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Bianchi Forte MTB!!! 😁

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Bianchi Forte MTB!!! 😁

Old 10-03-19, 04:59 PM
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stardognine
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Bianchi Forte MTB!!! 😁









This was sitting in a junk shop, with tires that were dry-rotted and falling off it, and even the tubes & rim strips were dry-rotted. 🙁 So all those items are new now, except the front tire, which is a good used one, that the seller threw in. Otherwise, this is "as bought".

This is my first bike with a U-brake, as well as the stem with a pulley (forgot to get a pic of that). 😉 Everything's Exage Mountain M450, except the 6-speed brifters which are Exage Trail M350. Also the hubs aren't Exage, but they're an unusual SR (Sakae-Ringyo) with a weird crown logo, with KK inside the crown. 🤔 They felt really stiff at first, but loosened right up, and roll great. I still grabbed a couple cone wrenches, to repack them. 🙂
I'll get the serial number later, it's under the cable guide.
Anyways, let's see some pics, huh? 😁
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Old 10-03-19, 05:15 PM
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A couple more. 🙂
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Old 10-03-19, 05:32 PM
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I had a Fuji growing up exactly like this bike.

What follows is my opinion and my opinion only:

The Exage brakes are plastic over stamped steel, and is crappy. The brake levers are kinda crappy (weird adjustments and cables are not easy to remove and replace), shifters are good but connected directly to the brake levers which kinda suck. So the brake system as a whole is not good

I ended up replacing the U brake with a BMX dia compe version (this was 15+ years ago) and new cantilevers. Then found a lever/shifter combo that worked.

Drive train was good enough to keep. That frame seems nice enough, but I am not a fan of U-brakes mounted in that style.
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Old 10-03-19, 05:38 PM
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Originally Posted by mechanicmatt
What follows is my opinion and my opinion only:

The Exage brakes are plastic over stamped steel, and is crappy. The brake levers are kinda crappy (weird adjustments and cables are not easy to remove and replace), shifters are good but connected directly to the brake levers which kinda suck. So the brake system as a whole is not good

I ended up replacing the U brake with a BMX dia compe version (this was 15+ years ago) and new cantilevers. Then found a lever/shifter combo that worked.

Drive train was good enough to keep. That frame seems nice enough, but I am not a fan of U-brakes mounted in that style.
I hear ya, about the brakes & brifters having a "cheap" vibe, but I was primarily after the frame. 👍 The Exage group is a little unusual though, so I didn't mind it much. After all, Excellent New Age only comes around every so often. 😁😉
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Old 10-03-19, 05:38 PM
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Decent find. But like mechanicmatt said, those "plastic" brakes are crap together with the levers. I have a couple of bikes with those. I don't think Bianchi was known to build quality mtb's anyway.
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Old 10-03-19, 05:47 PM
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I think the frame is nice. Just really not a fan of that entire brake system. Good news though. I believe any 7 speed shimano setup will still work with that 6 speed.
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Old 10-03-19, 06:14 PM
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Originally Posted by mechanicmatt
I think the frame is nice. Just really not a fan of that entire brake system. Good news though. I believe any 7 speed shimano setup will still work with that 6 speed.
Roger that, but if you use your front brake most of the time anyways, it's not a problem. 😉 That U-brake is just for backup. Besides, it's primarily for road riding, nothing extreme.
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Old 10-03-19, 06:19 PM
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I think it's nice. Worth upgrading
i'd get some ~50mm riser bars for one or some alt townie kind of bars
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Old 10-03-19, 06:53 PM
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This takes me back. My first "bike shop" bike was a royal blue Bianchi Forte from around 1989 or 1990. I think it was 1989 since I purchased it "on sale" in the fall of '89 at Michael's Cyclery in Ames, IA (the shop that would later become my employer). My Forte had cantilever brakes at the rear, though. I ended up changing out darn near every part on that bike before upgrading to a Cannondale M700. The lugged steel construction of the frame is likely its best asset. Based on the U-brake, I would figure this is a 1988 model. I could be wrong, tho.
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Old 10-03-19, 07:03 PM
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Good tubing and lugged goodliness! Winner in my book. Like you said, it’s really about the frame. U-brake puts it mid later 80’s

And... it has Celeste colour to it! Be sure and spend some time cleaning and shine up the frame.
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Old 10-03-19, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Soody
I think it's nice. Worth upgrading
i'd get some ~50mm riser bars for one or some alt townie kind of bars
That was the first thing I did, mounted up some old chrome riser bars. I'm not sure how much, but probably a good 3 or 4 inches. 👍
I gave up on these brifters already, lol, they were obviously made during an experimental period, at the secret Shimano laboratory. 😉 The shifter pods are screwed onto the brake levers, by means of a weird little corner bracket, and 2 phillips-headed machine screws. Ditto the other screw that mounts them to the handlebars, but that phillips head was rounded out pretty good on both sides. I wasted a little time on them, then gave up, they're just not worth any trouble. 😒
I haven't looked up date codes yet, but those hubs say "87" below that crown logo, so it's probably an '87 or '88. At least, that's my guess for now.
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Old 10-04-19, 05:54 AM
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Based on the style of Bianchi logo and components, this should be 1988-1989. The 1989 version is listed with SunTour XCM, so I'm assuming it's a 1988 model. I see a March 1988 date code on the crankarm, which increases my confidence in the model year. Undoubtedly contract manufactured in Asia but I'm not sure if it's Japanese or Taiwanese. The serial number will identify the nationality. It looks like it's already been upgraded somewhat, as it appears to have a later, sealed cartridge, bottom bracket. If so, that's one less item to service.
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Old 10-04-19, 06:31 AM
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I have those levers on my Triple Cross. I took the shifters off, because they were broken, and kept the levers with other shifters mounted beside them. I didn't think I would like them, but I do. The plastic seems déclassé, but on the other hand(s), they're comfortable, especially in cooler weather.

