Bianchi Vertigo road bike

Bianchi's Vertigo is part of the Coast to Coast range of bikes designed more for long distance riding rather than an all-out speed. It was a new model for Bianchi in 2013 and while £1399 may seem expensive for a Campag Xenon equipped bike you are getting a lot of bike for the money, the frameset especially.

Frame & Fork

The carbon fibre frame has a flowing organic look to it as the varying tube profiles blend into one another. Full internal cable routing keeps everything uncluttered and the paint finish is superb. I like the splashes of celeste green rather than the whole frame being covered in it.

The Coast to Coast geometry puts the rider slightly higher at the front for comfort on longer rides while slackening the frame angles and increasing the wheelbase a touch to make the steering less twitchy and the whole bike a touch more stable than a race machine. The 54cm test bike has a 72/72.5° head/seat angle and a 999mm wheelbase. The headtube isn't massive at 165mm but it's 20mm taller than that found on the Fondriest TF4 of the same size.

Bianchi haven't gone with a tapered head tube on the Vertigo. Although going for a larger diameter at the bottom does tighten up the steering and gives a stiffer front end that's not really what this bike is about, so they've stuck with a 1 1/8in steerer. Same at the BB area, there is a fair amount of material there but Bianchi have shunned BB30, BB386 or whatever number we're on this week and stuck with standard outboard bearings. Those large section chainstays should keep things under control anyway once the power starts going down.

As is often the case the seatstays are pretty slender, the thinking behind this is that a small amount of flex adds some comfort to the ride as rough surface vibration doesn't get passed through to the rider. Its odd to see a mono-stay design and a brake bridge at the same time but I think it's a quirky touch.

Kit

Campagnolo's entry level Xenon 10-speed components only make up part of the groupset: the rear mech and shifters. Thankfully the 10-speed shift/brake units have an alloy brake lever as opposed to the flexible plastic 9-speed version. The hoods are the original Ergopower design which isn't quite as comfortable as the latest models but you soon get used to them. While the shifting isn't exactly the most refined out there I do find the Xenon shifters offer a more solid and confident shift than Tiagra or Sora.

The rest of the mix is a Veloce front mech, FSA Omega compact chainset and Bianchi's own Reparto Corse brake calipers. It all gels well together although the white calipers are bit of a love/hate kind of thing.

The Reparto Corse label appears on the finishing kit as well as the wheels. The alloy stem and bars are colour coded to suit the frame and add a certain look of quality. They're oversized as you'd expect with the bars offering a compact drop.

The seatpost has a 31.6mm diameter, an odd choice on a frame designed for comfort. Most designers tend to go for a smaller 27.2mm to allow some flex for the rider. The San Marco Era saddle was certainly comfortable with ample padding.

The rebaged Maddux RX 5.1 wheels are pretty weighty but are solid performers staying perfectly true and smooth rolling through the wet past few months. The twin spoke pattern looks cool (especially the two pairs of white ones on each wheel) and doesn't seem to highlight any stiffness issues between pairs although I wouldn't want to have to true them up at the side of the road. They are shod with 23mm Hutchinson Equinox tyres which are decent performers and have stood up well to poor road surfaces.

This all adds up to an all up weight of 8.6kg, just shy of 19lb in old money. About right for the price and kit level.

Ride

The first ride was a bit of a shock to the system. For a long distance machine I wasn't expecting the Vertigo to be so harsh, the carbon frame doing very little to counteract rough road surfaces. Its not uncomfortable by any stretch just not as forgiving a ride as I was expecting. It shows that while the geometry is relaxed, the pace isn't intended to be.

Geometry wise though Bianchi have pretty much nailed the Coast-to-Coast concept as the Vertigo just cruised along munching the miles. It feels very stable and easy to ride thanks to that longer wheelbase making it ideal for group riding or if the road surfaces are slippery.

The slacker head tube angle means the steering is neutral regardless of the speed and cutting through traffic on the commute was a joy. It's no slouch at speed though; if you do push the Vertigo hard into a bend the steering is responsive enough to get you out of trouble. Direction changes are precise and shifting your body weight around guides the Vertigo to the exact line you want. It is so easy to live with and really flatters your riding style.

The Bianchi brakes work well, better than the equivalent Campag Veloce models. There isn't much in the way of modulation though, they're kind of off, on a bit, on full. You have to be careful not to lock the wheels up especially in the wet.

As with all bikes sporting entry level wheels acceleration from a standing start takes its toll on the legs. Once they're rolling though the Reparto Corse wheels spin freely and maintaining speed doesn't take too much effort. When you're ascending you are best staying in the saddle making use of the 50/34 – 11/25 gearing. The geometry means the Vertigo doesn't react that amazingly to hard efforts on the pedals though tap out a rhythm and it climbs much easier than a bike of its weight normally does.

Overall

On the whole the Vertigo strikes a good balance between speed and distance. It does what its designed to do and does it well. The ride is stiff though and after 50 or so miles on it I certainly knew about it the next day. Saying all that though it is a beautiful bike to ride, you can feel the quality and to be honest the frame deserves much better finishing kit than is on offer here. It's definitely a bike you could upgrade.

Despite its little flaws though I do really like the Vertigo. As a package it all works well together and it does look beautiful in the sunshine. For the commute and rainy days I added a set of SKS Raceblade Longs before whipping them off for longer dry excursions making it a true all seasons machine.

Verdict

Beautiful handling thanks to stable geometry but on the harsh side for a carbon frame.