I’m thinking of buying a used cinelli zydeco (like the one in the picture. Shimano GRX 2×10) for about 1000€. I’ve never done any bikepacking in my life but I would love to do it (trips of 2-4days to start). Do you think this bike is a good choice? (I’ll use it also as a gravel bike)
by Lucabere17
2 Comments
I think it’s a great bike for bikepacking. While i think this frame is a little more aggressive in geometry compared to true bikepacking frames. And the frame looks to not include mounts on the front fork for racks or cages. I still think you could do panniers for touring and or with a good set of bikepacking bags will be perfect for more off-road adventures.
* 40mm tire clearance will be limiting factor, with no space for mudguards unless you downgrade to basically road tires.
* 31.6mm seatpost will always be a bit more stiff than 27.2mm one (though I don’t think it will be that noticable with alu seatpost).
* It lacks mounting points for fork cages – some people may miss them. Same goes for lack of the mounting points for the bottle under the downtube (easily replacable with downtube bag).
* Wouldn’t hurt to upgrade the cassette to 11-36 if it would be possible. Your softest gear combination would be 30T : 32T which may make climbs in mountians tough.
* Looks like the brakes are hydraulic (GRX 400).
* Sick paintwork.
* Has both rear rack and top tube mounting points.
If it has no hidden flaws and the minuses I mentioned above don’t bother you, and it fits you – go for it! Looks like a good choice, especially if you plan to staying more on roads rather than on singletracks calling for a XC bike. Same if you plan to spend more time in flatlands or around mellow hills rather than in mountains with steeper slopes.