Zdawg

I love the look of track bikes, especially Bianchi's track bikes but I can't find them to buy anywhere (I live in the UK). My favourite among their track line is the super pista. The smooth tube welds, the CNCed track dropouts and the seattube cutout is 100% bling!
1) Did they stop producing them and everything out there is old stock? Bianchi's official website lists only the pista sei giorni.
2) Since we're here, were the pista concepts (2003, 2006) the precursors to the Super pista? It seems like they would stop producing the "concept" once a "super" came out to the market.

The only place I see them being sold is https://mordernbike.myshopify.com/pr...pista-frameset but that's in the US and the price seems a bit steep for just a frameset. Maybe I'm wrong though, I'm new to buying off-the-shelf bikes. What do you think?

Bianchi pc

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in and expand on this, and correct the record where I go off course.

I think Bianchi produced the Pista Concept, designed by Sky Yaeger between the years of 2003 and 2009. It was originally offered in alloy and steel (Pista) versions - the aluminimum frameset had a big cult following -if you search the old fixed gear bike forum posts lots will come up -

For the first few years the steel version had the same geo as the aluminum (which remained consistent throughout production of the concept and super versions, so yes the Concept was a precursor to the Super)

- but they switched out the steel incarnation to more road like angles at some point when that became the trend/marketplace preference (I don't know) for street riding. Kind of funny because if you read what Sky says about the frame she designed it after living in New York and being amazed by watching messengers speed by her on breakless track bikes & wanting to design a true track frameset that would work well for that kind of street riding. (That's my ride in the pic - I think she did a pretty good job...).

Anyway the steel versions entitled the (Bianchi Pista) never really took off in the same type of way with the public, not sure why, maybe the type or gauge of steel they used?

Bianchi redesigned and started to produce the Super Pista after 2009 - not sure how many years they were made but yeah despite Bianchi promoting the Super Pista as an improvement - more aero frame and a redesigned seat post which was less prone to cracking if over tightened (I never had this issue with my frame) it was not the sales success for Bianchi that the concept was. Maybe because though the fork was lighter the frameset as a whole was heavier, maybe because at that point there were more options - I'm really not sure.

Whatever the case last I checked in there were still a few 'New Old Stock' super Pista frames floating around - but yeah....the link you posted has so many size and color options I would be skeptical.

Maybe they arent legit or maybe Bianchi made them special for this outlet?

Im not sure what they are doing at this point but good to keep in mind Bianchi isn't the same these days my understanding is the company is no longer owned by Italians and has no factories in Italy anymore. Not criticizing from a Eurocentric place - anyone could employ great framebuilders or the opposite - just saying the company that built the Bianchi rep is now only accessible through the old and vintage market.

Rolla

To my knowledge, the only fixed gear bike in the current Bianchi catalog is the Pista Nero SS, which is being sold as a bike on which you can "go fast and look good at the same time," with added encouragement to "join the fixie lifestyle."

I would approach Mordern Bikes with caution. An online retailer that uses a gmail account as their contact method is a red flag, IMO.

TejanoTrackie 

Adding to what Bianchi pc has to say, the aluminum Pista Concept was strictly a track bike with an undrilled fork, so mounting a front brake was not possible. It was also made with very thin tubing that was easily damaged, so not very tolerant of road abuse. The Super Pista that replaced it has a drilled fork for a front brake and thicker (heavier) tubing to make it more street worthy. Bianchi realized that the majority of Pistas were never going to see track duty, and were mostly ridden as street bikes. I raced my Pista Concept for 10 years on the track, but then converted it to street duty by replacing its front fork with Super Pista fork so that I could install a front brake.


2006 Bianchi Pista Concept with Super Pista fork

TejanoTrackie 

It seems to be OK, based on >>> https://www.scamadviser.com/check-we....myshopify.com

Also, the prices are reasonable, which is another indicator that it's legit. I'm not endorsing it, just saying that it appears to be safe.

Rolla

Cool. I'm not condemning them, just advising caution; they're not a retailer I'm familiar with.