2002 (?) Bianchi Eros
03-30-10, 06:34 PM
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2002 (?) Bianchi Eros
Folks - what do you think an entirely original, little ridden Bianchi Eros would be worth? 450 seems high to me but I saw it, it was in very nice condition, it was Celeste, I just sold a few bikes for more than I expected ... Also, anyone know whether this is a Columbus SLX bike? It does have a "made in Italy' sticker on it, though no reference to the tubing.
https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/1666400815.html
https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/1666400815.html
03-31-10, 04:50 AM
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It just occurs to me that while potentially classic this is probably not what most would call a vintage bike. If anyone thinks it should be moved I'd be happy to.
03-31-10, 05:44 AM
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Per bikepedia, it just has a generic cromoly frame. Highly doubtful it is an SLX bike. Bike only sold for $1000 when it was new. It is close to the bottom end of their product line. Given that it is Celeste, I can see the bike going for $450, particularly in a market like Boston.
I would not consider it classic or vintage. Its just a good solid road bike, a step up from entry level.
Hopefully, one of the Bianchi experts will wade in.
I would not consider it classic or vintage. Its just a good solid road bike, a step up from entry level.
Hopefully, one of the Bianchi experts will wade in.
Last edited by wrk101; 03-31-10 at 06:01 AM.
03-31-10, 06:46 AM
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Around here a 2001 Bianchi Campione with Italian frame, full Campy (low end, but Campy) sold for around $300 and it's not Celeste. It needed some light work. That was a good price for a lower end Chromolite frame.
$450 for an Eros is a tad high, but not an unreasonable asking price, especially if it needs no repairs. Celeste sells quickly if the price is right.
$450 for an Eros is a tad high, but not an unreasonable asking price, especially if it needs no repairs. Celeste sells quickly if the price is right.
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03-31-10, 10:43 AM
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The Brava & Eros were Bianchi's entry level (Steel) roadbikes,,at least thru the 1990's. They dropped the Brava ,,but it returned. I saw a Eros out with the trash,,a few years ago. Didn't grab it and regret it. Chris
Last edited by TireLever-07; 03-31-10 at 10:44 AM. Reason: typo
03-31-10, 11:50 AM
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HI the Eros (aka the "Love Bike") was a middel of the line bike. it almost always had a triple crankset and actually somewhat started the "racing triple" craze. the eros was ment to be a sports tourer or day touring bike. they were great bikes and the many I sold in the early '90s served their owners well for fast group rides, centuries and week long supported touring.
this bike is certainly not a SLX frame. in fact to the best of my knowledge the last SLX, SBX, TSX bikes left the factory around '95. I will check the exact material when I get home but this bike does hase the classic Bianchi SuperSet 2 frame, which using tubing custome made for Bianchi uses a slightly heavier guage and ovalized DT and chainstays to increase lateral stiffnes while allowing for a great ride overall. better pics of course will help but this bike looks very clean and perhaps little used. $400 seems like a fair price.
this bike is certainly not a SLX frame. in fact to the best of my knowledge the last SLX, SBX, TSX bikes left the factory around '95. I will check the exact material when I get home but this bike does hase the classic Bianchi SuperSet 2 frame, which using tubing custome made for Bianchi uses a slightly heavier guage and ovalized DT and chainstays to increase lateral stiffnes while allowing for a great ride overall. better pics of course will help but this bike looks very clean and perhaps little used. $400 seems like a fair price.
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03-31-10, 09:32 PM
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Thanks very much for the input. As you point out Bianchigirl it is precisely the triple and the brifters that attracted me to the bike (and ok ... that it is a Celeste Bianchi counts for something). A day tourer for rides in hilly country is what I am after, and I have had more trouble finding one than I expected. I guess I would also prefer something that will retain its value reasonably well in case I find I'm not getting enough use out of it.
If you are able to identify the tubing I'd be grateful. I read somewhere that 2002 was the last time Columbus tubing was used in this bike (and if I recall correctly also read that it was the last year the Eros was manufactured in Italy), but I may well be wrong. Clearly I was way off with hoping for SLX. The fact that there was no Columbus sticker to be found on the bike, while all other stickers were largely intact, doesn't seem to support the Columbus theory though.
Anyhow, tomorrow I get to test ride it and all going well put in a bid. I'll take the advice offered - if it seems all in order and the ride works for me I'll feel good buying it at $400.
If you are able to identify the tubing I'd be grateful. I read somewhere that 2002 was the last time Columbus tubing was used in this bike (and if I recall correctly also read that it was the last year the Eros was manufactured in Italy), but I may well be wrong. Clearly I was way off with hoping for SLX. The fact that there was no Columbus sticker to be found on the bike, while all other stickers were largely intact, doesn't seem to support the Columbus theory though.
Anyhow, tomorrow I get to test ride it and all going well put in a bid. I'll take the advice offered - if it seems all in order and the ride works for me I'll feel good buying it at $400.
03-31-10, 10:03 PM
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Hi bumpalong, I just check my '02 catalog and the tubing is listed as Bianchi Reparto Corse SL Chromolite Double-butted chromoly steel alloy. Tig welded and heat-treated. the frame was built with the MegaPro downtube with variable section, zero fles stays.
the tubing was made either by or for Bianchi.
to the best of my knowledge, I'll have to check the catalogs to be sure but the Eros was never made of any Columbus tubing especially SLX. also I am not aware of any year the Eros was built in Italy. in fact the Eros in the 2002 catalog has the classic 'made in tiawan' sticker on the headtube.
