Seen at Sea Otter: Bianchi Aria E-Road

I couldn’t help but notice this bike when walking by the Bianchi booth. The “Summertime Dream” color (yes, that’s the actual name) is iridescent and amazing. When I walked over and saw that it’s an ebike, I had to stay a while and take a look.

With a compact crankset, an 11-32T cassette and a weight including the battery of just 26.6 pounds, this is one bike that kills the notion that ebikes can’t feel like “real” bikes. And it’s beautiful. There’s just no denying that. Bianchi has a reputation for sexy, stealth ebikes.

One drawback is that it has a rear hub motor. They built the Aria with an Ebikemotion X35 Plus 250W motor. I am an unabashed fan of the mid-drive motor. I feel they’re more responsive and have a more natural feel. This being said, I have an open mind and am happy to be convinced otherwise. Technology changes. Manufacturers update motors almost constantly. Unfortunately, there were no bikes to demo (and I’m still recovering from my aforementioned crash to boot). I’m going to keep in touch with the rep and see if I can get a bike in my size to demo.

Read more about the Aria on Bianchi’s blog at https://bianchistore.online/blog/bianchi-2021-news-specialissima-aria/