T-Mar

Based on the S/N and desscription, I suspect that is a circa 1960 Bianchi Specialissima hidng under under all those modifcations and the repaint. I suspect that Bianchigirll will shed a few tears when she sees this one.

tsep

Thanks @tmar.
I am guessing they won't be tears of joy?

Bianchigirll 

1999 Veloce

buddiiee 

I have what I think is a '99 Veloce Reparto Corse, serial number WBK25261. Anything?

Bianchigirll 

here

buddiiee 

Ahh yes, good stuff here. Though while searching, I find a lot more Veloces than Reparto Corse Veloces. How rare is mine? The Veloce here seems to have a zero offset silver seatpost whereas my reparto corse has a slight offset black version. This one has the fork decals on the sides, mine has them on the front of the forks. And this one has the (to me) more desirable short cage derailleur where mine has what I call a touring model with the long cage. And lastly, mine is a 47cm, and the smallest size listed in that catalog's 48. Is there no mention of Reparto Corse in the 99 catalog?

Darme

For identification reference I am the original owner of a black Bianchi Superleggera. The only parts changed were pedals. I am posting a couple of pics.

T-Mar

With the exception of a missing letter suffix, that looks like the serial number format used for Danish market bicycles. I don't put any value in a Reparto Corse decal on a circa 2000 Veloce. By this point, at that level, it was primarily a marketing tool, used to indicate some form of Reparto Corse involvement, usually at the preliminary design stage. You should post photos of your bicycle.

buddiiee 

Here's mine. And yea, I know about what Bianchi did to the Reparto Corse name, though, if a bike is made by a reputable builder, and has the standard good stuff (dura-ace/campy sr) then it's all the same; it would be pretty worthless and just a marketing ploy anyhow in my opinion, to make a separate, more 'exclusive' building area for bikes, unless of course they were getting all the super fancy lug work that was chromed, and had say differentially butted tubing, whereas the other frames did not. Just my opinion. I never ever put any stock in the Reparto Corse badges. (most of us couldn't put any of that to use anyhow as most of us aren't professional racers anyhow)

The reason I say is mine some rare model, is because when I look it up, I usually find whats in that catalog, rather than mine. Here's one example of that: https://www.ebay.com/itm/38452236263...SABEgLn7_D_BwE

T-Mar

Race departments provide instant status for full range manufacturers. Besides Reparto Corse, other examples include Raleigh's Special Products Division and Peugeot's Prestige workshop. Most full range manufacturers who sponsored pro teams, have something similar, involving select, highly skilled individuals to build, assemble and maintain the team bicycles and often the very high end consumer product. It elevates these models to the stature of the small volume, high end, prestige brands. such as a Cinelli, Colnago or Masi.


Granted, the further up the hierachy you go, in a full range brand, the smaller the return on your investment. Everybody has their own point, at which they can no longer justify the extra cost. However, there are a lot of consumers who can justify a high end machine. Though the difference may be small, there are some that can detect and appreciate the difference. Then there are those that buy them, just to satisfy their ego. One way or the other, there is a significant market for pro grade bicycles.

buddiiee 

There may have been, but from what I'm seeing around me, road biking is dying. Walked into my local Trek store and out of that HUGE shop, there were exactly 3 road bikes in there. They told me no one wants road bikes any more lol.

merrman

Looking for some info on my friends bianchi. Made in Italy. Curious about year and model. Serial number is N9 7160. Nuovo record shifters/derailleurs , Modolo flash brakes Gipiemne crank, pedals and hubs.

Darme

Nice bike … looks like may be from around 1985 or so ..

Bianchigirll 

What does it say on the TT? Record 848? It is probably very close to our ‘84 Nuovo Racing




An ‘85 would likely have the Bianchi Special tubing

Darme

Guess my eyes fail me once again … I thought in 85 Bianchi used a square like head badge/decal on the 848…

Bianchigirll 

I think it depended on country/market. It could even be something Bianchi did for a short time and switched back to the regular decal.

