Patboon5

]Hi community,

Need your opinion here- bike is going to be used for commuting 7 miles one way to work a few times a week! I have two close friends selling me their bikes and don't know which one I should go with.. they are close to age and condition wise the Scattante CFR is almost brand new with little hours on the sattle. While the Bianchi RS has more wear and tear.. they are both carbon fiber I believe.. which one would you buy? They are both being sold to me for $500.00.. thank for your support..

Ps- not sure why the Bianchi image won't rotate when uploaded
Cheers,

Patrick

no1mad 

First you got to figure out what size of bike fits you. If neither of those fits, don't waste your money.

Maelochs

Buy them both.

Without more info it is impossible to choose. All we know is that these are pretty expensive bikes relative to their sale prices, and either equally adequate for the task you describe.

SkyDog75

I think the Bianchi is a 2007 928:
2007 Bianchi 928 - BikePedia

If so, it's an aluminum frame with carbon fiber seat stays and fork -- same as my '06 Bianchi San Mateo. It was pretty high in Bianchi's road bike lineup, coming with a mix of Shimano Ultegra and 105 parts. The exception to the mid/high end Shimano parts being the FSA triple crankset, which you might appreciate if you have to climb any hills.

I can't identify the Scattante as well, but can give you some info... Scattante is a house brand for the Performance Bicycle chain. Comparing pics to other CFR's online, it looks like it might be about the same age as the Bianchi and maybe even a few years older. The pic unfortunately doesn't show the "drive side" of the bike, so we can't see what derailleurs & crankset it's equipped with. Performance sold them with different component packages at different price points.

Between the two, personally I'm drawn more toward the Bianchi. It's a mid/high end Bianchi in their trademark 'celeste' color. The Scattante may be a good bike, too, but it's resale value shouldn't be as high because of the brand perception. (Speaking of value... $500 may be on the high side for both bikes in my opinion -- especially the Scattante -- depending on condition and location.)

Before deciding between these two bikes, though... Are you sure you want a racing-style road bike for commuting? Or might you want something with more relaxed geometry? Or something you can easily mount a rack on to carry your work stuff?

One other important thing to consider is the frame size of the bike. Sizing is CRITICAL. It doesn't matter how little money you pay for a bike; if it's the wrong size, it's not a bargain. The two bikes pictured are different sizes, so one will fit you better than the other. The Bianchi looks like it might be a 53 cm frame (same as mine). I'm just shy of 5'10" and if I was any taller, it wouldn't be a good fit. The Scattante looks more like a 58 or so, which may fit you if you're around six feet tall.

RonH

Did you ask the folks in the Commuting forum?

Patboon5

I'm new to the site and just getting use to all the features. Thank you for the recommendation!!

Patboon5

Yes indeed! Good point.. they are both my size which is good😉

Patboon5

Thank you for your response! I guess I'm trying to get the better of the two 😃

SkyDog75

It's obvious from the pictures that those two bikes are NOT the same size. An easy way to tell is the height/length of the frame's head tube where the fork's steerer tube passes through the frame. A taller head tube generally means a bigger frame. The Scattante's head tube is taller, and not by an insignificant amount. At least one of these bikes isn't "your size".

Patboon5

True- scattane touch bigger I believe.

Patboon5

Bianchi is 55 and I'm 5' 10" think scattane is 57

Maelochs

Could be (likely is) that the Bianchi is more of a racy frame, with its shorter head tube/top tube ratio... but it is hard to tell from that picture, because the angle exaggerates the length of the head tube and foreshortens the forks.

If he has both bikes to test ride ...

Patboon5

Thank you for your knowledge! I think I test ride both and go from there..

rumrunn6

do you ride now? sounds like you don't have a bike. I was just looking in my area & found this one that would make a good short distance city commuter for only $350

New Specialized Sirrus w rack 19.5"

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/5972079103.html

another tip, know your budget should include accessories & maybe some new clothing items

Phil_gretz

I had a Scattante CFR for several years, and enjoyed riding it. I sold it to help fund a commuter bike, which included disc brakes, wider tires, full fenders, a relaxed endurance geometry, and proper mountings for a rear rack.


I would not recommend that bike for commuting, unless the OP intended to ride in only nice weather while hauling only a minimum of daily gear.


