trashpicked japanese bianchi...
 

yesterday i found a japanese bianchi with a chrome tipped fork, and chrome tipped stays. it has suntour dropouts, suntour cyclone derailluers and downtube shifters, diacompe brakes, and SR bars/stem/cranks, chair hubs and pedals. it has a cro-mo sticker on the seat tube, and another sticker on the top tube that says special, and one on the seat tube that says piaggio.

can anyone tell me where this falls in the bianchi model line? seems like upper middle??

Actually, I'd place it lower mid-range. It sounds early 1980s, based on the Piaggio decal. Assuming it's early 1980s, the top two or three models would have been Campagnolo Super Record and Nuovo Record and/or a mix of the two. Then would come the Italian manufactured midrange models. Typically there was a model with all Campagnolo Nuovo Gran Sport. Then there would have been a couple models with mixed Italian components, usually one with Campagnolo Nuovo Record derailleurs and the other with Campagnolo Nuovo Gran Sport. The remaining componets on these two models would usually be Ofmega (sometines Bianchi labelled) with Universal or Modolo brakes. Realistically, your model was probably no higher than 6th or 7th in the line-up.

Yeah, but those Japanese Bianchis were really well made and SunTour Cyclone is nothing to sneeze at. While it probably doesn't have much collector cachet (it's not Italian) it'll be a great ride if it's in reasonably good condition.

I say it's a find.

well unfortunately it is a cm or two too large for me. its a real shame bc the paint is in really nice condition. ill probably just keep the components and sell the frame to someone looking for a nice fixed gear conversion.

thanks a lot for the info T-Mar