Hello everybody,
I was given, many years ago, an old Bianchi road bike by a friend of mine. He used to race it, but I don't know what model it is or anything else about it. I love to ride it, and I would really like to get it repainted and have new decals applied and get some original-but-in-better-shape components for it. It has Suntour shifters on the downtube, and it was in a crash and has a minor crack/ding where the top tube butts into the steering tube (is that the correct term?).

So, I'm curious to know if anyone can help me out regarding finding a serial number and/or model number and/or original specs regarding components on this bike so I can begin the process or restoring it. Some of the components I may be able to clean, shine up and put back, but others are in pretty poor shape. I really dig this bike and I think this might be a fun project. I'm not really interested in "upgrading" the components on this bike, I just want to get it back to stock. I found a place in Georgia that does restoration paint jobs, complete with vintage decals, so I think I have that covered. But of course I'm open to suggestions. The help I really need is documentation of the components. The bike is in my garage, and to be honest I really haven't looked around for the numbers that may be stamped on it. Forgive me. I just thought some of you fine folk would have, at your fingertips, some groovy website address that would help me find the info I need.

Hey, thanks a lot!

-Patric

To get any detailed input, you'll need any serial numbers, size designations and of course a bunch of digital pictures.

Ok, the only number I can find that's stamped on the bike is "G23376". I can't find any info by Googling that number. I'm attaching some (poor quality) photos I took with my cell phone. If I can, I'll post some better ones once my camera's batteries are charged. Thanks!

That number is 1G23376.

The frame is older than the components I'd say. That front derailleur is 1960's at latest. The logo style is 1950-60's I'd say.

The lug quality. long reach brakes and lack of quality parts are going to make this an expensive proposition. There's not enough there to start with and you'll not end up with something of value.

The best place to learn more about classic bikes is classic rendezvous. There's a mailing list plus all the info on the site that Dale has put together about various countries/companies.

Serial numbers are nearly meaningless for most of the Italian companies in my experience. I mess around with Colnagos quite a bit and the numbers are all over the place for some reason.

I'm almost positive that the friend that gave me this bike bought it new in the 70's at the earliest. He's not that much older than I am, and I was born in the late 60's.

If you like the frame and are willing to spend some money, it could make a nice restoration. However, frame repairs and painting might cost a lot more than you would expect. You could probably buy a newer Bianchi frame (or complete bike) on eBay for less money than it would cost to restore your bike. I regularly see mid-1980s Bianchis with steel lugged frames selling for $200-300, with nicer frames and components. You could easily spend $500 having your frame repaired, painted and new decals.

I'm almost positive that the friend that gave me this bike bought it new in the 70's at the earliest

Like wasfast, I also think your bike is older than that.

If you follow the links below, you'll see that in general appearance and in some details (Bianchi logo, box-style front derailleur, cottered steel cranks, long-reach brakes), your Bianchi bears a resemblance to Fausto Coppi's 1953 Bianchi Specialissima. My guess is that your Bianchi is a mid-level sport bike from the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Scroll to "More photography from the Bianchi-Ducati Launch - Images by Tim Maloney" on this link:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2006/news/02-17

Scroll down to photos 4,5, and 6 on this link:
http://www.cyclesdeoro.com/Interbike/2004/photos_8.htm

The Maloney photo below of Coppi's 1953 Specialissima is a good view of the box-style front derailleur, cottered steel cranks and long reach brakes.

if those components are original it's not as old as people think, more like 70s... could be that it was given a retro paint scheme- Bianchi does that every now and then

I guess the only way to settle this is going to be for me to talk to the guy that gave it to me. that might take a while.

Tarwheel2: I'm sure you're right about being able to get an old Bianchi that's in better shape for less than it's going to cost me to restore this one, but this one has special meaning for me, being that it belonged to a friend, etc. Plus, I think I'll enjoy the whole process, so it's not really about the money. I don't want to invest ridiculous amounts of money into this bike, but I don't mind spending some cash to fix her up.

So, does anyone know where I can find some info on the serial number? Is it really hopeless?

How about getting old Suntour or Campy parts? Is e-bay my best bet? I did poke around on classicrendezvous.com for a little while.

Thanks everyone.

if those components are original it's not as old as people think, more like 70s... could be that it was given a retro paint scheme- Bianchi does that every now and then

It's entirely possible. I can't put my finger on it, but there is a vague disconnect between some of the parts and the frame. Perhaps the cottered steel crank is throwing my judgement off.

These folks can help you out. They have tons of restoration parts. From what I've seen the Yellow Jersey folks have a soft spot for old Bianchi's.

That discoloration around the lugs is worrysome. I had a 2000 Eros frame fail the same way.



