patrick_s

Hello guys,

I own this Bianchi road bike since a few months now and it's a damn great thing to ride. The few things I know are that in the United States it was sold in 1985 under the name "Stelvio" and in Europe in the same year as "Rekord 845". So it is some middle class Bianchi, in its original condition equipped with Shimano Golden Arrow (mine is equipped with Campagnolo Super Record [brake levelers, seat post, hubs, front derailleur] und Dura Ace parts [brake, rear derailleur, shifters], I guess someone built it up before I got it).

But I know nearly nothing about the Columbus Decal on the frame and fork. It says:

Tre tubi rinforzanti
Bianchi Special
Produzione Columbus

Here's a pic of it: ibb.co/gyYUoz (you have to add https in front)

One year later Bianchi introduced the Formula One Tubing for their Rekord bikes and it was pretty similar to Columbus SL, besides that the downtube was a bit heavier and thicker. So I wonder of what this "Bianchi Special" frame is made of? The tre tubi indicates that only the three main tubes are made of Columbus tubes, isn't it? It says Rinfozanti, so I guess it could be SL, but I'm not quite sure. Maybe one of you knows more about it.

Thanks and cheers from Germany

cb400bill

Pic Assist

noglider 

Tre Tubi Rinforzati means three tubes are butted. Produzione Columbus means made by Columbus. I guess Bianchi Special means they made it especially for Bianchi. When the only special tubes are the three main tubes it means you have a mid-range frame, where they gave you the good stuff where it matters the most and the rest is cheap stuff but it's good enough.

patrick_s

So it's right that only the three main tubes are made out of Columbus tubing and the rest is something else (maybe Falck? I heard Bianchi used this in the 80s too for their lower end bikes).

John E

True. This very common sort of mixed tubeset compromise between cost and performance works extremely well -- I am delighted with my tre tubi Bianchi Campione d'Italia, as I was with my Peugeot PKN-10, which had butted Reynolds 531 main tubes (3 tubes renforces).

T-Mar

The Bianchi Special by Columbus tubeset was 1985 only and used on the mid-range models. Bianchi's professional grade models that year still used Columbus SLX, SL and SP, so Bianchi Special would appear to be a lower grade tubeset.

The tubeset came out one year prior to Columbus releasing Matrix (late known as Cromor) so it's possible that Bianchi co-developed Matrix with Columbus and got a one year exclusive deal on the tubeset, marketing it under their own name. Like Bianchi Speciale, Matrix was intended for mid-range models. Like Bianchi Special, it was also engineered in a Superset configuration, having a heavier gauge down tube and chain stays. So, pending evidence to the contrary, the most likely basis for Bianchi Special is the seamed Columbus Matrix tubeset.

Regarding the tre tubi configuration, both Falck and Columbus Aelle are possibilities for the stay and fork material, as the 1984 tre tubi models used Falck, while the 1986 tre tubi models used Aelle. The main cost advantage of the lesser grade material is not the cost of the tubes themselves, but the alloy's brazing characteristics with a wider temperature range, allowing the tubes it to be joined with less expensive, semi-automated techniques. Due to their smaller diameter, stays and blades cannot take full advantage of CrMo's strength without becoming too flexy. They have to made thicker to maintain adequate rigidity. Consequently, using lesser grade material in a stays and fork blades does not have a large effect on weight and riding characteristics.

What is interesting is that the 1985 specs for the American market Stelvio actually spec Columbus Aelle R, which was the butted version of Aelle. I'm wondering if this is why your decal is silver and does not mention CrMo? The typical Bianchi Special decal was celeste and states CrMo. You may want to check the diameter of your seat post. Aelle R typically used a 27.0mm post, while the CrMo versions of Bianchi Special typically used a 27.2mm seat post.

noglider 

Yeah the PKN-10 was a great bike at a great price.

verktyg 

@T-Mar makes some good points.

I spent a considerable amount of time looking into the Bianchi badged Columbus stickers and what they meant (supposedly).

I've never seen a Columbus Tre Tubi Bianchi Special sticker like on the OP's bike, especially with a silver background but that doesn't mean anything because Columbus took lots of liberties with their sticker designs.

This is from some 1985 Bianchi literature that their marketoids published and it backs up what T-mar wrote:



The Bianchi Special stickers that I've seen look like this.

NOTE, ACCIAO is the Italian word for STEEL! (pronounced in English "Ah-Chai-Yo")

ACCIAIO CrMo appears on a lot of Columbus stickers as well as well as CHOMO MOLIBDEMO - it's nothing special.

It's just world standard 4130 Chrome Molybdenum Alloy structural steel that's been around since the early part of the last century. 4130 is 97% to 98% Iron by weight. Alloying elements and impurities make up the balance. Chromo, Chrome Moly, CR Moly, CrMo and so on, it's all the same! To make 4130 sound like something special Columbus came up with the marketing name CYCLEX!

Isiwata, Tange, and many other tubing manufacturers used 4130 steel to make bicycle tubing too. The published strength specifications differ slightly but they're all within 4130 tolerance standards and mean nothing!

After the Bianchi Special stickers in 1985, they produced bikes with with stickers labeled Bianchi Formula 1 and Bianchi Formula 2 tubing. There's been a lot of guessing and speculation about what that tubing was.

