Classic & Vintage - Good Lord she's fast!

A celeste Bianchi has been on my short list for a while. I finally bought a frame off BF and built her up in classic black. Even though she's supposed to be a large frame she fits perfectly and she's incredibly fast. She just makes me feel strong and energetic, even on hills. I did use a modern compact crank and 8 speed Campy Chorus wheels but stayed with nice DT shifters.
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6113/dscn1681c.jpg
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/399/dscn1677f.jpg
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/1355/dscn1674c.jpg
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2563/dscn1676t.jpg

I knew a girl like that.
The only problem was, being Italian, she eventually kicked me to the curb.
I let my friend Frankie deal with her. He's Italian, and could understand.

Awesome build, great balance of color. Is that LizardSkin wrap?

The Trofeo is indeed a nice bike. Give credit to Bianchi for producing a nicely lugged steel frame in 1997 and 1998.

Sweet!

So that's what mine's going to look like when I get her cleaned up and put back together. :) Mine's a later vintage ('97) and came with eight speed Campy w/brifters, otherwise she's the spittin' image of yours.

What compact eight speed double crankset are you using? Mine has the stock 52/39, but my other two bikes have compacts and I'd like to keep them similar.

I'm currently waiting on a new rim to be laced to the original rear hub. The stickers on the original wheels were starting to peel, so I decided I'd finish the job and run clean rims. When I pulled the "Campagnolo" sticker off the rear rim, I found two cracks emanating from a spoke hole. :( You pays yo' money, you takes yo' chances...

That looks dialed in & fast! I like the crank - great choice.

great looking Bianchi! do I spy a ovalized DT near the BB shell? that is one of the many things that make your feel so fast when you ride her hard.

Great bike!

several people were skeptical of the celeste and black theme i planned for my reparto corse sscx build. i love the way it turned out. yours looks great as well!

New skinny tires and max air pressure, that's what made my bike feel 3-5 mph faster.

That looks dialed in & fast! I like the crank - great choice.
It's a Trutativ Elita compact crank 34/50 with external bearings. This one was bought as-new for $70 on Ebay. I find them very functional and economical. I wanted to keep to a black theme.


great looking Bianchi! do I spy a ovalized DT near the BB shell? that is one of the many things that make your feel so fast when you ride her hard.
It may be ovalized, she dates somewhere in the 90's. Along with my Colnago Master Olympic she's the fastest bike. The carbon lugged 90 Miyata with TT cockpit now ranks third. It just got a new SRAM compact crank.


I knew a girl like that.
The only problem was, being Italian, she eventually kicked me to the curb.
I let my friend Frankie deal with her. He's Italian, and could understand.
My wife is half Italian and she's jealous of my bikes. She's moderated a bit recently since I bought a used pickup with the bike flip money.


New skinny tires and max air pressure, that's what made my bike feel 3-5 mph faster.
The Bianchi has Mavic 700c rims with good 700 x 23c tires. I keep them between 110 and 120 psi. One of my cross bike has 700 x 28 / 32 tires at 70 - 80psi The Roval high flange wheelset is lightweight but the cross bikes are definitely sluggish compared to the road / touring bikes.

I did a blacked-out Bianchi last year for my brother. I like your choice of stem and levers.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/thejapino/9ea6c44d.jpg

Fantastic build. Looks great with the black accents. I'm seeing too many sweet Celeste Bianchi's here lately. This is getting dangerous for my bank account.
And I have an Italian wife! Don't want to wake up one morning with my Bianchi's head tube and stem at the foot of my bed. :D