Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - 198? Bianchi Sport ?

I was just given an old bicycle that I know nothing about and figured I'd post here to see what you all thought. I suspect it's a cheap 80s Made in Japan Bianchi, but I have not found much on the internet regarding 80s yellow Bianchi Sports. And it seems information via serial number is spotty at best.... ugh, it was so easy with my old Schwinn!

And I'm guessing some of the decals have been removed over the years since all of the images I see online have Bianchi's with decals down the seat tube. There is a Made in Japan sticker near the bottom bracket as well as a Paggio sticker on the seat tube.

Thoughts? Any guess on the year/model? Is anything on this old bike worth anything? I'm considering making it a fixed gear or SS bike, but a cruise around the neighborhood last night had me reconsidering as it was pretty smooth for an old machine. I just had to put new tires and tubes on it to get it back up and running.

The Specs:
- Bianchi Sport ?
- Serial Number - MH08083
- Sakae Custom Road Champion Bars
- Shimano 600 headset, front & rear derailleurs, brake levers, cranks, chain rings
- Shimano hubs on UKAI rims 700 x 25c
- Gran-compe brake calipers
- Phil pedals

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Based on the serial number and Piaggio decal, it should be a 1980 model. Based on the presence of a brazed-on bottle and shifter bosses, my initial reaction was a mid-range, Bianchi Limited but it does say Super on the top tube. Later Limited did come with 600EX but I thought the ones from the very early 1980s were Cyclone equipped.

This is not the typical Japanese contractor for Bianchi. Normally I'd say the tubeset was proably Ishiwata 022, but given the contractor it may be an equivalent Tange set. If you remove the fork, it may be stamped with the tube manufacturers logo and a date code.

I see "Tange-TF-R" stamped into the fork on the outside where the qr skewers would hold the wheel in the fork. If that means anything....

I'll work on removing the fork sometime this weekend to see if I see anything stamped on it.

Great looking Bianchi! In the '81 catalog I see a Super w/ all 600 and Gran Compe brakes just above the Limited. The Limited is festooned with Suntour Cyclone. funny a quick look through the '82 catalog not only shows no Super in the line up but no shimano either!

The colors look different so I agree with T-Mar this is likely a '80 model. As for the tubing Bianchi is not real spefic on the tubing other than to say "All Bianchi ChroMoly DB"

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=237857&d=1329582742


FYI you know that is a self extractor or single key release sytem in the cranks yes? However I would pull the dust cap off (you need a peg spanner wrench or a small pin spanner) and grease the inside of it. Alot of guys here hate them but I rather fancy them.
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=237856&d=1329582740

It is your bike but I think this has a great classy look and it would be a real shame to SS it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=237853&d=1329582737

Ok, I pulled the fork and found "Tange OL" stamped on it with some circle symbol next to it, but no date.

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http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=237873&d=1329590331

That looks like the original factory grease. from the looks of it, this bike has enjoyed a real easy life. clean all that sticky brown grease out of there and put some goot waterproof grease in.

I'll defer to T-Mar for more specific information but I think that is just the Tange (rhyms with flange) logo.

It is your bike but I think this has a great classy look and it would be a real shame to SS it.

That's what I'm wrestling with at the moment.... I've been wanting a nice steel lugged SS/Fixie, but this bike seems like it's in too good of a condition to convert. If I did go through with the conversion I'd keep all of the parts so it could be put back together.

Just did a search on these forums and found T-Mar made the following comment on another post.... http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/712848-How-to-tell-if-a-fork-is-Hi-ten-or-Cro-mo


It's probably Tange zero-L, as opposed to oh-L. It was common for Tange to use a two character, numeric-alpha date code. Zero represents the last digit of the year (i.e. 1970, 1980, 1990, etc.), while L corresponds to December ... ... ... 1980 is the most likely candidate.

Ok, I pulled the fork and found "Tange OL" stamped on it with some circle symbol next to it, but no date.

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OL is the date code. 0 = zero = 1980. L is generally considered to be December, so this fork should have been manufactured in December 1980. That's late enough that the bicycle itself should be a 1981 model. However, based on the serial number, the frame itself was built around the end of April, which would normally make it a 1980 model. Maybe the frame got caught up in some rework or our current understanding of the Tange date code format is incorrect? Either way, it's a 1980 or 1981 model. If you're really curious you can check the date codes on the Shimano components. Refer to the info on the components page of the Vintage-Trek website for location and decyphering. Let us know what you find.

The tubeset itself is likely Tange #2, given the level of components. If so, the seat post would typically be 26.8mm.

Thxs BG, I wasn't even aware of a Super model.

Edit: Oops, I see you found the fork code info, while I was responding.

I pulled the seat post out of the frame and found it stamped with 26.6. I'll do some research on the components and report back.

Thanks for all the help thus far, much appreciated!

26.6 would be the post size.

Thanks for the resource T-Mar! I used the website and found the following information. I think this puts it as a 1981 Bianchi Super?

What do you think this bike is worth in it's current condition, if anything?

Fork has a Tange OL stamped on it.

