Classic & Vintage - Bianchi Celeste Super Leggera Restoration - Pic Heavy

I'm restoring what I think is a Bianchi Super Leggera. It had tri-bars and had obviously been employed as such (there was sand in the handlebars :lol:). I'm putting a 3TTT bar/pantographed stem combo on it.

The model stickers are no longer visible. The BB reads "Campagnolo - Athena" and I'm assuming all the components (other than stem and seat post are Athena. The hubs are original, but the rims are mismatched and unoriginal. I'm guessing that this is an '88-'89 model. The serial number is "3270" and the BB also has "L9" stamped into it. I don't know anything about Bianchi dating. This is my first Bianchi restoration.

One of the RD jockey wheels was cracked so I replaced them both with NOS, red Bullseye wheels. :thumb: I've removed all components and thoroughly cleaned the frame. I used #0000 steel wool on some of the rusty spots that I intend to cover with touch-up paint. I've cleaned and repacked the headset. Now I need to remove the brake pads from the original holders and replace them. The brake hoods cleaned up well. All of the steel hardware was given the OA treatment. The crank is now back together. I'll need to get a Campy BB tool to deal with that.

I need some help with a few other issues:


What rims did this come equipped with originally?
What pedals did this come equipped with originally?
Is there a source for Celeste vinyl or other material with which to recover the saddle?
Has anyone used this Celeste touch-up paint (http://www.bikyle.com/BianchiAccess.asp)? Would you recommend it or another?


http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/100181/My%20Photo_8/web.jpg?ver=12892335940001
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http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/100181/My%20Photo_14/web.jpg?ver=12892352810002http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/100181/My%20Photo_3/web.jpg?ver=12892332550001
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The Col. has asked me about saddle recovering...if anyone does know if a source for a good celeste substitute please let either of us know. I've been perusing some online upholstery suppliers and can come close but nothing has tweaked me...of course, that can be color issue son monitors and with pics too.

very nice! How did you clean the rusty bits on the brakes? OA?

Edit: Sorry, I got carried away with the pictures and the nice results and forgot to finish reading. Disregard question.

very nice! How did you clean the rusty bits on the brakes? OA?

Thanks! Yes and no. The parts that were removable without disassembling the calipers completely were treated with OA. The conical shaped nuts in the last photo in post #2 were cleaned with a brash brush, #0000 steel wool and 600 grit sandpaper.

Great bike to have for a project...

As far as getting celeste material, how about finding a used celeste saddle and robbing the hide off of it(as long as there is enough material)?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/2039644694.html

^ Mike, that's a good idea, but I'd rather just select the closest vinyl match and live with it. It doesn't seem that the material is very expensive. As close as we can get in this case will be good enough.

I ride a 63cm frame (this is a 55x55), but I am looking forward to a spirited test ride when I get it up and running.

very nice! How did you clean the rusty bits on the brakes? OA?


Thanks! Yes and no. The parts that were removable without disassembling the calipers completely were treated with OA. The conical shaped nuts in the last photo in post #2 were cleaned with a brash brush, #0000 steel wool and 600 grit sandpaper.

I do pretty much the same except I do the full Monty. With Shimano and DC calipers I just disassemble them completely...OA the steel (springs, chome nuts, steel nuts, bolts, etc), clean and/or polish the rest depending on the presence of anodizing or not. I even go so far as to clean and smooth the washers (plastic and metal) and such...in the case of most DC calipers, I polish the brass washers and everything then apply a THIN film of grease. It's amazing how smooth even cheap DC calipers get when treated in such a way. The nice part about it is you can tighten the locknuts a little harder because they're so smooth which makes them work much more precisely.

^ I've disassembled Dia Compe and Weinmann sidepulls and centerpulls, but the only parts that were rusted and not easily removable on these calipers were the conical shaped nuts. I've never restored a bike with these calipers before and my better judgment said, "Dude, don't take those apart. This could get ugly". This time I decided to listen. :)

great job, can't wait to see th finished product. I believe what you have there is a '89 Giro de Italia. the top three bike in '89 all used the SLX frameset, the Giro had Athena, the Leggera Chorus, and IIRC the Mondiale was Croce d Anue.

aslong as you don't scratch the nuts taking apart these brakes is not much harder than anyothers.

personaly if I were going through he hassle of recovering a saddle for that Bianchi I would find blue bartape, and cable housing then, leather to closely match for the saddle. I think it makes the decals 'pop' a bit more than using all celeste

great job, can't wait to see th finished product. I believe what you have there is a '89 Giro de Italia. the top three bike in '89 all used the SLX frameset, the Giro had Athena, the Leggera Chorus, and IIRC the Mondiale was Croce d Anue.


Thanks, BG! I knew you'd live up to your name. So, this is the top model? Cool. Is there a difference between Athena and Chorus? The bike had a Thomson seatpost on it. I have a nice SR seat post, but I suppose the owner and I should do it justice and find an Athena seatpost.

Do you have a catalog scan of the '89 Giro?


aslong as you don't scratch the nuts taking apart these brakes is not much harder than anyothers.


They're clean and ready to go. I'll forgo the full disassemble this time, but next time I won't hesitate. Thanks.


personaly if I were going through he hassle of recovering a saddle for that Bianchi I would find blue bartape, and cable housing then, leather to closely match for the saddle. I think it makes the decals 'pop' a bit more than using all celeste

That's a good point. I like your idea, however, I disagree about using blue housing. I think white housing will look best as the hoods are white. I'll consult the owner about using blue for the saddle and bar wrap as I agree it will look great.

I'll try and get you a scan if you PM over the wekend to remind me. the Giro was third model down and I think the same bikes were still offerd in '90 but I want to double check

+1 on blue housing and tape, the folks from the Gold Coast ride can tell you how good it looks...

I do have black hoods/black Turbo saddle however

personaly if I were going through he hassle of recovering a saddle for that Bianchi I would find blue bartape, and cable housing then, leather to closely match for the saddle. I think it makes the decals 'pop' a bit more than using all celeste

I do have a Blue Flite ti laying around somewhere....