Bianchi Formula One - "TUBI RINFORZATI" means Butted Tubes (only the 3 main tubes and steerer were butted, the rest of the tubes were straight gage)


Bianchi Formula Two sticker with "TUBI RINFORZATI" infers butted tubes throughout but it's not true. As mentioned above only the 3 main tubes and steerer were butted. Reynolds used the same BS phrasing for decades!



Bianchi Formula Two Stickers with "TRE TUBI " meaning 3 Main Tubes.



The Formula 2 Fork stickers came with either a blue or green border. These sets include fork stickers. - FORCELLA meaning Fork. Never got a good explanation of FODERI which means SHEATH as in for a knife???



My suspicion - read the fine print and figure it out! HaHaHa!



Columbus Aelle tubing was introduced it the late 70's for the mid range bicycle market. It was originally a seamed straight gage tubing set made of Manganese Steel to compete against Durifort/Vitus172 888, Tange Mangalloy, Ishiwata Magny and other competitors. They called the Manganese Carbon Steel ACCIAIO CM or CARBONIO MANGANESE on the stickers. That CM steel has about 2/3rds the strength of 4130 alloy steel so the tubing wall thicknesses were heavier to compensate.



Columbus later introduced Aelle R which had butted main tubes. Also the TRE TUBI advertising driven stickers. Just because Aelle was seamed, the tubes were cold drawn to eliminate any shortcomings vs. the more expensive Columbus tubing like SL/SP etc. Later versions of Aelle had thinner wall thicknesses.

There were a ton of bikes made with Aelle tubing. I have several high end bikes made of seamed tubing in my all time favorites group. Most people couldn't tell the difference in the ride and handing between those bikes and the top models in my collection.

Some Asian made Bianchis had these Ishiwata Super Set stickers.



Getting back to Bianchi Formula Two tubing, I have a 1988 Giro made with it. The bike fits me perfectly and handles as well as my favorites, but... it weighs a ton vs. my all Columbus SL bikes and rides like a tank compared to them.

A local frame builder had a contract with Bianchi USA for many years to do all of their warranty repairs and repainting plus customizations. In his opinion the Formula tube sets could have been made of anything Bianchi had on the shelf (especially after a litre of vino for lunch).

Those bikes all took 27.2mm seat posts so the seat tubes could have been made of SL but the rest, who knows?

In comparison I have a 1981 Bianchi Campione Del Mondo with Columbus "Tre Tubi" tubes. It was built at BIanchi's Reparto Corse shop where they made all of the top end frames. The 1981 spec sheets lists the forks and stays as being made with Aelle tubing but I think that it's all Columbus SL!

Just one more thing...

Remember, Italy was the land of all of the "Sophistication" scandals in the 60's & 70's where they made bread whiter with marble dust, wine with no grapes in it and many other things! Also where the phrase Caveat Emptor originated in the 16th century!

So who knows???



verktyg

patrick_s

The seat post is 27,2mm, 28.6 clamp Front Derailleur Clamp, 68mm Threaded BB

Those stickers (forderi forcella bianchi special columbus) are placed on my fork too, and in the same silver colorway as the sticker on the bike.

patrick_s

The seat post is 27,2mm, 28.6 clamp Front Derailleur Clamp, 68mm Threaded BB

Those stickers (forderi forcella bianchi special columbus) are placed on my fork too, and in the same silver colorway as the sticker on the bike.

Also the bike has panthographs on the fork and the stays. i think Bianchi did not use pantographs on lower-end bikes.

T-Mar

Forget the literal translation. FODERI FORCELLA are what we refer to as FORK BLADES. This supported by the English edition of the 1971 C.O.N.I. Manual, wherein the fork blades are referred to as SHEATHS.


The two terms are related, in that the sheath is a holder for a knife, which has a blade. My theory is that Amercians base their terminology on the similar appearance to a knife blade, while the Italian terminology is function based, as the sheath holds the knife or, in the cycling application, the wheel.

John E

Once again, an entire BF C&V thread turns into an extensive education. Thank you for sharing your detailed research, verktyg and T-Mar.

verktyg 

In polite British company, sheaths are referred to as "French Letters"....

Some Asian translations refer to fork blades as "legs"...

Since there is no mention of the rear stays on the stickers, what were they made of on those Bianchi bikes???

From about 1977 into the 1980's Motobecane made a lot of bikes with the 3 main tubes butted Reynolds 531 - 3 TUBES RENFORCES and Reynolds 531 fork blades. The rear stays were the same seamed carbon steel tubing they used in their lower priced bikes!

1980's Moto Grand Record



verktyg

Kevindale

It seems to me that an individual fork blade, before it is attached to a fork crown, would look very much like a knife sheath (at least a sheath for a rather long and thin and gently curved knife).

patrick_s

I recently found out that the pantographs on my Bianchi are the same as on the 1983 released Bianchi Rallye. Also the lungs look exactly the same and the catalogue from 1983 said hat it also has a tre tubi columbus frame. According to another thread on here, the frame has three tubes butted (but still don't no if simply cromor/matrix or SL) and Aelle stays. So it could be they just recycled the old frames.

bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Bianchi-83/05.jpg

bikeforums.net/touring/1149633-italian-made-bianchi-rallye-touring-bike.html