aabb

Hi. I'm looking into the Infinito CV as an endurance bike. I was quoted close to 5k for the model with rim mechanical brakes and 6k for disc hydraulic brakes. Both are Ultegra.

My knowledge of bikes is very limited, but I thought hydraulic = good and mechanical = not so good. If I am paying 5k (Canadian) shouldn't I be getting the disc hydraulic model? Will the difference be significant? It seems with Bianchis I am paying a large premium for name and colour (I just love that Celeste).

thanks in advance

unterhausen

I'm not really the target market for a bike that expensive. But yeah, bikes seem to have jumped in price, and I'm not sure why. there was a period where I thought they were kinda cheap.

clasher

Bianchis in Canada definitely have a premium price. If you're close to the border you might save money buying it in the states.

microcord

If your knowledge of bikes is very limited (and very likely even if it isn't), that's a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a bike. Generations of cyclists were perfectly able to stop well using mechanical rim brakes and successfully rode up and down hills using transmissions that didn't work as smoothly or reliably as today's Tiagra.

Buy a decent used bike in your size, ride it, and decide if you like it. If you don't like it much, you'll have a better idea of what you want. If you do like it, pay to have the frame painted celeste.

Barrettscv 

First decide if the model fits you and decide if you have a skilled and supportive bike shop to guarantee your investment. Looking at random models of bikes is less than ideal unless you're a highly experienced buyer and know what your ideal fit is.

As a comparison, Canyon sells the Endurace SL with 105 and hydraulic disc brakes for US $2000, see: https://www.canyon.com/en-us/road-bi...-7.0/2184.html

aabb

I have looked at canyon but I am very frustrated that they don’t ship to Canada. Even on the us website a lot of the really good deals are always out of stock when I check. I suspect they are just playing mind games with those who are interested otherwise who the heck wouldn’t want to sell more bikes?

Barrettscv 

I purchased this model Endurace two years ago. My purchase has been positive, but I'm aware that buying from Canyon is not always possible or a good experience. Canyon seems to be unable to maintain stock and some buyers complain about quality issues. Canyon does offer good value and buying a similar bike at retail will always cost more, but it shouldn't cost double or triple.

You might look at the bikes offered at Ribble or Merlin in the UK, they probably ship to Canada.

Also check this website: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/r...sZToxOjM2Og==#

I purchased a Ridley frameset from Competitive a year ago and I am super happy with the purchase: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/r...sZToxOjM2Og==#

Jno

I was in the same boat, my heart set on the Infinito with rim brakes. Since then, I continue to love the ride and the geometry, and I don’t think about the price (which I agree is imposing); it’s like buying a house - they’re all too expensive but once you buy it, your focus shifts to other things.

With respect to brakes: I’ve not “needed” discs in mountains in Vermont or Seattle. I wished for them in France but that wasn’t enough to make me regret rim brakes overall. The only thing is that wheel upgrade options are more extensive for disc brakes as industry moves away from rim ones so on those grounds, I wonder if I should have got discs.

aabb

thanks for the input. I think I will go with a Domane sl 5. Bianchis are just too overpriced and have just a huge premium for the name in my opinion.

kingston 

A few years ago I was looking at getting a carbon endurance bike and test rode a few including the Domane and the Infinito CV. At the time I thought it was worth the premium over other bikes in that category. I'm normally skeptical of marketing gimmicks like Countervail®, but this time I thought I noticed the difference. Who knows? I also prefer to buy framesets instead of complete bikes since I hate Shimano. MSRP on the 2020 Emonda SLR frameset is $3300 vs. $3500 for the Infinito CV, which I think is a more accurate apples-to-apples comparison and not that significant of a price difference.

rm -rf

I got my Infinito with Di2 in Sept 2014. It was ridiculously (for me) expensive.
25,000 miles later, it's still fantastic. A lot of that is due to it being a good fit for me. And I love the Di2 on rolling hills. I've never regretted getting it.

For me, it's fast, responsive bike that I can ride comfortably for hours.