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Help w information on vintage Bianchi Grizzly Hybrid

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Help w information on vintage Bianchi Grizzly Hybrid

Old 01-01-13, 03:33 PM
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Help w information on vintage Bianchi Grizzly Hybrid

I just purchased from craigslist a Bianchi Grizzly bike. It has full Suntour XC Pro components. 7 Speed. Newer rims/tires on suntour xc pro hubs. Road size wheels. I'm confused since I can only find information on the Grissly mountain bike with 26 inch and not one with 700 wheels.

I was hoping it was a Project bike, but I can't find any stickers to indicate this. It does have a sticker on the rear triangle that says 'mountain.' Does anyone have any information on this bike? The seller claims he purchased it in the mid 90s and paid $1100. Serial number BS049856. With 717 also stamped under the bb.

Thanks.
Here are some pictures:
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Last edited by tandem2go; 01-01-13 at 05:23 PM. Reason: Misspelling
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Old 01-01-13, 04:39 PM
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Great find. It's made of Tange Prestige, which is about the best steel tubing of the time, and kitted out with XC Pro, which is also great. I've never seen a 700c Grizzly myself, but clearly you've got one. Have fun with it. FYI it is Grizzly, like the bear, not Grissly. You'll have better luck with your search that way.
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Old 01-01-13, 05:43 PM
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Thanks for the response. Update made in the body of the post, but I'm not sure how to change the Title without deleting and reposting.

I don't think I'm going to keep the XC Pro on the bike. I have a 10 speed set up just sitting...waiting, so I might put that on it.
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Old 01-01-13, 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by tandem2go
Thanks for the response. Update made in the body of the post, but I'm not sure how to change the Title without deleting and reposting.

I don't think I'm going to keep the XC Pro on the bike. I have a 10 speed set up just sitting...waiting, so I might put that on it.
We all know what u meant title is all good
really diggin that bike enjoy
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Old 01-01-13, 06:36 PM
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That bike couldn't possibly be happy in Ohio.
It would be much happier if you sent it to me in Illinois.
The weather is much nicer here.
Nice
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Old 01-01-13, 07:45 PM
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I recall, when shopping for my 92 Axis, seeing Bianchi catalog going on about performance of 700c wheels on their MTBs. The Axis also has XC Pro, and its a solid group. Enjoy that ride...nice color,too!
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Old 01-01-13, 08:03 PM
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Originally Posted by BentLink
I recall, when shopping for my 92 Axis, seeing Bianchi catalog going on about performance of 700c wheels on their MTBs. The Axis also has XC Pro, and its a solid group. Enjoy that ride...nice color,too!
Haha wayy ahead of their time eh?
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Old 01-01-13, 08:03 PM
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Great looking bike you got there. Grizzly's are very nice bikes.

I picked up a 1991 Grizzly recently for my wife. It cost $1250 when new. It has all Suntour XC Pro components. I would not be too quick to swap out XC Pro. They are very nice components. I thought about swapping out the 26 inch wheels for 700c wheels but would have to mickey mouse the brakes too much to get them to work so I decided against it. I ended up putting 26 x 1.25 road tires on the bike since the bike will never be going off road. They worked out great.

I would have loved it had my wife's bike had the Celeste paint like yours. Here is a picture of her bike:

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Old 01-01-13, 08:19 PM
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Originally Posted by tandem2go
Thanks for the response. Update made in the body of the post, but I'm not sure how to change the Title without deleting and reposting.

I don't think I'm going to keep the XC Pro on the bike. I have a 10 speed set up just sitting...waiting, so I might put that on it.
Simple. Look for the triangle just outside the lower left side of the text box. Hit that and give a brief note as to why you are reporting the post- close or move a thread started in the wrong forum, feel like you or another are being trolled, spam, or for thread title changes. Only a Mod or Admin can change the thread title where it will be reflecting on the index page.
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Old 01-01-13, 08:53 PM
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Interesting. IIRC, that decal style was restricted to 1991 and the Grizzly was definitely an ATB with 26" wheels that year. On top of that, the serial number appers to correspond to early 1990. And why Ritchey Logic and Tange Prestige decals? Maybe it's a repaint and the seller could only get his hands on Grizzly decals? Or a foreign model? It certainly looks like a Project frame.

Edit: I'd be checking the date codes on the XC Pro components, in an attempt to verify the year.

Last edited by T-Mar; 01-01-13 at 09:01 PM.
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Old 01-01-13, 10:24 PM
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My wife's '91 Grizzly has the Ritchey Logic and Tange decals all over the place. I don't see Prestige anywhere. I do see Superset II on one of the decals.

Originally Posted by T-Mar
Interesting. IIRC, that decal style was restricted to 1991 and the Grizzly was definitely an ATB with 26" wheels that year. On top of that, the serial number appers to correspond to early 1990. And why Ritchey Logic and Tange Prestige decals? Maybe it's a repaint and the seller could only get his hands on Grizzly decals? Or a foreign model? It certainly looks like a Project frame.

