cstar 

Hi guys,

I picked up what I think is probably a mid 1980s Bianchi today. I have always wanted a Celeste green Bianchi but admittedly I know very little about Bianchi models amd hierarchy. So, I would absolutely love any information you have about this bike in terms of how high or low end it is, and I think I got a fair deal, but I would love to know what its actually worth. I live in MA, for market reference.

There are no tube set stickers anywhere, and there is no model name that I can find... I believe it does say Made in Italy. The parts are all Italian at least. It doesn't look like it ever had such stickers. No evidence of their presence or removal. Reminds me of a Campione d'Italia but as I said it's missing any model name.

Many thanks in advance! Hope you are all staying healthy.

DMC707

Very nice bike that has seen an unfortunate amount of weathering --- was it stored under a carport or something?

Anyway --- kind of a mixture of Euro parts and I cant tell you what the exact model is --- but given my recent experiences in the CV bike market (to include an attempt to sell a Bianchi track bike) -- id say that anywhere between $125 to at most $200 is a fair deal if you love the color and are willing to spend a few hours on corrosion mitigation (getting rid of the rust )

Again - cool bike - I even like the era appropriate aero bars

The bike looks no bigger than a 52 or 53 so the original pilot was likely not statuesque but the long quil on the stem is baffling

T-Mar

The decal scheme is 1988 or 1989. Based on the front derailleur hanger, chrome restricted to the dropouts flats and what appears to be faint, cursive Bianchi lettering on the stay caps, it should be a 1988 Bianchi Super Leggera, in which case the tubeset should be a Columbus SL and SP mix. However, if so, it appears to have been almost completely rebuilt, even the headset. Strangely, the component mix largely resembles a 1987 Super Leggera. That raises the possibility of a warranty replacement frame or a re-decal. Even then, it's still at least partially rebuilt, as the components span different eras. The final possibility is some foreign market model. The serial number should at least allow us to verify the year of manufacture, which may help to determine the model.

cstar 

Thank you very much, both of you. I am so appreciative of this information!!

DMC, yes the quill height is quite funny. I imagine that bar and stem setup must feel awfully loose and flexy when you're in the tri uppers really cranking, lol. I will definitely be going for normal drop bars as soon as I get around to it.

Thank you so much for the info about it being a possible 88-89 warranty frame with 87 parts. That's a neat combo I wouldnt have expected. I'll get a serial number today. In your opinion, does this sort of mutt combination and history hurt the value? I am honestly falling for this bike bad so I think I'll be keeping it but I would still love to know what its worth in case I do need to let it go someday.

I would be thrilled if we can figure out what model it truly is. I would love to order the right model name stickers and Columbus stickers. Never had a bike this fancy, would love to get all those missing details back in place.

cstar 

I was able to locate the serial number (I think). The BB shell, on the chainring side, has 23253 stamped into it. I hope that can shed some more light on this bike.

T-Mar

That's only part of the serial number, There should also be a two character alpha-numeric, probably stamped on the other side of the BB shell.

cstar 

What do you make of this, 6I? The corrosion is pretty bad there so its hard to tell if there's something else there

T-Mar

Based on the additional evidence supplied by the serial number, my leading candidate is a 1987 Bianchi Super Leggera with incorrect replacement decals. Tubeset is Columbus SL/SP, same as 1988.

cstar 

T-Mar thank you so much for your abundant help with identification of this bike. I really appreciate it. Its a bit rough but I love it and I am stoked to clean it up!