Classic & Vintage - 198x Bianchi Brava

I have been searching online all day for information regarding my 198x Bianchi Brava. What I do know is that it was made in Japan. On the fork lug, it doesnt have the Bianchi logo, only the letter "B." It came with Shimano 105 all around. The wheels are Ukai 36h 700x25 in a Bronze or Anthractite finish laced to Shimano 105 hubs. What throws me off the most is the Bianchi decal on the downtube, all the Bianchi Brava frames I have seen online have the word "Bianchi" in celeste finishing off the decal with some magenta. However, my downtube decal is completely celeste. Here is the serial number: J5678980

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/xg43x/Bianchi_Brava_Before.jpg

Schweeet :)

really nice bike, wish I could take her for a spin

From what I can see, those appear to new New 105 components, which should place it 1987-1989. Check the component codes against the info on the Vintage-Trek website to narrow it down.

According to Sheldon Brown's Shimano chart, the cranks are 1986. Notice the decal's on mine and all these.

This ia a 1984 Bianchi.

http://velospace.org/files/bianchi_brava.jpg

This is a 1985 Bianchi.

http://velospace.org/files/brava2.jpg

This is a 1986(?) Bianchi

http://images.craigslist.org/0101080102120104082007090186b665df3d13d44526006c90.jpg

This is a 1988 Bianchi.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/xg43x/brava.jpg

This is a 1989 Bianchi.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a57/crazy-b/BianchiLarge.jpg

I have a 1988 Brava made in Italy, same Shimano group complete with the white hoods, and the decals are blue! No celeste in sight....

I can't figure out this Japan vs. Italy thing.... did they sell bikes with the same model name in the same years made in two places? Or did they make them in Italy for a year or two, then Japan? Either way, they are nice bikes!

According to Sheldon Brown's Shimano chart, the cranks are 1986...

Well, that could still make it a 1987 model. The components have to be manufactured ahead of time, so that they are available for the new bicycle models, which are often in the LBS prior year end, even though they the model year they represent doesn't some into effect until January. It's similar to Detroit having the 2008 models in the car lots right now.



I can't figure out this Japan vs. Italy thing.... did they sell bikes with the same model name in the same years made in two places? Or did they make them in Italy for a year or two, then Japan? Either way, they are nice bikes!

The latter scenario definitely took place. The former may have.

Back during the 1970s bicycle boom, all Italian bicycles were made in Italy. As the market shrank after the boom, manufacturers had to cut costs. Manufacturing was cheaper in Japan and Taiwan and many European manufacturers offloaded their entry level models and even mid-range models to these countries. Then, about 1985, there was a massive re-evaluation of the Yen, which made Japanese manufactured bicycles a lot more expensive. This led to more offloading to Taiwan and in some cases, like Bianchi, some of the manufacturing was pulled back to the brand's country of origin.


It's also possible to have the same model, made in two different countries, during the same year. If, for instance, a subcontractor experienced a strike, factory fire, natural disaster, etc., the manufacturer would move the brand to another subcontractor or pull it back to his own factory.

It's also not uncommon for manufacturers to use two different subcontractors/factories at the same time. The secondary subcontractor/factory usually has a small but steady volume. That way, if the primary subcontractor/facotory has problems whereby they cannot fulfill their obligation, another factory is ready to take up the load with minimal impact.

The above practices of mutli-sourcing and the general trend of sending manufacturing to and then away from Japan was not unique to Bianchi. It happened with most brands and was driven by economic factors.