Bulldozer27

Hello all, new guy to the world of C&V here, but not cycling in general.

I just scored this Litespeed mfg'd Bianchi Titanium off of CL, and can't find much info on these. I verified with Litespeed that it was a 57cm made in 1996, but that's it. As opposed to the Ti MegaTube or S9 Matta, there doesn't appear to be any real info on these on the internet. I looked on that Japanese Bianchi catalog page, and the '96 catalog shows a Ti frame in the Frameset section that looks like it could be mine, but with the small pic and japanese text, I can't be sure. Interestingly, it was offered concurrently with the Ti Megatube, but only as a frameset while the latter was only as a complete bike according to that catalog. Does anyone have a USA '96 catalog or any other info? I originally bought it thinking that I could part it out, but I liked the ride so much that I'm now getting rid of my 2010 Tarmac instead.

Bianchigirll 

Hello Bulldozer welcome to the forums and the Bianchi Lovers club. Too bad about the Tarmac. The above info sounds correct I recall there was two Ti frames about that time. What are the tube profiles on this? is it all round? Did litespeed give you any infor on them? Butted Straight? I want to to say the this frame was a SSI model or something like that. I do have a '96 catalog but I will be out of town for another 3 weeks or so. If you remind me I will certainly look it up when I get home.

Bulldozer27

Hello Bianchiirll, are you back home yet and able to reference your '96 catalog?

Bianchigirll 

Hello No I won't be home until late in the da Friday at the earliest.

SJX426 

I could fall for that!

Force 

Great looking bike. Wasn't aware of this model.

Bianchigirll 

Well I fainally got home from little trip and dug into my musty stack of Bianchi catalogs. It seems I am pretty close the model was actually Ti SS2 Road and was sold as a frame only and may have also came in Ferrari Red but a brush frame is shown. This model was available in '96 and '97 w/ a Time fork option. I do not see any 'kits' listed for '96 but '97 shows a few and judging from the Celeste decals and the Campi kit w/ Mavic rims and ITM stem/bar I suspect this is the '97 model. The '96 shows white decals.

I suspect Bianchi introduced this as a counterpart to the brutish looking Ti Megatube frame for riders who wanted Ti but in a more 'normal' design. the tubing is listed as being the typical 3/2.5 Ti but is said to the classic Bianchi SuperSet frame design.

have you ridden this yet? how is it?

Bulldozer27

Bianchigirll, thanks for the research. I'm still awaiting contact from the original owner via the previous owner. Mine has a Kestrel EMS fork, not a Time. Would it be possible for you to scan the page in the '97 catalog? I'm particularly curious about those kit specs (mine has Chorus 9spd).

Upon seeing the bike in CL, I suspected it was made by Litespeed as it had that "look", much like a Eddy Merckx Titanium AX from the same period. Also, the welding is immaculate whereas the Italian-made Bianchi Ti frames are, uh, more agricultural. I can see why Litespeed was the go-to subcontractor for Ti in the late 90s.

At the time I was merely searching for a steel Bianchi in celeste as a daily beater. But the price was good enough to where I could flip it or part it out. I had never ridden Ti prior, but after the first ride on this one I was hooked - soooo smooth and comfortable. By comparison, my carbon Specialized Tarmac felt like riding a skateboard over cobblestones (it's now for sale).

This is now my main ride, so I've given it some modern updates that trimmed the weight from 20.6 lbs to 18.8 lbs. Here is the "after" shot:

Bianchigirll 

I see what I can do. I am a bit busy catching up on some other things. It is amazing how things pile up when your gone for two months.

I heard from my contact at Bianchi that only the earliest team Ti Megatube frames were built by Lite Speed and the rest of the production was done in house by Bianchi. He did not mention these bikes but I can only assume they were built in house too. It is always possible that Bianchi got some input from LiteSpeed for design and construction of Ti but added their own touch to it.

Looks great! Are you saving the old wheels for spares?

Bulldozer27

I should have been more clear in my first post. Right after getting it, I called Litespeed and gave them the serial number on the bottom bracket. They verified that it was manufactured by them in Tennessee for Bianchi in '96 and was a 57cm frame. Beyond that, the rep on the phone didn't have any more info however.

I'm leaning towards punting the original wheels on Ebay. As nice as they are, they flex too much and are boat anchors relative to the modern Campy Eurus wheelset on the bike now. I love riding a retro bike but prefer the higher performance of modern contact points and wheels.

NathanBas

I think I just bought the same bike. I am curious to see if you found out any additional information.

Thanks!

NathanBas

"Here is a picture.