"OL is the date code. 0 = zero = 1980. L is generally considered to be December, so this fork should have been manufactured in December 1980."

So that makes it December 1980.



SR Seat Post has a B-81 stamped on it.

"Below the insertion mark on SR seatposts (and Sakae posts) is a stamped mark, such as F-84. The number is the year of manufacture and the letter appears to be the month of manufacture. In the example, the "F" indicates the sixth month, or June."

So that makes it February 1981.



Shimano 600 Crank - has EK stamped on it

"The first letter represents the year and the second is the month, where A is January and L is December. For the first letter A is 1976 and the letters proceed sequentially from there: K is 1986 and Z is 2001. Year 2002 restarts with A."

So that makes it 1980, November



Shimano Rear Hub - has EL (on center shaft) stamped on it
So it's 1980, December



Shimano Front Hub - has FA (on center shaft) stamped on it
So it's 1981, January

What makes you think it is a Sport? your bike has two important features missing from a Sport (which I believe '81 would be a Sport SS) whaich are a rear derailleur hanger and shifter brazeons. plus the 600 group makes it a much higher level bike than a Sport (SS)

Plus it actually has the Super Model name on the top tube. The color listed for the '81 Super is either Metallic Ivory or Burgundy, your bike has a different color decal than what the catalog shows but that was likely a change on the line.

I am not sure what you paid for that bike but it is worth more as rider than trying to sell it for a huge profit. it is a great looking and I am sure a great riding bike but in the used market it has a few things against it to get top dollar.

when it come to Bianchi everyone wants Italian made and Celeste. not have an index shifting system is another mark against it too since most buyers these days want indexing on anything over $200

If you do a good job overhauling and cleaning it and are patient you may find a buyer willing to shell out $200 or so. but you may have to ship it.

Sport was a typo on my part, I meant to say Super, doh!

This bike was actually given to me after having a conversation with a friend about a 71 Schwinn Continental restore I completed. I had a blast working on that old bike and shared that I couldn't wait to get on to another project. Afterwards he told me about an "old yellow bianchi" he had given to him that I could have if I wanted to work on it. He didn't know much about the bike except that it had the word "Super" on it, and that it has Shimano 600 components.

I'm actually not looking to sell it at all, but instead wanted to do some proper research before I dug in and took anything apart. The last thing I wanted to do was rip apart something that I should have left intact because it was of significant value. I'm actually relieved to hear that it's not because I'll now feel much more comfortable converting it (if I go that route), keeping the parts, and putting it back together if I ever get the desire in the future. If it was of significant value I'd rather get it in someone else's hands and move on to another project. ;)

I appreciate all of the shared knowledge and opinions! I've never ridden a Bianchi and I know nothing about them... I'm enjoying the research and have to admit this old bike tugged on my heart strings with how smooth it rode after getting a new set of tires. Sadly (because I'm looking to tinker and learn), if I leave it as is I don't think it needs much work besides a washing, new bar tape, cables, and a re-lubing.

Yes, based on the components it's definitely a 1981 model. The frame was onviously hanging around the factory for a quite a while before it got built up. Normally, they wouldn't stockpile frames that far in advance, so I'm assuming it got caught up in some kind of rework.

Value is highly dependent on local market conditions. Not knowing your locale makes it harder to provide an educated quess, but BG is in the ballpark with $200, unless your market is extremely hot or soft.

I appreciate all of the shared knowledge and opinions! I've never ridden a Bianchi and I know nothing about them... I'm enjoying the research and have to admit this old bike tugged on my heart strings with how smooth it rode after getting a new set of tires. Sadly (because I'm looking to tinker and learn), if I leave it as is I don't think it needs much work besides a washing, new bar tape, cables, and a re-lubing.

Your welcome we are always happy to help. You may not have gues this but I love Bianchis. I have ridden and actually own other brands but nothing rides like a Bianchi, I am sure there is a certain amout of biased here but they just always feel right.


OH well if your looking to learn... clean this up and use it to ride and learn about riding and look for a fun club or group to ride with. then you need a fixer upper or project bike (sort of like hotrod in the garage) to hone you mechainical skills. before you know it you'll have a garage full of projects.

Very nice Bianchi. Should be a great rider.


That's what I'm wrestling with at the moment.... I've been wanting a nice steel lugged SS/Fixie, but this bike seems like it's in too good of a condition to convert. If I did go through with the conversion I'd keep all of the parts so it could be put back together.

No harm done making is SS/FG if you keep all the original parts and do the conversion so that it's "reversible." I've done this before. Bought a bike in rough mechanical shape, stripped it down to SS/FG but then put the gears back on when I sold it.

Very nice Bianchi. Should be a great rider.

No harm done making is SS/FG if you keep all the original parts and do the conversion so that it's "reversible." I've done this before. Bought a bike in rough mechanical shape, stripped it down to SS/FG but then put the gears back on when I sold it.

Well after sitting on this project for sometime I decided to keep it geared. I did however strip it down to the frame, cleaned everything, and then put it back together for the learning experience. It rides really smooth, and now I'm glad I kept it geared!

I figured I'd post a few pictures of the bike now that it's done and back on the road.

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