Dannyboy21

Brought the staff at my LBS some lunch today, and they told me to take this home with me. Please help ID this Bianchi. Looks like Suntour Sprint maybe. 27.2 seat post. Serial number looks to be 872156. It's a Canadian market bike. Bianchi experts?

T-Mar

Combination of Formula tubing decal fork and logo style indicates 1988 mid-range model. It looks like a Campione d' Italia, except for the SunTour Sprint derailleurs. USA market Cd'I of this era typically came with SunTour Cyclone while Canadian market came with Campagnolo.

Dannyboy21

It did cross my mind that the rear derailleur could be Quattro branded but it has the remnants of the black band of a Sprint, which the Quattro did not have as far as I know. Since the front der. is Sprint I was thrown for a loop. But, Campion d'I was one of my guesses along with the Quattro. Can't find much online.

Dannyboy21

T-Mar Your info helped quite a bit ... again. Using the 1988 tip I found this photo which seems to match up my specimen's specs to the Trofeo. Eg. Modolo Flash brakes, Suntour Sprint, Miche headset and hubs etc. Thoughts?

gkamieneski

Pretty sure that's a Quattro rear derailleur and the Ambrosio rims also point to CDI.

jonny7

Does this ^ chart represent the bianchi "hierarchy" ? Trying to evaluate my own Campione d'Italia

Dannyboy21

The Quattro derailleur I own and the examples I find online do not have a black band. Whereas the Sprint 9000 does. The other spec items from the sheet line up with Trofeo much more than CdI. Except for rims. Ah Bianchi Canada.

Dannyboy21

Colour options in 88 point to CdI too. Hmm.

Dannyboy21

But to confound things a little more here is the rear wheel. When I see a mismatched pair, it is usually the rear that has been replaced, but I have personally taco'd my front wheel on a spill at one point so, who knows.

Dannyboy21

I just found a comment in another thread where Bianchigirll indicated the CdI may have donned Suntour Sprint for a year. And as @T-Mar stated early on, it's a mid-level Bianchi. Done deal. Now to take it apart, sandblast the frame and start thinking about paint.

T-Mar

That's a pretty old post by BG. Early on, she wasn't aware that the Canadian and USA models were often spec'd differently. I remember her (and other members) stating that the chrome forks on mid-1980s Bianchi were replacements, when the vast majority were OEM forks on Canadian market models. It took me a while and scans from Canadian catalogues to convince members that the Canadian market Bianchi were spec'd independently (by Miele) and were often different from what the USA rec'd.

I believe those one year Cd'I with Sprint were actually a Canadian market model a step or two above the Cd'I ,as they're almost always from Canada. They're close to the USA market Trofeo but not exactly the same, the most notable difference being the USA's Argentin Celeste paint scheme with the black stays, fork and head tube. However, I hesitate to call your bicycle a Canadian market Trofeo, as the Canadian market models sometimes used different model names.

T-Mar

Yes, that chart does represent the Bianchi hierarchy but only for the USA. The Canadian market was different at this time Unfortunately, I don't have a complete Canadian market catalogue for 1988. What I can tell you is that your Cd'I was a mid-range model, roughly equivalent to the USA market model, with the notable difference being Campagnolo derailleurs, and that is had a retail price of $699.00 CDN.

Dannyboy21

Had a chat with a guy via Kijiji tonight. He was selling the same bike down to the last detail: colour, decals, groupset (Sprint 9000/Modolo/Ofmega) 3ttt contact points and wheels (his are Ambrosio Elites) He is the original owner of his bike. which is in great condition, and he confirmed it is a Trofeo. I thought I would add this information to the forum. These photos are of the individual's Trofeo.