That's not to say that I don't commute on a racing-type bike from time to time. I do. But, I'm safe in the knowledge that I can ride my workhorse commuter under the typical less-than-ideal conditions or when I have to haul stuff back and forth.


Riding a sporty ride to work can be fun. Commuting generally isn't meant to be fun. It's commuting. There's crud on the road. There is debris. Weather can be forbidding. You deal with darkness and drivers. There are more things to consider if this would be the OP's only bike. My two cents.

JohnDThompson 

For a commuter bike, I'd go for something less flashy, unless you can keep it inside all day while you work. Otherwise, I fear either of those could be a theft-magnet. And if you intend to carry anything along, e.g. lunch, change of clothes, rain gear, etc. you'll want rack mounts. If you might ride in inclement weather, mudguard mounts and clearance are good as well.

Fastfingaz

Can't believe you took the words right off my keyboard,,,,

Maelochs

I think you should be permanently banned for this statement ... or at least have your screen name changed to "Secrt_H8r."

Commuting is not "meant" to be anything. it just is. People have to travel.

However .... Riding a bike is inherently enjoyable for a lot of people ... we wouldn't be here, nor would the entire bike industry, if this were not so.

Commuting by bike is (for those who do it) Vastly better than sitting in traffic. That's why there are sigs like "It was a great ride, except I ended up at work," or 'I love riding every morning and night, enough to tolerate the eight hours of work in between."

For many or most bike commuters, those two rides are the high points of the day---cold, rain, traffic, wind, fatigue, flats all nonwithstanding.

I guess the weekend warriors who ride on trainers in the garage when it is anything but warm and sunny might not understand ... (Just kidding.) But through the many tens of thousands of miles I rode to work, school, and stores (often all the same day) the time on the bike was always Special.

Not every moment found me with a gaping grin shrieking peels of hilarious laughter .... but all of it was Exceedingly Real. it was Life with a capital "L,” actual Living, as opposed to just surviving or passing time.

I wholly agree that neither of these bikes is a classic "commuter bike.” But ... I see a lot of the bikes people here commute on, and a lot of them don’t have racks or fenders .... I have to guess these people either commute on racy bikes in street clothes or throw a pair of pants in a knapsack. ( I know that guy Phil_gretz commutes on a racer, now and then.)

I also have to assume they never ride in inclement weather---one would at the very least need a change of shoes. Or maybe they have progressive workplaces which offer changing rooms and lockers .... or maybe they just come to some arrangement at work where they can tucks a bag of clothes somewhere (at one job I had, I rigged a clothesline across a room air conditioner exhaust as a dryer---not every job allows that, but some jobs can be tolerant.)

Maybe this guy has not thought through what commuting may sometimes mean ... maybe he has. Maybe he is a fair-weather commuter. Whatever. But this guy plainly asked about which of these two bikes was a better deal—telling him to buy a bike which is not being offered for sale, by friends, at an outrageously good price, is Not particularly helpful.

Instead of admonishing the guy for making poor bike choices and telling him how awful commuting can be ... you could have at least Asked him if he had thought about things like shoes, dry clothes, sweat, weather, and all that.

Shoot ... maybe we need an automatic response keyed into the site, so whenever someone posts here asking which bike to buy the site automatically posts a dozen times “Cycling Sucks!!! get a car.”

fietsbob

Scattante is a made up name pretending to sound Italian, but is actually sold thru the Performance/Nashbar companies Inc, LLC.


When Stolen it will be easily replaced..

Phil_gretz

Just keepin' it real, yo.

Maelochs

Much appreciated. You have my respect.

JohnDThompson 

I guess I was lucky with my commute. Low-traffic roads the whole way except for one, relatively short bridge. About half of it was on a bike path along a nature area, then along the lake shore through a park. The commute was always a high point of my day, and I sort of miss it now that I'm retired.

fietsbob

My most interesting commute was from SF, to Mill Valley in Marin County, across the GG bridge .

this was in the mid 80's..

Leisesturm

FWIW, both of these bikes fit me...

howellhandmade

I was walking downtown and a guy rode past on a CAAD10 just like mine, only with rear rack and panniers. I wouldn't have minded seeing exactly how he got that attached, but he was going too fast for a good look.

Theft, that certainly could be an issue if it can't come inside. Especially the Bianchi, you can see a celeste bike from space.