness along with Bianchi's 'X-Tex' internal structuring, which essentially reinforces the internal surfaces of the front end with a lattice of extra material.
An oversized BB30-compatible bottom bracket shell similarly allows for a bigger down tube, seat tube, and chain stay, but as is becoming increasingly common these days they're matched to very thin seat stays for rider comfort.
Additional details include carbon nanotube-reinforced resins, internal cable routing and an integrated seatmast.
Complementing the Oltre is the new Sempre, which is aimed more at fast recreational riders than pure racers. Claimed frame weight for 55cm sample creeps up to 1,100g due to the less advanced fiber blend and thicker tube walls and the Sempre also makes do with a non-tapered carbon fork and alloy steerer.
Cable routing is external on the Sempre and the top of the frame is fitted with a conventional telescoping seatpost but the bottom bracket is still BB30-compatible.
With 'cross season just around the corner, Bianchi fans can also look to the new carbon Cavaria model and its impressive 1,080g claimed frame weight. In addition to the usual increase mud clearance and cantilever mounts, the Cavaria sports a heavily shaped top tube for easier shouldering and flattened chain- and seat stays for better comfort on rougher courses.
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Bianchi adds a high-end 'cross bike with the Cavaria.
Up front is a non-tapered fork with carbon blades and an alloy steerer tube and all of the cables are routed across the top tube to help shield them from mud and debris. Barrel adjusters are integrated into the rear brake and front derailleur stops to ease setup and maintenance, too.
Bianchi has a strong background in cross-country mountain bike racing, too, with the top spot occupied by the 1,170g Methanol SL. Key features include a wall-to-wall rib running vertically inside the down tube for extra rigidity, an integrated seatmast (that can also be trimmed and fitted with a standard 31.6mm post if desired), a BB30-compatible bottom bracket shell, and reinforcing ribs that wrap around the sides of the straight head tube to lend additional torsional stiffness.
