Bianch pista or Charge plug

Right I am sick of pissing around trying to build a decent track bike the right size also like the chrome finish,I was going to get the Bob Jackson Barbers pole frame as my first choice of colour but the long wait is putting me off so am down to second choice, so which do you guys rate better.

Well... if you're pitting against a Bob Jackson I'd say neither... they'd both be of a substantially lower standard than the Bob... keep looking mate...

Are you looking for a bike for the track when you say track bike? If it HAD to be one of these two then I'd go for an old Bianchi Pista, before they changed the geometry, otherwise I'd keep looking and if it is for racing then check out some of the cheeaper end of Alu frames... great performance for the price on some of them...

when did they change the geo on the pista?

Track and road really I have had a few alu frames but I prefer an old school look to be honest.

Honestly mate, waiting is worth it.

secondly the Bianchi of mine is a 57cm, I'm 6'1 and find it a little small for me, so I'm converting it into a town bike, aka "Tarmac Racer" (homage to those path racer).

That is very helpfull Ed to be honest I am 6'2 and I rang Evens about a 61cm they had in stock but they said it would be to big,I stuck a deposit on it anyway to try it out,I am tall top half with long arms that is why i always have crazy long stems on my builds,the 59 is only 57 TT the 61 is 58.5.

Evans not always accurate thought, they said I need 57cm, but due to my stupidity I didn't check the top tube length which was a 56cm, a little too short as I find a 57cm toptube and seattube fit the best for me.

Seriously mate, you're not going to die in the next few years, so why not save all your pennies, and go for a custom build? you'll end up having the best bike ever that you'll finally able to ride properly for the rest of your life, think about how much money you spend on getting bikes that doesn't quite fit you.

I'll tell you that the Bianchi Pista felt shit (even thought it's a track-specific bike compared to the BJ which is grass-specific track) compared to my Bob Jackson, and surprisingly heavier (Pista that is).

when did they change the geo on the pista?

2009 model now have a relaxed geo for the first time ever, as previously the geometry were exactly the same on the Bianchi Pista since, oh, for decades.

no I doubt it's a track-specific frame anymore.

BIanchi x1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Listen to Edscoble, he's had both the Pista and now has a BJ, I certainly wouldn't go for the Plug anyway, it's definitely designed with street and a bit of trick riding in mind, not for track use...

If you want an old school style of frame I'd recommend checking the sale section here and seeing what's available secondhand, you'll get a bargain...

What's your budget anyways so we can offer other options?

Definitely don't ride a Plug on the track. On the streets it's a king though.

Hillbilly rode a Charge Plug on the track and won a while ago.

I wouldn't recommend the pista as it really isnt worth the money.

Also if anything goes wrong with it, Bianchi don't have a UK dept and are not shipping any more frames over so...

I wouldn't recommend the pista as it really isnt worth the money.

Also if anything goes wrong with it, Bianchi don't have a UK dept and are not shipping any more frames over so...

ooo good point

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re ^ is it true the pista was the same price as a langster once upon a time?

yep, used to be a reasonable £400 back then (I paid £425 in 2008), it was considered a good buy over a Fuji Track, since it's basically a steel frame with better wheelset than the Fuji one.

but now, £600 for a fixed wheel road bike is a shitload of money compare to the other like the Langster, Bowery etc. which are a fixed wheel road bike.

To be honest neither one is particularily wonderful... I think the decision will be pretty much unanimous... wait for the BJ

The Bianchi and Charge as good as they are, it's those bike that you know you may replace in the future.

I am always looking in the for sale section but nothing really comes up my size plenty of 60/56/7 but i need a longer toptube,i don't want to wait till winter so i may order a BJ and ride my Dolan.

Evens have phoned to say they will do a 10% discount on the Pista,because i have already bought a bike this week.

if anyone has a bianchi pista 61 for sale I'll buy it... had my langster for six weeks and I've already grown tired of the jibes... and that TERRIBLE lean-to top-tube...

Ed the wheelset on the Pista is it in your opinion better than a wheelset i already have which is miche pista mavic open sport and dt swiss spokes if my set is better i can swop and sell the pista ones.

no way the pista wheels are shit, pretty much everyones rear hub has unthreaded your wheels are much better. I would recommend a fuji track over both of those

I've been doing 50+ miles a week on my stock pista wheelset since September last year with no complaints. Changed the cog a bunch of times too without stripping the hub.

EDIT: wouldn't pay £600 for it, mind

I am always looking in the for sale section but nothing really comes up my size plenty of 60/56/7 but i need a longer toptube,i don't want to wait till winter so i may order a BJ and ride my Dolan.

if you don't order now, then you'd wait even longer when you decided to order, so I urge you to order it as soon as possible and then forget about it and ride your Dolan.