KevinFromTexas

Hello, I found this bike in the neighborhood. Someone was throwing it away. According to the decals (which are faint) it is a Bianchi Piaggio. It also says "touring" on the top tube. The bike was made in Japan, has Araya rims and Suntour derailleurs. It has a Silstar crankset that was made in Japan. It says 170 on the inside of the crank arms. It has Dia-compe brake and gear shifts. It's a 10-speed. The serial number is LS09176. It's a lightweight steel frame. I'm interested in knowing what year/month it is and how much it's worth. I plan to keep it and fix it up. This is the first road bike I've come across that I can see keeping. I'm really happy with it and it rides like a dream.

It seems to be all original. Even the seat. I found another one on the internet that the guy said was a 1980 Bianchi Piaggio. That one was the same color, but the tubes on the back of the frame were chrome and it had drop bars.

zukahn1 

Not sure if Tawainese or Japanese but low end 80's frame with junk parts. Not worth a lot of money even with Bianche label.

big chainring 

I don't understand the "junk parts" comment. Looks to be in exceptional condition for a 30 year old bike. The rear dropouts are vertical which is a nice feature. The upright bars are interesting.

I don't know the year. Replace the saddle, I would value it at $150 at least.

TugaDude

Japanese, 1980 based on serial number. Bars not original but look nice and comfy. Ride it, but do the basic routine maintenance to the bottom bracket, wheel hubs, etc. inspect cables and replace if there is any corrosion. If not, lube with Triflow. I'm sure it is a nice rider and worth what Big Chainring says in most markets.

Fred Smedley

Isn't LS a Giant serial sequence?

KevinFromTexas

Thanks. Yeah, it was made in Japan. It has a sticker saying so on the seat tube down by the bottom bracket. You can see it faintly in the 2nd from last photo. I do want to do a complete overhaul on it. The guy that I got it from weighed about 300 pounds, and two of the spokes on the back wheel were broken. I took the wheel to a local bike shop to have them replaced. I'm kind of disappointed with the work they did because they didn't true the wheel. Some of the other spokes are still loose. They charged me $18 to do it. I'm debating whether I should go back and complain or just forget about it and never give them any business again. The other place I'll take it to will do a complete tune up/check for 80 bucks. I don't mind spending some money on it because it's not one I'm wanting to sell. I very much want to keep it and ride it.

Bianchigirll 

That model changed little from year to year so pinning down an exact year can be hard. I(t was a pretty basic machine with a HiTen frame but I am not sure I would refer to anything as junk.


Oddly the flat bars are stock on this model and I believe the Touring label was meant more along the lines of a cruiser or upright recreational bike.