Andy_K 

It took FedEx nearly three weeks to get this from Kansas to Oregon (I think one of their oxen died along the way), but today my freshly powder coated 1989 Bianchi Giro finally got dropped off at the local FedEx store for me to pick up.

Given the delays in shipping, I was really worried they would have damaged it. The box had some minor damage, but nothing a well packed frame couldn't withstand.


Alas, not everything survived the trip intact.


Luckily, they sent me four of those.

A peek in the box looked promising.


Clearly, this is not their first rodeo.


I think Dexter did the final packing on the frame.


And, now, the thing you came here to see...


I couldn't be happier if I were twins! Expect to see an update with a completed build by this weekend.

Andy_K 

For those who don't remember this from previous threads, here's what it looked like before I sent it off to be powder coated.



That doesn't look too bad, but on closer inspection it was riddled with spots like these.







Also, I'm the sort of person who believes that a Bianchi should be Celeste. When I bought this frame I was looking for a Celeste Bianchi, but I found this one at a good price. I thought the layers of chipped paint shown above, along with overspray on the steerer, gave evidence that this one used to be Celeste. Groody Bros told me that they had trouble media blasting the frame due to four layers of paint. It took three rounds of chemical stripping to get to the bare metal. Here's an intermediate picture showing their efforts.



I think that tiny bit of glossy Celeste in front of the tip of the seat stay is probably the original color. The fact that the powder I chose matches it makes me even more attached to that belief.

merziac

@Andy_K

Fantastic!

Looks great.

Glue those coasters to some wood or other backing to save the one and make them all more sturdy.

gugie 

Bueno! Hopefully there will be enough dry to do a Lerner/Pizza and beer run soon to check it out.

Andy_K 

Yes! Pizza is one of the few things that would make this better.

orcas island 

Wow! That frame came out really nicely! Would you mind me asking what they charge for a job like that
( strip paint and then powder coat)?

gugie 

Don’t forget the beer

DMC707

Cool!

And thanks for the tip on Goody Bros. ! As i am in Oklahoma, and a frequent visitor to KS - they are not too far off the beaten path for me !

noobinsf 

I thought I recognized this bike from the Groody Bros gallery (or maybe Instagram?) page, with customer “Andy.” I’ve been thinking of sending a frame their way.

orcas island , the website has a price list for services: https://groodybros.com/pricing

northbend 

That turned out really nice, Andy!

Andy_K 

Yeah, that's what I would have responded. Because of the trouble with the layers of paint they charged me an extra $30 for chemical stripping, which is much less than I would have expected based on seeing what it took.

SurferRosa

Damn, that's cheap!!

Full frameset blast and coat for $150??

$25 frame alignment?!?!?

Bici Veloce

tricky 

So good! Can't wait to see if built up and, fingers crossed, in person some day!

rccardr 

Looks like all of your concern over the right shade of celeste really paid off. Nice work, Andy!

Andy_K 

Yeah, I’m very happy with that. I have a couple of accessories (hoods, which I’m not going to use) and bar end plus) that don’t quite Mach it, but they don’t match each other either. Such is Celeste. I think it looks a bit greener in the light of my garage than in the picture above. I think it’s a very good match to other pictures I’ve seen of late 80’s Bianchis.

nlerner

Nice blue frameset, Andy!

Andy_K 

Sky blue! I'm thinking about using sky gray saddle and bar tape.

RustyJames 

You guys will probably go on a day that I can’t attend (grumble, grumble…)

Andy_K 

I can't speak for @gugie, but I could probably be talked into sneaking away for a mid-week ride if we plan ahead. If we start from West Beaverton instead of the Atelier, the beer and pizza is even closer.

VtwinVince

Extra prima! I'm also a Celeste freak.

Spaghetti Legs 

Very nice Andy! Order is restored to the universe. Here’s my ‘89 Giro before I sold it. rccardr can post a pic of it’s current regalia. Actually as I write this, I remember I swapped out the frame in the first pic for one that was a better fit which I think is an ‘89 but might be an ‘88.

Andy_K 

I can't tell you how many times I've looked at that lower picture trying to figure out what I wanted to do with mine. Everything from color to decal placement to saddle, bar tape, cable, and bottle cage colors. I'm ending up with a lot of different choices, but your bike has been an inspiration.

@Drillium Dude convinced me that there's such a thing as too much Celeste (though most Bianchi owners seem to be unaware of this). I finished the initial rebuild tonight with blue cables (matching the blue in the decals), a gray saddle, and black bar tape. I've ordered some blue bottle cages, but I'm not sure that's going to work. So far, I think it looks pretty good. Hopefully I'll take a picture tomorrow.

Spaghetti Legs 

Yeah Celeste can be over done, especially as often a lot of the bits won’t quite match the paint. My current Bianchi, I dialed it back with white saddle and white cage.

johnnyace 

Bellissimo, Andy! Looking forward to seeing the finished product, let me know if there's a shakedown ride in the near future.