Eric’s been looking for a road bike for months. Ever since I moved here he’s been checking in on eBay and Craigslist for a bike to work on and commute on. While vintage bikes are great, they usually require more money up front to get them rolling. After looking around at the modern steel bikes, the Bianchi Campione just made sense. (We saw it earlier in my Interbike coverage). The Campione is around $800 and ridable right out of the box. Fitted with Shimano derailleurs, FSA cranks and a pretty reasonable wheelset, this bike is ready to roll.

What I like the most about it is how easy it will be to convert it to a lightweight touring or rando bike. There are fender and rack mounts and something like this is ideal for young people who are more concerned with having fun on their bike than they are cranking away miles in spandex. We’re going to take this outside Austin on some camping adventures in the coming weeks.

I’m pretty impressed with what you get for the pricepoint. It actually rides nicely as well. If you wanna check out more photos, head over to my Flickr! Expect a full bike check once Eric gets it dialed in.