Edit: I'd be checking the date codes on the XC Pro components, in an attempt to verify the year.
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Old 01-01-13, 10:42 PM
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The lug work doesn't look quite right either for a '91 Grizzly.
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Old 01-02-13, 02:08 PM
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Sadly, I can't find any dates on any of the components. IS there a secret hiding place? The RD is an Accushift Plus long cage. I haven't removed the cassette yet. I'm still looking for the tool for that. It's a freewheel hub. The bb spindle is toast. There are several pits and rough spots, which explains why the crank didn't turn well it all. The grinding was worse than my knees on a cold OHIO day. I spent the $3 and bought the bolts/washers/nuts to remove the fixed cup.

The rear spacing is 130.

The owner was the original owner and purchased it from a bike store. There are paint chips on the frame and it doesn't look like a repainted frame.

I'm not a fan of the bianchi sticker design. Is it possible to replace it with a more modern bianchi graffic? Did they usually do the clear coat AFTER the stickers were attached.

I'll try to update my bike list...since this is now my 4th bianchi. Ibex, Nyala, & Eros. All steel. {Don't tell the cannondales, they'll get jealous.** As it is now, the Eros is pissed since it's hanging next to the Trek.
Thanks.

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Old 01-02-13, 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by rjhammett
Great looking bike you got there. Grizzly's are very nice bikes.

I picked up a 1991 Grizzly recently for my wife. It cost $1250 when new. It has all Suntour XC Pro components. I would not be too quick to swap out XC Pro. They are very nice components. I thought about swapping out the 26 inch wheels for 700c wheels but would have to mickey mouse the brakes too much to get them to work so I decided against it. I ended up putting 26 x 1.25 road tires on the bike since the bike will never be going off road. They worked out great.

I would have loved it had my wife's bike had the Celeste paint like yours. Here is a picture of her bike:

I'm curious, what is the serial number on her bike? Is there an extra 3 digit code as well. Thanks.
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Old 01-02-13, 07:55 PM
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The serial number is: KS072676. There is a large 'G' on the BB near the chain stays. I wonder if the 'G' stands for Grizzly?


Originally Posted by tandem2go
I'm curious, what is the serial number on her bike? Is there an extra 3 digit code as well. Thanks.
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Old 11-28-13, 02:12 AM
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Hello, the story on these bikes can be a bit elusive. Back in 1989/90, Bianchi dealers around the country were given the option to purchase one of these as a sort of "trial run" for Bianchi's upcoming 700c Off Road line that started in 1990/91.They were never for sale in the mass market and each dealer could own one, but after the sad decline of the 700c line in the mid to late nineties, dealers sold them at a standard retail price. So essentially these bikes are prototypes for the "project 7" and the rest of the project line. Personally I own two of these, one that my shop got in 1989/90, and another that I found on ebay years ago. The big give away for the dates of the parts is the lack of a grease guard headset and pedals, which didn't come out until 1991 or later. (instead the bike had Suntour's top of the line sealed headset and pedals that were sold with the group at the time, and you would assume they would have gone all out if the parts were available). As for the decals, don't mess with that totally rad 90's Japanese production phoenix/chicken/eagle thingy on the head tube. Attached is a picture of the two I own (the one with wtb drops is my rider and the other is kept upstairs).
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Old 11-28-13, 09:06 PM
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Major score! You did real well with that bike.
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Old 11-28-13, 09:09 PM
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That bike looks great. I have a specialized team stumpjumper with prestige tubing and xc pro gruppo. It is one of my all time favorite bikes. Very high quality steel tubing and the parts really hold up well.
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Old 11-28-13, 09:45 PM
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Just send it my way
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Old 12-27-13, 03:52 AM
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I just picked up a celeste grizzly for pretty cheap. How do I find out what year it is?
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Old 12-30-13, 11:47 AM
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If you can't find a serial number database online, try to find a collection of bianchi catalog scans. If you still can't find anything, upload some pictures. You can usually get pretty close by looking at the parts, geometry, decals etc.
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Old 12-31-13, 05:50 AM
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Originally Posted by DirtyD
I just picked up a celeste grizzly for pretty cheap. How do I find out what year it is?
Welcome to the forums. Post some pics in the Official Bianchi thread and I'll check it out. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-thread/page17

Originally Posted by tortoise418
If you can't find a serial number database online, try to find a collection of bianchi catalog scans. If you still can't find anything, upload some pictures. You can usually get pretty close by looking at the parts, geometry, decals etc.
Other than the one the member here keeps, I don't belive there is a good online database for Bianchi serial numbers. Also there are only two places that I know of that scanned catalogs, one site at Bulgiers on list partial catalogs and has at least one labeled in correctly. The other has catalogs from all over the world but most people can't seem to open them
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Old 01-16-14, 02:39 AM
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I have tried repeatedly to post photos of the bike…no luck. Photobucket doesn't seem to want to cooperate.
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Old 01-16-14, 06:26 AM
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You need to click on the insert image icon on the top of you post, change the insert image from computer to from URL and uncheck the retrieve remote box. Make sure to copy from Photobucket's img.
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Old 01-16-14, 07:06 AM
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That seems cumbersome to me. I haven't used Photobucket, but every picture hosting site that I have used provides a URL that you simply copy and paste in the body of your post.
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