I was slightly incorrect about the TSX frames, they seem to be cataloged until '98 but I see no SLX in the catalog after about '90. I don't even see SLX in the '93 Reparto Corse catalog, the real one not that fake RC the invented in the late '90s to increase market share. I think Bianchi gave up SLX in favor of their custom Columbus SBX tubeset.
the tubing was made either by or for Bianchi.
to the best of my knowledge, I'll have to check the catalogs to be sure but the Eros was never made of any Columbus tubing especially SLX. also I am not aware of any year the Eros was built in Italy. in fact the Eros in the 2002 catalog has the classic 'made in tiawan' sticker on the headtube.
I was slightly incorrect about the TSX frames, they seem to be cataloged until '98 but I see no SLX in the catalog after about '90. I don't even see SLX in the '93 Reparto Corse catalog, the real one not that fake RC the invented in the late '90s to increase market share. I think Bianchi gave up SLX in favor of their custom Columbus SBX tubeset.
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04-01-10, 06:33 AM
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+1 SLX would have been reserved for a higher end bike, with a higher build standard, and a much higher price.
But Celeste is Celeste. It looks like a pretty good bike, and the price is half what a bottom end LBS road bike sells for (and this bike is clearly a step up from bottom). Go get it would be my advice. And at $400, it gets even more attractive.
The bike has done much of its depreciation already. But in my experience, from an investment standpoint, you are better served with an older bike, say late 1980s, early 1990s, with a lugged frame, in Celeste of course.
But this bike will be the better rider!
But Celeste is Celeste. It looks like a pretty good bike, and the price is half what a bottom end LBS road bike sells for (and this bike is clearly a step up from bottom). Go get it would be my advice. And at $400, it gets even more attractive.
The bike has done much of its depreciation already. But in my experience, from an investment standpoint, you are better served with an older bike, say late 1980s, early 1990s, with a lugged frame, in Celeste of course.
But this bike will be the better rider!
04-01-10, 07:01 AM
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Thanks so much guys - strikes me as sound advice. wrk101, it is a rider that I am after, and when I borrowed a friends Lemond for a day long ride by the afternoon I came to really appreciate the ease and stability of the brifters. As to the depreciation, I guess I'd just like to know that the bike won't lose 30-40% of its value as soon as I buy it. I appreciate your point though about the 70's and 80's bikes being a better investment.
Bianchigirl - the only remaining mystery to me is that there was clearly a made in Italy sticker at the base of the seat tube, and I recognize it as a Bianchi style sticker from seeing it on other Bianchi bikes. Perhaps this isn't a 2002? The components seemed to match what was listed on bikepedia but I noticed they didn't seem to change a lot from the earlier and following years. Also, is Reparto Corse SL tubing you mention considered reasonably good?
I really appreciate your help with this. I don't usually pay this much for a bike.
Bianchigirl - the only remaining mystery to me is that there was clearly a made in Italy sticker at the base of the seat tube, and I recognize it as a Bianchi style sticker from seeing it on other Bianchi bikes. Perhaps this isn't a 2002? The components seemed to match what was listed on bikepedia but I noticed they didn't seem to change a lot from the earlier and following years. Also, is Reparto Corse SL tubing you mention considered reasonably good?
I really appreciate your help with this. I don't usually pay this much for a bike.
04-01-10, 08:51 AM
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certainly that tubing is good. it is listed for several years on several models from Bianchi. regardless of the year '01/'02/'03 or wether it was made in 'the orient' or Italy the Eros is great do alot bike. as I said this one looks clan and if it fits don't worry about the exact year or who made just enjoy it.
after you buy it post more pics.
after you buy it post more pics.
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04-01-10, 08:40 PM
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So I got the bike! $425 at the end of the day. It is a beauty - really clean. I couldn't find a single nick in the paint or the decals, the cassette looks almost new, cranks and hubs are tight, brake pads have plenty of rubber on them - overall in really nice shape. Front wheel could use a slight truing. I took it out for a long test ride and it fits like a glove, handles steep uphills and speedy downhills with assurance and grace and yet was light and nimble. It was a great day to be riding too - after the wettest March in history in Boston - the sun was going down and it was just great. A bit emotional too - I could tell the seller really was attached to the bike, but had had some orthopedic issues over recent years and was finding it too uncomfortable to ride a road bike. He seemed genuinely concerned with making sure that whoever got it really did love it. Good guy. He also mentioned he thought it may be a 2001 which might explain it having been made in Italy? Tomorrow or Saturday once I get a moment I'll take some pics in the daylight and post here. Woohoo!
04-02-10, 08:29 PM
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good for you congrats!! welcome to the Celeste Club here is a great place for all yout Bianchi needs https://www.bianchiusa.com/store/
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
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04-02-10, 08:34 PM
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btw the Brava came and went over the years. I am not quite sure how you are using the term "entry level" but at one time the brava was just below the Limited in the lineup equipped with 105. the Eros was at times the bottom of Bianchis 'sport touring' bikes but don't confuse anyone this was no lowend bare bones bike.
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04-06-10, 04:06 PM
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good for you congrats!! welcome to the Celeste Club here is a great place for all yout Bianchi needs https://www.bianchiusa.com/store/
I'll post the pictures soon as a I get a chance. Work and travel have been hectic...
