The frame felt stiff and planted, resisting the stresses of fixed-gear braking and the track.
An upright riding position aids city visibility in busy traffic.
The Pista Steel looks stunningly simple in polished-steel.
TIG-welded and butted chromoly ensures that tubing is tough.
This rig is easy to repair, upgrade and maintain with standard parts.
A flip-flop hub allows flexibility for fixed-gear or singlespeed riding.
Gearing is suited to commuting, with a 48t chainring and 16t sprocket.
An 11-inch bottom-bracket height provides velodrome clearance.
Classic steel handlebars, an aluminium stem and FSA cranks represent outstanding value.

5 reasons not to buy

A reviewer said DA-17 wheels with Joytech hubs were heavy and underspecced.
The luscious chromed finish requires polishing in inclement weather.
A 48/16 ratio provides 81 gear-inches, which may be a little steep for city riding.
To one expert, Tektro brakes seemed underspecced for the asking price.
To some, the Pista Steel seemed heavy for a singlespeed rig.

Bottom line

The Bianchi Pista Steel hasn’t changed much in the last 15 years. It doesn’t need to. The Pista’s classic track geometry couples with butted and tig-welded chromoly steel tubing. This makes for a stiff, strong rig that can handle the lateral stresses of both velodrome riding and brakeless city riding. It’s upgradeable with widely-sourced parts and interchangeable with vintage and retro components, due to the standard 1” headset and 68mm bottom bracket. Aesthetics are kept clean with the polished chrome option or Bianchi’s own classic ‘Celeste Green’. It isn’t ‘lightweight’, because it’s made of tough steel. But it isn’t heavy either. The factory-kit ratio of 48/16 is a good compromise for riders of moderate ability, but it did strike one reviewer as too high for steep climbs. Reviewers reported that it was agile without being twitchy and weaved, with ease, through busy city streets. While one reviewer felt it was overpriced, the Pista Steel gives you a velodrome-ready bike that is strong, reliable and also serves as an able city commuter. A guaranteed thigh-thickener.