Price Paid:
$2200.00
at LBS Favorite Ride:
Bakery Climb from Tigerville, SC to Saluda, NC Bike Setup:
2003 Bianchi San Lorenzo Triple DuraAce Groupo, Koobi Au Chrono saddle, 12-27 Ultegra cassette, Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels, Michelin ProRace Carbon tires Summary:
I am reviewing a 2003 model San Lorenzo Triple. It is stock Except for adding two more layers of bar tape, , switching cassettes to a 12-27 Ultegra, changing tires to Michelin ProRace Carbon, and adding a Koobi Au Chrono saddle. I am 6'6" and weigh 245 lbs., and the bike is a 63 cm model. I transitioned from a 62 cm QR Kilo tri bike to this excellent road bike. This bike is extremely light for such a big bike. It handles great, especially when blasting my big butt down a hill at 45 mph plus. While you would expect that climbing for me is a chore (and it is!), this bike can really chew up the grade. Now, I admit adding a 12-27 may seem a bit wimpish, but hey, I am a weekend warrior and we have LOTS of hills here in upstate SC and western NC. Anyway, I digress. The San Lorenzo transfers power to the road amazingly smoothly. The DuraAce groupo is sweet and tight, and has only had problems when I really put all my power into the climb. I have had to have several rear derailleur adjustments in the 2000 mile I have put on the bike. The ride is a bit stiff and can rattle your bones, but the carbon seatpost and front fork really help dampen the bumps. Most of the changes I have made are to help my massive body fit the bike better. I found out that the Koobi seat is the best change I have made, since riding my old college bike with the comfy seat. Big guys, try the Koobi. One piece of crap I have had to deal with has been the Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels. The spokes on the rear wheel contiuned to loosen any time I was climbing up a grunt of a climb, which is common on our local rides. I finally sent the wheel back to Mavic, which took almost 2 months to get back to me. So far so good. My LBS nor Mavic can tell me if it is just my big body or the wheel... if it happens again, I will switch to Bontragers. I had Bontrager Race Lites on my QR, and never had a problem. Another thing is that I wore out the Vredenstein tires with less than 2000 miles on it... again, was it my big butt or the harsh road conditions in France (I took it with me when I went to
Bottom line, I love this bike! Strengths:
Lightweight, crisp handling, climbs like a mountain goat. Beautiful bike. Weaknesses:
Mavic wheels (perhaps just related to my size), stiff frame provides rough ride. Similar Products Used:
1997 GT Edge 63 cm Racing bike (ridden by Hincapie on US National Team), 2000 Quintana Roo Kilo 62 cm tri bike.
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