I guess the only way to settle this is going to be for me to talk to the guy that gave it to me. that might take a while.

Tarwheel2: I'm sure you're right about being able to get an old Bianchi that's in better shape for less than it's going to cost me to restore this one, but this one has special meaning for me, being that it belonged to a friend, etc. Plus, I think I'll enjoy the whole process, so it's not really about the money. I don't want to invest ridiculous amounts of money into this bike, but I don't mind spending some cash to fix her up.

So, does anyone know where I can find some info on the serial number? Is it really hopeless?

How about getting old Suntour or Campy parts? Is e-bay my best bet? I did poke around on classicrendezvous.com for a little while.

Thanks everyone.

Sorry its YellowJersey.org

I guess the only way to settle this is going to be for me to talk to the guy that gave it to me. that might take a while.

Tarwheel2: I'm sure you're right about being able to get an old Bianchi that's in better shape for less than it's going to cost me to restore this one, but this one has special meaning for me, being that it belonged to a friend, etc. Plus, I think I'll enjoy the whole process, so it's not really about the money. I don't want to invest ridiculous amounts of money into this bike, but I don't mind spending some cash to fix her up.

So, does anyone know where I can find some info on the serial number? Is it really hopeless?

How about getting old Suntour or Campy parts? Is e-bay my best bet? I did poke around on classicrendezvous.com for a little while.

Thanks everyone.

As was mentioned above, the best place to find detailed info about bikes like this is at www.classicrendezvous.com

There is an archive there that you can search, but you should definitely join the mailing list.

There are a ton of old bike geeks ( like me ) that hang around there and share info, the depth of knowledge and useless trivia is astounding.

I found my friend that gave me the bike, and gave him a link to this website, so hopefully we'll hear from him. I couldn't find an e-mail address for him, so it might take a few days for my letter to get to him. I'll poke around on those websites, thanks again.

-Patric

If you need a vintage crank, check this out--I just saw it this morning while slumming through ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bianchi-early-1980s-cranks-set_W0QQitemZ260087044643QQihZ016QQcategoryZ56197Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Is this made by Stronglight?
Anybody?

It's a Campagnolo Nuovo Record with Bianchi pantographing. The rings are modified to remove the web. Campy later made the Super Record which have no web and the crown shaped cutouts in the rings but the BB and arms are the same.

Also check with www.bianchiusa.com.

I've had three of those over the last few years. It is an early 70's entry level bike that came with Campy Valentino drivetrain, Universal extra brakes, and TTT stem. I've seen them come with 700c tubulars or steel 27" wheels. They make a nice single speed or fixed gear. Or you could find a Nuovo Record rear der and go geared. If you want an original set of Campy shifters for it I have some you can have cheap. Try to PM me if you want 'em.

......an expensive proposition. There's not enough there to start with and you'll not end up with something of value.
It's got a real mish-mash of parts, with the Rossin pantograph stem & aero brake levers from the '80s, Suntour ratchet shifters & Huret derailler from the '70s, brakes & front derailler from the '50s or ''60s. I can understand a sentimental attachment, but couple all that with the frame damage & unless it fits you well & you really like riding it, it's just not something you should put much money into.

It will never be a wall hanger. If it were mine & I was planning to keep & ride it, I think I'd just shine it up as well as possible & maybe replace the stem with something more generic & period-correct.

It's got a real mish-mash of parts, with the Rossin pantograph stem & aero brake levers from the '80s, Suntour ratchet shifters & Huret derailler from the '70s, brakes & front derailler from the '50s or ''60s. I can understand a sentimental attachment, but couple all that with the frame damage & unless it fits you well & you really like riding it, it's just not something you should put much money into.

It will never be a wall hanger. If it were mine & I was planning to keep & ride it, I think I'd just shine it up as well as possible & maybe replace the stem with something more generic & period-correct.

The brakes and der are not from the 50's or 60's. That stuff was still around in the early 70's and probably are original to the bike. The Rossin stem should go on ebay to help pay for some parts. That bike could easily be put back to "period" correct for not much money. It was a low level bike and only needs low level parts.

Well, it looks like we have a lot of different opinions regarding my little project.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do with the chrome parts where rust has dimpled the finish and it looks pretty bad? The chrome at the top of the fork is in particularly bad shape. And where might I find the metal clips that hold the rear brake cable in place, they all need replacing. And what are long reach brakes? Many questions, I know.

