hobbes3

Hi,

I'm new to serious cycling and since moving to San Francisco, I decided to get a road bike for commuting. I plan on being in the city for a while so I wanted to invest in a nice bike.

I saw an ad on Craigslist (see below) and it caught my attention (I'm 6'2"). This guy claims the road bike has "top of the line everything". I'm assuming the frame is really old, but all the other parts are high-end?

Please let me know if it's worth $875. I tried to find similar bikes on other sites like Ebay, but there aren't many other Bianchi Campione D'Italia online to compare to.

Thanks for reading!

Here is the copy of the ad:










Bianchi Campione D'Italia Road Bike - Campy Everything

- 60 cm
- 24 speeds
- New Lizard Skins grip tape
- New Kendra tires
- Campagnolo cranks
- Campagnolo hubs
- Campagnolo front & rear derailleurs
- Campagnolo shifters
- Campagnolo calipers & levers
- Campagnolo brake hoods
- Double butted CrMo tubing
- Shimano pedals
- Celeste colored vintage leather Bianchi saddle
- Ambrosio 19 Super Elite 700c wheels

This bike has top of the line everything. No expense was spared putting her together. Serious inquiries only please

zukahn1 

Well a very nice bike but a wouldn't consider it or everything on it top of the line more of a nicer mid level. $875 seems high for a bike with mirage components off of CL $450 would seem about right.

Dixie Kiwi

Bike looks to be in clean and good condition. Based on the 8spd Mirage groupset might be from early-mid 90's. I couldn't see the tubing decal which would help with value. Maybe a late-80's saddle. Triple might be helpful riding hills in SF. Edit to add price does seem high for entry level Campag groupset.

hobbes3

Thanks for the quick responses!

So $875 asking price is ridiculous then. How would I ask him to lower the price considerably?

So far the main point I got is that the Campag parts are entry-level. Is there anything else I can say?

Poguemahone

It's not what he thinks it is if he thinks it's top of the line everything. 875$ is at least twice reasonable. He'll likely be hard to talk down.

Dixie Kiwi

Again, ask about the type of frame tubing or post a picture of the decal on the ST. I recently purchased a Bianchi from the same era that had Mirage for about what he is asking BUT it was their upper line road racing frame in Columbus TSX tubing and hand built in Bianchi's Reparto Corse factory in Italy. It was that high quality frame I really sought and have since rebuilt with Record for an awesome ride. Not too sure many upper line Bianchi road bikes came with triple chainrings. I might be wrong- hope Bianchgrll can offer some insight on this model and value. Lastly, argue price is too high for non-celeste! Lol

Bianchigirll 

I think the tubing on this was some sort of Dedaccia (is that right? I'll go look it up) and the bike is from the later '90s '96ish maybe. A Campione de italia was a solid middle of the road bike. The triple is puzzling as it normally came with a double.

I agree $400 something may be more realistic. At 6'2" are you sure this fits? If it is a 60 you might find it a tad smallish especially the reach.

FastJake

One thing to keep in mind: sellers asking way high prices for anything (not just bikes) can almost never be reasoned with. A fair offer is usually seen as an insult and ignored. So I wouldn't bother going that route.

That said, $875 buys a LOT in the vintage bike market, and you can even get some pretty decent bikes new for that price. Better that you do some research and find out what you really want before dropping the cash on something that expensive. You said you want to use this for commuting. Were you planning to install fenders? A rack to carry stuff? Neither will work with that bike because it's a racing bike. Figure out what you want/need before you buy.

hobbes3

Thanks for all the info! I'll tell the seller that I find the price to be way too high after research and discussing on the public forums.

I'll be wearing my backpack with my laptop and U-Bar lock (total about 7-9 lbs). I don't plan on installing fenders, because if it's raining kind of hard then I plan on just taking the subway. I did test several new and used road bikes from bike shops with my backpack on and I felt comfortable enough going fast.

wrk101

+100 I run into sellers with silly prices all of the time. Reasoning with them is a waste of time.

One thing I have done that has worked several times is I just throw out a realistic offer, which to them seems really low ball, and leave them my phone number. I do this a handful of times a year, and about half the time, it works.

The last one, guy lived in the middle of freakin nowhere, long drive, misrepresented the bike, etc. What a total waste of time. So I told him to me the bike was only worth 1/3 of his asking price. That's right, a 67% discount.

He calls me back a month later, says he wants to sell. I told him, I am not going to drive all the way out there again, if he can meet me somewhere inbetween, I can do it. Otherwise, my offer was now lower (1/4 of his asking price).

Now while it sounds like I stole the bike, I didn't. His price was just so way off, and his location so far out, that no one was going to look at his bike. The only reason I did the first time is that he had a picture of a totally different bike, "conveniently" it was top of the line (go figure). He did change his ad after I looked at it the first time.


One thing I do not do is tell them their price is ridiculous/silly/outrageous, or whatever. Instead, I keep it simple: "your bike is only worth $XX to me. I understand you want quite a bit more. It may be worth more to someone else. If it doesn't sell, feel free to call me at xxx-xxxx".

What sellers do not understand is that I have bought and sold 500+ bikes, so I have a pretty good idea what their "top of the line gem" is worth. I don't tell them about my experience either. I always keep it simple: "you have a nice bike, but its only worth $xx to me." Its not about what I can afford, my budget, I don't tell some sad tale about the lack of $$, or whatever, its all about what the bike is worth to me. And I always add, it may be worth more to someone else.

If the seller probes me on why, I will give them a brief rundown of defects: "it has rust, it needs tires and cables, ...." I don't give them a lecture! Bought a bike yesterday with a stuck stem (I always check). Checked it in front of the seller, told him "Uh-oh. I may be able to get it out, I may not." I adjusted my offer accordingly.

thinktubes 

+1 to what everyone said. $450 tops for this one.

An $800 budget will get a very nice vintage bike that truly is top of the line. Don't waste time on this one.

hobbes3

Thanks for the buying tip, wrk101. I asked the seller the justification of his price and he texted back...

So I guess he's just bluffing. I'll tell him what you guys all said and say the bike is worth $450 for me.

Poguemahone

Naw, he prolly thinks it's actually worth that much. There's a point at which further contact is simply beating your head against a wall. If the bike's worth what your seller thinks it is, it'll sell at his price. If it's worth what the unanimity of this board believes, it'll sit for awhile. I'll place my bets on the latter.

PS seat and wheels not worth 400$.

rjhammett

I paid less than half of what the seller is asking for my Super Leggera which is a few steps up from this bike. Mine is in perfect condition. I have had the opportunity to buy nicer Bianchi's than this one in the $250 to $300 range in the last couple months.

oddjob2

All twenty Bianchis available in SE Michigan are overpriced, including mtbs.

wrk101

Actually, I never ask the seller to justify their price. I consider this a waste of breath, the seller thinks it is worth it. Instead, I just tell them what the bike is worth "to me". It may well be worth more to them, or to another buyer, or whatever. That's when I just leave my offer, name and phone number and say, "give me a call if you change your mind."