I know that no one likes those u-brakes, but I have used them on my winter bike without any issues—after new cables, cleaning and KoolStop pads :-)

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Old 10-04-19, 06:58 AM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
Based on the style of Bianchi logo and components, this should be 1988-1989. The 1989 version is listed with SunTour XCM, so I'm assuming it's a 1988 model. I see a March 1988 date code on the crankarm, which increases my confidence in the model year. Undoubtedly contract manufactured in Asia but I'm not sure if it's Japanese or Taiwanese. The serial number will identify the nationality. It looks like it's already been upgraded somewhat, as it appears to have a later, sealed cartridge, bottom bracket. If so, that's one less item to service.
Thanks, T-Mar. I'll get that serial number in awhile, once the sun comes up, lol. 😉I'm having coffee & donuts at a gas station here, & it's just before 6:00 AM. 😁
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Old 10-04-19, 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by steelrider58
This takes me back. My first "bike shop" bike was a royal blue Bianchi Forte from around 1989 or 1990. I think it was 1989 since I purchased it "on sale" in the fall of '89 at Michael's Cyclery in Ames, IA (the shop that would later become my employer). My Forte had cantilever brakes at the rear, though. I ended up changing out darn near every part on that bike before upgrading to a Cannondale M700. The lugged steel construction of the frame is likely its best asset. Based on the U-brake, I would figure this is a 1988 model. I could be wrong, tho.
Aha, so from this post and T-Mar's, we can not only be fairly sure this one's an '88, but now we know the '88 was the last year of the mighty U-brake. At least for Bianchi. 😁😉 The only real mystery now is, was this one made in Japan or Taiwan? We'll see. 😉
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Old 10-04-19, 07:27 AM
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Originally Posted by stardognine
Aha, so from this post and T-Mar's, we can not only be fairly sure this one's an '88, but now we know the '88 was the last year of the mighty U-brake. At least for Bianchi. 😁😉 The only real mystery now is, was this one made in Japan or Taiwan? We'll see. 😉
My blue 1989 Forte was made in Taiwan, if I remember correctly.
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Old 10-04-19, 08:05 AM
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OK, looks like H8D05668. And why bother cleaning that BB shell? It'll just get dirty again, lol. 😁😉 I did wipe it down, after the pic, and don't see any other numbers or letters, on the side. 🙂
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Old 10-04-19, 05:25 PM
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The serial number confirms a 1988 Taiwanese model manufactured by Hodaka in April.
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Old 10-04-19, 05:54 PM
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Nice "period" find. My take on things like the U-brake, I liken them to things like the integrated-bed Ford pickup trucks of the early '60s. Not the best technological decision / execution, but an icon of the time. Unless you want to totally modernize the bike, I would keep it, along with the integrated thumbies, etc.
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Old 10-04-19, 08:06 PM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
The serial number confirms a 1988 Taiwanese model manufactured by Hodaka in April.
Thanks again, T-Mar, much appreciated. 👍 I didn't know Hodaka made bicycle frames, but if it's the same company, they made some killer off-road motorcycles. 😎

I got the brakes overhauled, with fresh cables & pads, and felt like it was safe enough for a test ride. The U-brake was tricky to get adjusted, but now it'll lock up the back wheel, just as well as any v-brakes I've used. 🙂

I don't know what it is exactly, but this thing flies! Probably those hubs, but I don't see much of anything on the interwebs about them, other than they were used on some 24" BMX wheels. I guess that would mean they're pretty sturdy, at least. 😁 Oh, the wheels are 36-spoke, so I'm guessing sturdy, again.

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Old 10-05-19, 04:30 AM
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Originally Posted by mechanicmatt
What follows is my opinion and my opinion only:

The shifters are good but connected directly to the brake levers which kinda suck. So the brake system as a whole is not good.
this is Shimano Total Integration (STI) in action. STI was as much about exclusion as it was ergonomics and performance. By attaching the shifter to brake lever, and having ‘brifters’ it kep bike companies from specking shipmano shifters and derailleurs and then other companies brakes, cranks etc. I believe there was more than one lawsuit over this.
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Old 10-05-19, 05:06 AM
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Whenever I get a bike on the stand that has those type of brake levers/shifters, they are the first things to get canned. I don't even bother working with them. Even if you're on a budget, there are so many better options out there.
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Old 10-02-20, 10:53 PM
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I just saw this exact same model, in similar shape, at the thrift store for $30. The frame and drivetrain caught my eye, but the chain stay brake and lesser components made me question whether it would be worth it. I'm sure it would make a fine all-around bike, but does it have the used online market value of, say, a Stumpjumper or lugged Trek MTB of similar vintage? My gut tells me no, this bike is more like a Schwinn high plains: nice frame, but overall unremarkable bike that's never going to fetch the resale value of those other models.
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Old 10-03-20, 12:57 AM
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Originally Posted by friasc
I just saw this exact same model, in similar shape, at the thrift store for $30. The frame and drivetrain caught my eye, but the chain stay brake and lesser components made me question whether it would be worth it. I'm sure it would make a fine all-around bike, but does it have the used online market value of, say, a Stumpjumper or lugged Trek MTB of similar vintage? My gut tells me no, this bike is more like a Schwinn high plains: nice frame, but overall unremarkable bike that's never going to fetch the resale value of those other models.
It's still worth a lot more than $30.
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Old 02-13-22, 11:20 PM
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Just like mine

I still have mine I bought in college in 1989 exactly like this. My teenaged son now rides it. I love Bianchi green and can’t bear to part with it, but badly want an e-bike now. My garage is full!
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