De Bernardi Aelle

Price Paid:  $350.00 at the Bicycle Shoppe, Shawnee OK

Favorite Ride:
on a velodrome

Bike Setup:
Bike is a '95, built with'94 Campy Athena 8 speed. I use various wheelsets depending on the ride or my mood

Summary:
I rarely keep a racing bike longer than 2 years, but i still ride this one. I bought it when i was broke and hungry and couldnt afford much "better", but even though i have a flashier rig now, this one still keeps getting miles put on it as an everyday run-to-the-store bike.It is February now, and i have the bike set up as a fixed gear trainer. In years past, it has had Vittoria 28c cyclocross tires mounted up and used in a few cyclocrosses. Lets see you do that with a Colnago Master! Its low price means i don't worry about it, and thus, it has become my most versatile bike.

Strengths:
Rides like a real bike, not a phony molded carbon Lance wannabe, and not nearly as harsh as The aluminum. Only about a pound more than my MAX tubed race bike, but at a fourth the price. with racing tubulars, my bike weighs 22 pounds. Paint is pearl white and is sharp for the price

Weaknesses:
At this price, its hard to find fault with anything. I built the whole bike for about 1200$

Similar Products Used:
DeBernardi MAX, Paramount 753, various other Italian bikes over the past 13 years

Price Paid:  $1000.00 at Frame at Oneils, components @ various places

Favorite Ride:
River Road in Rockledge/Cocoa

Bike Setup:
DeBernardi 3T Aelle with Campy headset and BB. Everything else Shimano 105.

Summary:
Great frame for the money. Don't spend a lot of money on expensive lightweight components, because you'll never compensate for the frame's weight. My entire bike setup probably weighs 24/25 lbs. It rides very smoothly (it's steel!)and has good geometry. I use it for a backup to my Trek 5200. After I ride the DeBernardi for a while, when I get back on the Trek, it feels like the frame is filled with helium, and like I could climb up the side of my house. So it's kind of like the bicycle equivalent of those "donuts" that baseball players put on their bats while they're warming up in the on-deck circle.

Strengths:
Low price for the frame. Smooth ride.

Weaknesses:
Heavy. Poor paint quality.

Similar Products Used:
Lots of other bikes.

Favorite Ride:
long ones

Bike Setup:
campy 2*9 ergo mirage, mavic open pro, 32*14g dt spokes, conti ss ultra 700*23, ttt stem/bar, san marco concor lt saddle, control tech seatpost

Summary:
this bike is a tremendous bargain. I paid $962 for this bike, and I like it more each mile.

the tubeset is columbus aelle, so it is not terribly light, but the torelli frame w/ the same tubeset costs more than twice as much.

it rides great, smooth and lively, nice balanced geometry.

this is a great bike for the buck. I got mine from gvhbikes (members.aol.com/gvhbikes1), but you can also get them at paquettes (www.paqcycle.com) or oneils (www.oneils.com).

Strengths:
smooth, lively ride, good geometry, bang-for-the-buck, simple, but attractive looks.

Weaknesses:
paint chips easily

Similar Products Used:
raleigh, miyata, trek, lemond