greenscobie86

I have a neighbor who has been letting this Bianchi sit around for a few years. I asked about it and he offered it to me for $200.

1990s(?) Columbus Thron tubed Bianchi
Looks to be Full Campagnolo Centaur in a gray finish (Sorry no drive side pic)
Campy Hubs
Ergopower shifters with torn up hoods.
Weird but no QR skewers on the campy hubs
Mavic SUP rims
Campy Athena/Chorus Seatpost?
Campy mirage 53/39 crankset
No name pedals(MKS maybe)

Sorry for the terrible photos, the bike was chained up and I couldn't really get back there to have a better look.
If Bike Forums gives me its blessing I plan on a repaint/rebuild/salvage whatever I can and ride.

fraba

Sure some work to do on this bike. I don't know much about Bianchi bikes but several members know quite a bit about "celeste" bikes. I also know that one of them likes "purple" bikes too (inside).

Bianchigirll 

It looks pretty beat but a Columbus Thron frame and so so Stratos(?) with a few issues may not be a bad deal. More importantly is that seat “pipe” is stem stuck?


Update. I just poked through the catalogs a bit and it appears this is a ‘94 Giro with Stratos group. The MSRP was around $1100.

greenscobie86

Thanks for the input everyone.

The stem and seatpost worry me as well. I'd love to be able to get that Aero seatpost out without damaging it but at this point it looks pretty rusted in there.
The Campy brifters are a new thing to me, not sure if they will simply "work" after sitting this whole time.

I looked at the Bianchi Catalogue and it looks like a 94' Giro indeed. Not the nicest bike but I think it is worth restoring.

That being said do you guys feel that the asking price is fair?

zukahn1 

With the brifters it is likely an all or nothing so try working them on the bike as it sits if they work fine if not figure on replacing the whole shift groupo into your pricce offer.

fleslider 

Usually if the shifters are not working that well , you can rebuild those with new G Springs.

greenscobie86

UPDATE:

Ended up buying the bike for $150. In the process of tearing it down/stripping it. Got a set of decals and a 1/2 pint of 2 stage(base/pearl midcoat) celeste paint. Moving slowly on this one for sure, but hoping it comes out well when I am done. Some progress photos below.
From stripping it down to a bare frame, removing decals, getting a paint match from a local autobody paint shop(the new paint looks to be matched well) and finally paint remover doing its thing. Happy to see its all chrome underneath!

Paul Waque 

Looks like a pretty good deal. I look forward to seeing how the pain turns out.

DMC707

Polish the chrome and give it some Celeste accents rather than the other way around!

Chrome bikes are fun!

greenscobie86

Updating this very slow going thread with progress...

Ended up cleaning up the Avanti group and putting the shifters, Centaur 10 speed RD, Avanti FD on my Masi with an 8 speed Shimergo setup(campy spacers on a HG-51 8 speed cassette) lol, feels sacrilegious but I like it! I probably won't build up this frame once its painted since its a little too small for me and I don't need another road bike.

Speaking of paint, I decided to stay "boring" and paint it up as it was. Etch primer is drying, will probably get it sprayed in the next week or so.

greenscobie86

Finished the paint today, unfortunately was not able to place the main lettering under the clear coat due to some really shoddy quality decals I purchased. All in all the paint(along with the pearlescent mid coat) came out ok. Only a couple of small bugs in the clear and no runs, my activator mix/weather was a little off so the clear needs some more time to flow out and "de gas" properly, hopefully not too much orange peel when its done. Now I'm off to search for some better decals...

ralphgangmozart

the update is looking amazing! Where did you get the new paint if you dont mind me asking

Robvolz 

fantastic job!! What kind of paint??

greenscobie86

Thanks for the kind words folks! Always happy to share my doings and have people get a kick out of it.

I got the paint matched at an auto body supply store in Corona, Queens(NYC.) As far as the type of paint, it was a regular old lower end "shop line" base/mid coat, not PPG or anything high end. I diluted it with cheapo Rustoleum specialty reducer from Autozone(1:1 mix.) Regarding clearcoat, it was some I had left over from a buddy who poured out about a pint for me a couple of years back, I think it was USC? All sprayed out of a 20+ year old $20 1.7mm HVLP gun, which frankly is really not suited for anything but primer, let alone this small of a job.

eri_kon

Thanks for the update on the bike! I’m restoring a bianchi myself so this is nice to see

bikemig 

Nice job on this bike. You might want to ask the mods to move this thread to C&V since this is no longer a valuation thread.

greenscobie86

Glad to share. Any questions feel free to ask!

Thank you!!! Yeah at this point I suppose you're right

celesteguy 

Nicely done. That frame deserved a new life for sure.

greenscobie86

Thank you! I thought so too celesteguy

zukahn1 

Nicely done one of the nicest home done paint jobs's have seen.

greenscobie86

Cheers! Much appreciated. This is the 8th frame I have painted this way, your comment makes me want to do more haha!

greenscobie86

Nearly all done! Decals took a really long time to show up from overseas and I've too been busy to apply them in all honesty. Went a little overboard and applied them to the fork also, why not since I had them laying around right?
Pressed in the headset, installed the bb cable guide, chased the water bottle boss threads, added dropout screws and a seat post bolt. Took a few terrible photos which don't do the frame justice. It still needs a little polishing of the chrome here and there but looks amazing compared to when I started. I really don't want to get rid of this one but it must go.

celesteguy 

Man, it looks fantastic! I hate to be the one to say this but your left side decal on the seat tube is backward/upside down. You killed it on the rest, you should definitely redo that before you clear it, if you are going to apply a clear coat.