ujeni

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while now. Helpful place!

Through a series of unfortunate eBay encounters, I have come into possession of a Bianchi Reparto Corsa TSX frame from the early 90s. It came with a worn set of Dura Ace 74xx series components which I promptly removed. The frame is my size and I must confess to being enamored with it: the color, the heritage and the craftsmanship.

I have a very nice 2001 Trek 5200 OCLV with Ultegra 6500 that I use now, but I like the idea of building up this Bianchi and getting it back on the road to compliment or perhaps replace the Trek. So my question is this: should I go for used period-correct components from Campagnolo or Shimano....or should I build this up with a fresh set of r8000 Ultegra? Positives and negatives to both directions. I'm curious what you would do in my place.

sloar 

How bad of condition is the Dura Ace that came on it. If it were mine I’d try to use it, I love the 7400 series.

ujeni

The STI levers are cracked and the hoods are toast. The rear derailleur is broken and the chain rings are very worn. The wheels seem nice (7403 hubs with mavic rims). Brake calipers seem fine. Cranks seem fine too. All cables are toast. Bottom bracket is a mess.

himespau 

I put 10 speed Campagnolo Triple parts on all of my classic frames, but that's just what works for me. Getting harder to find than they were though.

bikingshearer 

I'll go in reverse order of my personal preference. Keep in mind these are my opinions and they are worth exactly what you are paying for them.

My least favored option by far would be the modern Ultegra set. I have no doubt it works great, but I am an old phart who is set in his ways and I dislike (to put it mildly) the way it looks. I don't like the way modern groupsets look on modern frames, and I think they would look absolutely dreadful and out of place on a classic old Bianchi.

Next higher on my list would be going the period-correct route. I'd probably go Shimano because my sense is that they had their act together better than Campy did in that era. (Somebody will no doubt be along shortly to say how wrong wrong wrong I am about that.)

My top choice, one you did not mention, (hear me out on this) would be Campy 10sp. Veloce, Centaur, Chorus, Record - they all work well and the parts are interchangeable across the various models, not always true with Shimano. For me, it would be 10sp triple, not double, for the low gears. Either way, it looks good on a classic old frame, it works well, and everything will go on your frame seamlessly. You'd probably have to get the rear triangle spread to 130mm, but that is eminently doable. My favorite bikes have Campy 10spp triple and have had the rear triangles spread, so know it can be done with minimal effort beyond finding the parts.. [[i]Edit: I see himespau beat me to it. He is obviously a person of class and discernment.]

I'm glad to hear that you want to get that Bianchi back on the road. It deserves it.

VtwinVince

Ditto, 10 speed Chorus is indestructible.

himespau 

With an early 90's TSX, it probably doesn't even need the rear triangle spread. None of these are set up quite this way now (after getting hit the Concorde needs the rear triangle re-aligned, and the others have gone through several different build iterations/have different saddles/bars/etc. now), but these are some general ideas of 10 speed Campagnolo triple bits with frames of the rough era of your bike.

AdventureManCO 

Wow, that EM is a delight. Very nice.

ollo_ollo

+1 on 10 speed Chorus: Also consider 8/9 spd Daytona/Centaur or Chorus, available for less $$, (sometimes even Record 8/9). I'm happy with Daytona 9 speed on my Masi. Don

1984 Masi

icemilkcoffee 

Definitely not the R8000:


I would go for the Ultegra 6500 or Dura Ace 7700. Not period correct, but period close enough. Shimano components are a lot easier to come by than Campy. Check on your local Craigslist and see how many Shimano compatible wheelsets you can find vs Campy.

ujeni

Yeah, fair point on the R8000 crank issues! From what I have read, Shimano is doing the right thing and replacing them with few questions asked. That said, I agree that they are ugly!

Ultegra 6500 and Dura Ace 7700 are easy to find on eBay. Not seeing as much on eBay for Campagnolo. Is that the best place to find a used groupset for this frame?

ujeni

Also, it is indeed 130mm rear spacing.

rccardr 

On a similar age/quality Bianchi frameset, I used 10 speed Dura Ace with a compact Sugino crankset, downtube shifters and BL-R600 levers. Sublime.
Those 7403 hubs are lifetime bits if not damaged internally. Only limitation is a 12 tooth smallest cog.

Piff 

The cheapest/best place would be donor bike, otherwise yes, eBay is probably your best bet. Finding the right bike on craigslist to harvest parts from can take a long time, while eBay is awash with parts.

Nemosengineer 

Another vote for Dura-Ace, in my case all 7800 with the classic 7700 crankset, all triple, runs like a swiss watch.

Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr


: Mike

seagrade 

c. 1997 Bianchi TSX Reparto Corse with Chorus 9-speed, Mavic Opens, PMP Ti seatpost, Ritchey WCS stem FWIW…

jdawginsc 

6500 Ultegra is good stuff and looks pretty nice. Centaur stuff is also pretty awesome! Skeleton brakes are great stoppers. There is a century grey that looks great and if you can source a Campy-freehub one, Cosmos/Cosmic wheels in black would be a cool mix with it.

SJX426 

For my De Rosa Professional, I went with 10sp Record bits. they are not form the same year/model but work well for me.
De Rosa in Riding configuraton on Flickr
BigSmall on Flickr

I do like the aesthetics of the crank a lot better than Shimano DA of nearly any model.

The Pinarello Montello got the 9 speed Racing T application.
1991 Pinarello Montello - 9v Racing T on Flickr
P1050228 on Flickr

Both frames ae SLX