It's one of the many cycling mysteries that will never be solved

T-Mar

Agreed, it's a Rekord 848. The frame is from 1986 and quite late in the year. Normally, I'd say it was a 1987 model but I'm not seeing the 1986-1987 Campione Del Mondo decal that was typically used on the 1987 models. I can't quite make out the Columbus decal but I've seen a lot of Rekord 848 from slightly earlier that were Tretubi SL/SP. Ultimately, the tubeset will be a big factor in the level of the bicycle.

As noted, the rear derailleur is a Campagnolo 980, which was bottom of the line. The Campagnolo/Gipemme/Modolo (and mayber some Ofmega) mix was common on the mid-1980s, mid-range models, though typicall not with Camapgnolo 980. The 980 could drag the bicycle down into upper entry level. It all depends on the tubeset.

While the USA didn't get the Rekord variants in the mid-1980s, some were still being imported into Canada. It's interesting that dropout transitioning is different on the forks and stays, as if they are mismatched. It looks as if there may have been some cost concessions to hit a target price.

merrman

Here are a few more pics of the stickers. It's in Vancouver B.C. but looks to come from California.

Bianchigirll 

These are two completely different bikes. The first one posted has a "standard" Columbus decal and would like be an '84 Model judging by the frame markings and components. The bike in this post is either an '86 or "87 based on the frame markings and the Formula Two Columbus decal. So which bike does your friend have?

Original bike posted

merrman

Sorry. Your right. That was first pic he sent me. I believe he was using that as comparison to try to determine model but didn't explain that to me. Here is another pic of actual bike. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the help in identifying. No sticker on top tube of his bike.

Bianchigirll 

This is very likely an '86 Nuovo Alloro, assuming it has the aforementioned FLash brakes and Gipimme cranks

merrman

Thanks for the help here and all the help the good folks at bike forums provide for us . That does look like the right one. Sorry again for confusion.

T-Mar

Agreed, those were different bicycles. However, the tubeset decal on the seat tube is not Formula Two but Formula One, as it has the red lettering. Yet, the fork decal is Formula Two. So, it's tretubi Formula One. While the component mix may be closest to the Nuovo Alloro, the tubeset is incorrect. This explained by it being a Canadian market model. It may not correspond to an American market model. We still had some Rekord 84x variants in Canada, after the Piaggio era. Unless further evidence surfaces, all you can say is that it is a 1986, mid-range, Canadian market Bianchi.

ezdrill

First time poster. What a great thread.
I've had a this Bianchi for about 15 years. A friend bought it at a garage sale in Edmonton, AB, Canada. It was too big for him and I've been riding it since!
Serial is 9.G (NDS) and 1089 (DS)
Shimano 105 rear derailleur
Shimano Biopace crank
FIR rims
Made in Italy sticker
Columbus stickers

I think the 9.G means July 1989. Could you help me learn anything else about it?
Thanks!
(sorry - won't let me post the photo to thread but I put it in my album)

T-Mar

Welcome to the forum. The subject bicycle is a 1989, Canadian market, Bianchi Brava, which was a lower, mid-range model. These differed substantially from the USA market Brava. The latter were manufactured in Japan, using Ishiwata 022/024 tubing and the component group was SunTour GPX.The Canadian version was manufactured in Italy, uses Columbus Cromor tubing and a Shimano New 105 group.

Columbus Cromor and the Ishiwata 022/024 mix are about equal and while the Japanese frames tend to have better workmanship, it is a Bianchi, so the Italian manufactured frame with Columbus tubing will have more prestige with a C&V crowd, especially when it has a traditional fork crown and the USA model employed a Unicrown.

I also give the edge the Canadian Brava in the component department. GPX and New 105 were direct competition for each other and while GPX was the first SunTour group with decent indexed shifting, it still wasn't up to the standard set by New 105. Also, Shimano won the indexing war, and it's far easier (and cheaper) to find replacement Shimano SIS components than SunTour. Accushift.

The photo is fuzzy but obvious replacement include the saddle, pedals and handlebar tape. The single pivot New 105 brake calipers look like they have been rpelaced with later, dual pivot models. The rear derailleur doesn't look quite right either, though that could be the due to light reflection. I don't recall these coming with a black seat post and given how much this one has been jacked-up, it would appear to be a longer replacement. The stem and possibly the handlbar may also be replacements, though I'm not sure. Better photos would help determine which components are OEM, if that is of interest to you. Photo assist...