Alsobay

It seems all Celeste Bianchi I see have blue decals.
which models were made with the white font? It’s a late 80’s early 90’s. I’m as confused as I have ever been. 😆top tube internal cable.

Bianchi experts, your help will be appreciated.

Bianchigirll 

Here in the states that decal style was only used in '88/89 and on the three Italian models on '90 (which I still say were just leftovers) However by '88 the cartouche on the stay caps and crown had disappeared. The through the TT cable routing is very odd, assuming it is a Bianchi frame, but the for would seem to be from the SL or SLX bikes from '88/89 . There is a B on the HT / DT lug yes?

I'm thinking it is the '88/89, SL for '88 and SLX for '89, frame with replacement decals and sadly and home internal cable job.

The kit is also a later addition as by '91 most all road bikes had a unicrown fork and vertical style dropouts.

T-Mar

Agreed, the subject bicycle is a dichotomy. It has the 1988-1989 USA market decals but the internal brake cable routing suggests a foregin market model unless, as BG suggests, this was an owner modification. This makes me think a repaint with possibly incorrect decals. The presence of the front derailleur hanger indicates a high grade model, while the Gipiemme dropouts in conjunction with an absence of embossing on the stay caps suggests no ealier than 1989 model year. The dropout flats appear to be chrome plated, yet there doesn't appear to be evidence of chrome under the drive side chainstay. As noted, the components appear to post date the frame. Pending further evidence, my leading candidate would be a circa 1989-1990 Super Leggera and possibly foreign market. The serial number should at least allow us to determine the year. Photos of the internal cable ports would be appreciated.

Alsobay

Bianchigirl,



I don’t recall seeing a “B” on the DT lug and the top tube internal cable guide does not appear to be DIY. It has as good a finish on the brazing as I have seen on other high end bikes. It is flush brazed as opposed to having the diamond shaped fitting at either opening. The paint does appear to be original, although not very loved, as evidenced by the chips all over. Adding a photo of the BB shell as I’d appreciate your thoughts on what you see.

Alsobay

T-Mar,
I agree with you on your opinions about this bike and hopeful about your assessment of thoughts about what this frameset might be. The top tube brake cable internal routing is as factory as I have ever seen. I purchased the bike sight unseen for a very fair price even with the surprises that I found. I’ll just tell you that the BB was English thread and floating around inside the BB shell. My interest here, as you might imagine, is the frameset. I found myself enjoying bringing these troubled bikes back to life during many of our unexpected forced sabbaticals these past two years. Now I have a new collection to which this bike will be added.

Sorry for the long winded and partially unnecessary commentary on this response. Photo of BB shell added to aid in solving this conundrum.

Bianchigirll 

Where are you and the bike?

Alsobay

We are in San Diego, California. Celeste will be enjoying dry weather. Photos are from Balboa Park 😀

T-Mar

The serial number indicates that the frame was manufactured duirng the 1989 calendar year, though it could be either 1989 or 1990 model year..

The internal cable routing remains a mystery, possibly from some foreign market. The only Bianchi in the USA market during this period with internal routing were the Proto and X-4, and it's neither of those.

The tubeset should be Columbus SPX/SLX.

Alsobay

I am amazed at the wealth of knowledge the wealth of knowledge you guys have on this forum. I am sincerely grateful.

T-mar,
Bianchigirl,
You two singlehandedly solved my mystery. I assure you that my wife will be happy that I will stop obsessing over a frameset 😀.

Biketiger

The only thing I can add is this: If the seatpost is 27.2 you have SLX, if it's 27.0 it will be SPX.
Either way you should be able to see helix spirals in the bottom portion of seat tube. Smooth seat tube without the ribs would be SL or SP.

Alsobay

The seatpost is indeed 27.2. I will report back in a few days to.update on the bottom of seat tube findings.

Alsobay

T-Mar,

Just got around to taking photos of the cable ports. The front port is on the underside of the top tube and the port at the seat tube is on the topside.I will add, that the brake cable housing slides through snug and without resistance. Added other photos to narrow down frame ID. Found the tubing is SLX based on the helicoils and 27.2 seat tube.

T-Mar

You can't assume that it is SLX based on the 27.2 mm seat post and the helical reinforcements being present on the inside of the steering column, as this steering column was also used on tubesets with 27.2 seat posts that were lower level than SLX. The only definitve check for SLX is to remove the bottom bracket and and examine the insides on the BB ends of the seat tube, down tube and chainstays for the presence of the helical reinforcements.

Yes, those look like factory cable ports, though I guess they could also be a modifcation by a frame builder. Still, my leading candidate would be a 1990 foreign market model, manufactured in late 1989.

Alsobay

You make sense. 👍 at this point I’m going to enjoy it for what it is.

scarlson 

The flush-brazed internal cable routing is very similar to a bike I have where that was retrofitted with this feature by Joe Bell's shop along with a paintjob. Could it be a Joe Bell repaint? He's also in San Diego.

Pompiere

With the number of military bases around San Diego and the theory that the bike is a foreign market model, it could have been brought back by a service member returning from an overseas duty station.

Bianchigirll 

Now I’m curious about the dropouts. The shape of the stay caps and missing B on the HT/DT

Alsobay

JB signature is not on the frame. Good call though.

Alsobay

true. Very possible. I got this bike as a basketcase but for $125 was a good deal.

Alsobay

Hi Bianchigirl!
thanks for revisiting. My enthusiasm about this frameset is quickly deflating. With so many variables and the massive amount of bicycles and framesets built by Bianchi it seems DARNED near impossible to figure out.

The dropouts are Gipiemmi and the serial numbers seem to be in line with Bianchi. I have seen other frames without the B on the ht/dt and decals on the seatstay caps.


Me throwing my hands up in the air😖

I m grateful for your help😀

scarlson 

You're right, there is usually some marking. Mine's on the left chainstay right near the BB, super subtle. But I get the sense he'd do whatever you wanted. Maybe someone didn't want the Joe Bell logo, so he left it out? I don't know. That "jet vent" internal routing is pretty cool though, no matter what you think of the rest of the bike.

Bianchigirll 

Well I wouldn’t fret too much about it. There are just too many variables. Who knows how the B gets on the lug but maybe a few without it slipped by quality control. The decals could be replacements.

it’s very hard to look at stay caps in a catalog scan, but the ‘88s would seem have this shorter round style. Plus th crown was plain






The ‘87 Campione de Italia with Formula Two frame seems to have the longer plain caps like your frame but again it’s hard really tell from scanned catalogs



This ‘87 Trofeo with the Formula Two tubeset seems to have a longer cap with Bianchi embossed on it.