December 27, 2011. Although I didn’t plan it, this blog article has been receiving a large amount of hits since its posting over a year ago. I’ll assume that at least some of you are interested in buying an Infinito and are looking for reviews. Well, I’ve ridden mine now over 10,000 km and I am still very, very happy with it. Comfortable, fast, rigid, but giving – it’s a dream to ride. Enjoy!

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I lost 3 or 4 kilograms yesterday and I hardly broke a sweat (except when I wrote the cheque).

This has been a long time coming and I guess I needed a good excuse to put me over the edge. 5 years ago, when I upgraded from my 80s style Maruishi Emperor to the Cannondale Cyclocross you see all over my blog, I felt pretty smug, having bought a reasonably light and fast bike that could also handle touring. Well that was then and this is now. Times have changed and so has my bike budget (whether it should or not is another question, of course), so when I decided to do the Etape du Tour next year I began to realize how inadequate my bike was for the job (or so I told myself to justify the purchase..). I looked around online and at my local bike shops and this is what I found.

It’s a Bianchi Infinito, a bike that is marketed as a racer that is comfortable. The geometry is slightly more forgiving that a super-aggressive race bike and the carbon frame (especially the seat stays) is designed to absorb a lot of road vibration, theoretically giving you a smoother ride. I can attest to this because I took it out on a regular route just now and, compared to my Cannondale, I felt like I was floating on top of the road. Really impressive and made me wonder why I’d been missing this all these years! Here are a few more shots before I dirty it up.

The bike, being new and a bit more upscale than I’m used to riding, is light and fast. This is good because, with the irritating aging process, I’m going in the opposite direction! I need all the help I can get and I think I’ve made a good start.