cpblue

I wanted a winter project and just picked up a Bianchi Tangent. I think or should say hope, that this turns out to be a viable platform.

Rims need truing, cables need to be adjusted and/or replaced, replace pedals and I’ll even try to squeeze some 700X38’s on the rims.

abdon 

What sort of touring do you have in mind? I'm not familiar with how this model behaves but it seems to have an awfully short wheelbase. Not that there is anything wrong with sport touring bikes. They can be oodles of fun but don't like to be overloaded.

mstateglfr 

That's a short wheelbase? Man, ask me to identify 10 things about that bike as it relates to touring and 'short wheelbase' wouldn't be one.

MarcusT

What an odd looking bike, in that is it a road bike? A hybrid?
I mean, it's got bar end shifters, cantilever brakes with road levers, quick release seat post clamp.
If it can fit 38mm tires, it should make a great tourer

abdon 

The fastest way to notice is at the gap between the rear wheel and the seat tube. The angles on the OP bike are also more road than touring.

Here's a random picture of a Trek 720, which sports a geometry for heavy loaded touring. Notice the much steeper head angle and fork rake:

mstateglfr 

Oh good lord, I just got sucked in.

- This 1989 Bianchi in a 58 size has a 1052mm wheel base, 73deg HTA, 430mm stays, and 50mm offset fork.
- A Trek 520 in that size from '89 has a 1065mm wheel base, 72deg HTA, 455mm stays, and 52mm offset fork.
- A Miyata 1000 in that size from '89 has a 1065mm wheel base, 72deg HTA, 445mm stays, and 60mm offset fork.

https://www.gringineer.com/blogs/gri...anchi-catalog/
The Trek and Miyata numbers are each split between two actual frame sizes to best match the Bianchi's frame since its a sloping tt compared to horizontal tt.


So the Bianchi has a wheelbase that is a whopping 13mm shorter than two very well established touring bikes from the same era. And the chainstays are basically the same shorter length compared to the Miyata. A 430mm chainstay is also completely fine to tour on, they dont actually need to be 455mm or whatever, contrary to often repeated claims from the traditional side of things. My current touring frame has 435mm stays, I have size 14 shoes, and everything gets along quite nicely from both fit and stability perspectives.

I do like that you selected a bike to show as an example of a long wheelbase that was a wild outlier compared to everything else being made at the time, even the other touring bikes from the same company. An '83 Trek 720 had stays and a wheelbase that was noticeably longer than the 520 model. That doesnt mean the 520 wasnt more than capable of fully loaded touring.
Also, the 720 frames from the early 80s(82-84?) didnt have noticeably steep head tube angles relative to other touring frames. The 22.5/57 sized 720 had a 72 degree HTA. Thats anything but steep for a very common sized frame.



Bringing this back to the Bianchi, that isnt 'an awfully short wheelbase'. Its wheelbase that is 13mm shorter than two popular and well respected similar sized fully loaded touring bikes from the same year. An awfully short wheelbase would be something about 6cm shorter, which would have been a competition level road bike like a Miyata Team or 914 from that era.

hopperja

adding to the list:

1983 Specialized Expedition, size 58, 1061mm wheelbase, 72deg HTA, 450mm stays, and 51mm offset fork

Doug64

I think the OP's Bianchi would be fine for bike touring. My guess is that the Tangent was marketed as a cyclocross bike like the Volpe. I have three bikes I use for touring: Cannondale T2, Surly Long Haul Trucker, and a Bianchi Volpe. I've used all three for a total of over 22,000 miles. The Volpe is my favorite, and I have used it fully loaded for about half of the touring miles. It is my second Volpe. The Bianchi is the quickest handling while the LHT is the slowest (more stable). The Cannondale is somewhere in between. They all have exactly the same drive trains (22/32/44 cranks with a 11-34 cassette). However, I believe that if the rider has a foot size larger than 10, they would probably experience heel strike with the rear panniers on the Volpe. I've also only used the Volpe with front and rear panniers, so I don't know how it would handle with only rear panniers. CX bikes can make very good touring cycles.



The wheel bases and chainstay lengths are:

• Cannondale T2-- CS/ 457 mm, WB/1062 mm
• Surly LHT-- CS/460 mm, WB/1081 mm
• Bianchi Volpe-- CS/415 mm, WB/1008 mm
• Bianchi Tangent-- CS/430 mm WB 1052

This was my first Volpe, and I'm not sure how many touring miles I had on it, but it went across the U.S., and part of the Pacific Coast route. These Tubus fork attachments worked great for attaching front pannier racks.

abdon 

I'm sorry if what I said triggered you but just like you can eyeball a bike size by the steer tube, the gap between that rear wheel and the seatpost telegraphs a lot of the clearances and geometry you find in a bike.

To be clear you can tour on anything, and the bike (who looks more gravel/cyclocross than touring) can make for a great light/credit card tourer, but unless otherwise proven it doesn't seem to have the bones to enjoy being loaded to the gills. Heck some of my factory touring bikes don't like to be loaded to the gills as much as others. Nothing wrong with that, it is just the nature of the bike.

OP, please don't take what I said as meant to be discouraging. My favorite credit card touring bike is a factory triple 1971 Schwinn Paramount. It is a great bike for light touring but I would not want to overload it.

cpblue

Thanks for all the amazing responses! Finally took the Bianchi out for a decent ride and I really liked it. The wider bars came in, got the brakes adjusted and spokes tightened. I’ll post a photo after the bars, tape, and new cables go on

str

[QUOTE=cpblue;23041148]I wanted a winter project and just picked up a Bianchi Tangent. I think or should say hope, that this turns out to be a viable platform.

Rims need truing, cables need to be adjusted and/or replaced, replace pedals and I’ll even try to squeeze some 700X38’s on the rims.

QUOTE]

Looks like a skinny tire touring bike. What's the max tire size?