gregs656

Hi,

I have found my self the owner of a slightly sorry looking Bianchi. Before I make any decisions about quite what to do with it, I'd like to know what it is. Any help much appreciated.



Thanks,
Greg

Bianchigirll 

Hi Greg welcome to the forum. That is a sorry looking Bianchi. I'll try and help you but I need a little help.

What components are on the bike? Can you take some good pics of the dropouts and the luggs? Are there any embellishments on the bike? Something like Bianchi on the fork or seat stays or maybe just a B somewhere?

Where is the bike located? US? Europe? I will say I am somewhat dubious about this bikes pedigree.

gregs656

I will get some more pictures tomorrow. The bike is in Europe, uk.

rekmeyata

That bike has a lot of rust, if it's that bad on the outside I would hate to see the inside especially the bottom bracket shell.

FastJake

+1

Need some better photos of the driveside, lugs, tubing decals, components to make any kind of identification.

Hard to say without seeing the bike in person what parts are salvageable, and whether or not the frame can be saved. Good first step would be to see if the seatpost and stem are free or frozen.

wrk101

I paid $40 for a very similar Bianchi in that shape, and I paid too much. Really depends what the drive components look like. Make sure seat post and stem are not stuck.

gregs656

Hi guys, appreciate the comments so far. I didn't actually pay anything at all for this so I'm not too worried about it either way. I would say that, with the bike in front of me, the rust doesn't seem particularly deep. I was quite surprised at how easily it all came apart, absolutely no trouble with the seat post at all, I've included a picture of it after it came out of the bike to give you some idea.

I also spotted the serial number which is 519855 - I don't know if that is useful at all to be honest. Here are some more pictures anyway.

















Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Again, thanks for any help.

FastJake

French Simplex on a Bianchi, that's a first.

No idea what model it is, but unless you have the tools/experience/parts to put this rebuild this thing it will be a money pit and you're better off selling it as-is. Lots of rusted/broken parts that will need replacing.

gregs656

Spent an hour sorting the brakes, which had furred up some and were stiff. Now working again. Front and rear derailleur are free but need a bit of lubing up. Hopefully pick up a chain tomorrow, and have a look out for some tubes and tyres and hopefully it will be a goer.

I would still like to know what model it is though.

lostarchitect 

This looks a little bit low quality for a Bianchi, doesn't it? Maybe something else painted to look like a Bianchi?

Bianchigirll 

It is impossible for me to tell what model it is since the UK bikes are different from ours. I do agree that if it is a Bianchi it is a very low end model. I too think the Simplex is odd but perhaps not for a UK/European market bike.

Seeing as it has the 'made in Italia' decal and the other Bianchi decal on the DT I would have to assume it is a Bianchi atleast. I is likely something like our early '80s Special.

gregs656

Thanks, I may go and speak to the people who threw it out and see if they can tell me something.

lostarchitect 

Do they know you have it? If you come around asking questions they may want it back.

gregs656

I pulled it out of their skip with a load of old speakers and garden waste piled on top, but I did think it might be a bit soon to risk them asking for it back. On the other hand once something is in a skip it's fair game. I thought maybe when (or if) I get it going I might take it over there, in my experience people appreciate things like that.

Also, I found bianchi stamped onto both dropouts, although you can barely read it.



Which makes me the proud owner of what I suspect to be the rattiest Bianchi on the forum haha

Standard Issue

<---------First time has ever seen stamped dropouts with integrated D hanger. Those are Mafac levers. Are the brakes Mafac Racers?

gregs656

The brakes are universal. I haven't done much with the levers but I haven't noticed any markings.

gregs656

Hi folks, I thought some of you may be interested to hear I figured out what the model is. It's a sprint 28c. I also have a picture of how the bike is sitting a week on - bit of a difference I think:



Got a couple more bits coming hopefully this week, replacement suntour derailleurs - although it turns out that the simplex gear is right for the model, it's pretty shot to pieces and needs to go. Still need a few bits and pieces but it's starting to look like a bit less of a wreck at least.

FastJake

Yeah, looks a little better now. Have you, or are you going to repack all the bearings? (hubs, bottom bracket, and headset.) Certainly the old grease is long gone by now.

Bianchigirll 

It looks real good compared to last week.

gregs656

I have done the headset and hubs. I am unsure exactly what it is I need to do the bottom bracket. I believe I will need a locknut removal tool of the right size and that should be enough (along with the 'normal' tools) but I don't know which size I need.

I'm pleased with the progress, it's not a stunning full blown restoration but it's honest.

sauze

I dream of a trashed frame like this , build it up weird and comfy and never look back.

FastJake

You'll need a bicycle specific crank puller to get the cranks off, and then a lockring tool (or hammer and screwdriver if you are cheap...) to get the the bottom bracket lockring off. Then it's just a normal repack like a hub or headset. Any bike shop should have these tools in the $10-20 range.

I do this all the time. That's the fun of using an old trashed bike. No one cares what you do with it! There are lots of neglected bikes out there.

gregs656

I may see if the shop up the road will whip it off for me, might be a good compromise and shouldn't cost much

The frame is ugly but it's sound, at this moment in time I am just going to keep cleaning it up as best I can. Replacement pedals are pretty high on the list of wants, along with bar tape and a saddle. The seat post has cleaned up some and will do for now.

The spoke reflectors have gone now also, I kept forgetting about them.

gregs656

BB bearings repacked.

FastJake

That doesn't look bad at all! Many times the paint can be falling off while the inside is perfectly fine, or vise-versa... I think you got lucky.