Brake cable clips here:
http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=Cable/Casing&sc=Clips/Stops/Guides&id=328855417308

A lot of options on the chrome, depending on how bad it is, if you still plan to repaint, etc. Naval jelly, steel wool, or oxalic acid will all remove rust with different results and different cautions. Check this thread for a l-o-n-g read on rust removal & treatment:
http://www.vintagebmx.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=004702

Straightblock, you get the gold star for the day. Thanks very much. Looks like oxalic acid might be the ticket for me to get rid of rust and corrosion on a lot of the parts on this bike. Still, the chrome on the top of the fork looks pretty bad, I'm not sure that just removing the rust will be enough. Re-chroming, maybe?

And what are long reach brakes?

Brake reach is the distance between the center of the brake caliper mounting bolt and the center of the rim braking surface. When racers became less and less interested in using fenders or running wider (and consequently slightly taller) tires, frame designers shortened that dimension more and more. Because of that, brake manufacturers offered so-called short reach brakes that would work with these tight frames. These short-reach brakes became the standard—and the old standard brakes became known as "long reach" brakes.

Because brake pad mounting holes are elongated, reach is often expressed as a range, i.e., the distance from the brake caliper mounting bolt to the highest and to the lowest possible brake pad location.

Wim: Nicely illustrated. That's very interesting. I suppose that even if I were to remove the fender I would still need long reach brakes (if I were to replace them) because of where the brake mounting bar is located. What if I went to a slightly larger wheel? The current wheels are 27", would switching to a different wheel size allow me to use "standard" brakes? If I'm not mistaken, 700c is slightly smaller, is there something slightly larger? Frankly the brakes might look great after a little oxalic acid, so this isn't a big concern.

The standard 700C wheel is 8 mm smaller in diameter than a 27 inch wheel, so you're talking about a 4 mm difference in radius. If you can move the brake pads of your existing calipers down by that 4 mm, you're good to go with modern 700C wheels. I don't know of any wheels sized between 700C and 27 inch, or larger than 27 inch, but keep in mind that 27 inch rims and tires are still available from a number of vendors.

Agree with you on keeping the calipers if you can. If you do need to buy new calipers, buy them by reach dimension in millimeter. There's a lot of confusion with the terminology. Someone's "standard reach brakes" are someone else's "long reach brakes." For what it's worth, the very nice long reach Shimano R-600 brake calipers have a reach range of 47-57 mm.

Nice. I like the look of these, myself, what in keeping with the whole Italian thing and all:

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=BR9208

I'll have to do some measuring, thought, not sure if 52cm will work...

These are gorgeous, but, sadly, all gone:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/modolo.html

I'll keep poking around.

These are just amazing looking:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/MODOSIL.JPG

I mean, WOW!

But I can't tell, do they have them in stock, or are they sold out? Are they long reach? I DON'T KNOW!

It's difficult to tell from your photographs, but the brakes you have now could be Universal (-brand) brakes with an extra-long reach by today's standards—my uninformed guess would be a reach adjustment from 60 - 70 mm. Good brakes with that long a reach will be difficult to find. Measure your current brake reach and get a number to work with before you spend any money.

The brakes in your photos are also fixed to the frame with a nut, which different than the current (recessed Allen head screw) way of attaching brake calipers to a frame. New brakes might require a slight modification to the mounting screw or even the brake bridge on the frame.

Considering all that, it would probably be best to carefully restore the brakes you have. Because most aluminum components were not anodized back in the day, these old brakes should polish up beautifully.

Here's what a more original one looks like:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bianchi-Road-Bike-old_W0QQitemZ130081296528QQihZ003QQcategoryZ98084Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Except for the saddle and bar tape that one looks pretty original. As you can see the brakes, front der, and crankset on yours is original. And again, it is early 70's regardless what others have said here.

The frame's lack of brazeons has fixed gear written all over it:-)

Good find, maybeck. That helps solve the year mystery. I definitely stand corrected. There are various clues that seem to point different directions. It would appear that the rear derailleur was upgraded to a later model (Jubilee I think) and the sewups were changed over to the 27" clinchers (very common change back then).

The rear deralleur on my bike is a Huret, and the wheels are tubular. Otherwise that bike doesl look similar. I just wish I could have a model name/number and actual date of manufacture. If only just to know.

Somebody suggested I sell the stem, is it particularly valuable? I like it, and won't be selling it, just curious.

The rear deralleur on my bike is a Huret, and the wheels are tubular. Otherwise that bike doesl look similar. I just wish I could have a model name/number and actual date of manufacture. If only just to know.

The Huret was added to yours, the ebay bike has the correct Campy Valentino. I'm not sure what they called that model but it's right about '73 or so.

Somebody suggested I sell the stem, is it particularly valuable? I like it, and won't be selling it, just curious.

Maybe to somebody who has a Rossin. It's lame to have a panto part on the wrong brand bike.