slave2zeros

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if I'm in the right place but I'll post this and I guess I'll find out. I had visited the Bicycle mechanics page and saw something indicating this might be the right place for older bikes. Not sure if an 87 Bianchi is 'Classic' or 'Vintage', but it's 26 years old, so it's getting there.

I recently bought an 87 Campione d'Italia and cleaned it up/added a few things to it, but I recently noticed a noise each time I rotate the crank around, at the same position. Through closer investigation I determined that the problem is related to some roughness in the bottom bracket; I'm assuming the bearings are super old in this piece.

What I'm trying to find out is what I might need to know about how the bottom bracket might be configured on this bike. When I took it to my LBS and they looked at it, one of the mechanics told the other the part would be around $40 instead of $20 (plus labor) because it was some sort of old Campy setup. I'm trying to figure out what the difference is hear and what part(s) I might need were I to acquire them myself to take care of this.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. Specs/manuals for older bikes are not easy to track down on the all powerful interwebs.

Bianchigirll 

Do you have any pics of the bike? If it is indeed an '87 I suspect it is a Ofmega bottom bracket (BB) and crankset. An Ofmega BB can be hard to come by and should really be used on that bike, they have an odd size to them. The BB shell (the part of the bike the BB threads into) should e be Italian threaded on that bike.

I would start with having the BB overhauled (cleaned, regreased, new bearings and adjusted) and see if the noise goes away.

AN '87 CdI would have a Bianchi Formula 2 [I]by Columbus[I] frame and the afore mentioned Ofmega cranks, Modolo Start brakes, Suntour derailleurs and if still original to the bike Ofmega hubs.

Bianchigirll 

BTW did the mechanic ever really look at the bike up close? Lots of younger "mechanics" are more like part replacers. He is likely assuming that it has a cartridge type BB and not something serviceable.

jimmuller 

This is what I was thinking when I read the original post. A BB isn't terribly complicated. But you have to pull it apart to see what's inside, and if you're going to do that you should then just put it back together right. The only problem would be if some part like a spindle is pitted and should be replaced but another with those dimension isn't readily available. In any case they should not have simply put it back together.

slave2zeros

I can post some pics, but I'm sure it's an 87. It had a sticker on it that said 86-87 on it as well as the made in Italy sticker. It also had a sticker confirming it is in fact Bianchi Formula 2 Columbus steel. Although I took all these stickers off the bike. I know that some may hate me for removing them but they were tattered, faded, torn, and somewhat unreadable. I did leave one columbus sticker on the fork that was in good condition.

The crank, brakes and derailleurs were as you stated, but I replaced the brakes with Campagnolo Centaur dual pivot brakes.

slave2zeros

They didn't look very close, and I just asked them how much it would cost and they gave me prices for replacing the bottom bracket. I was thinking of simply rebuilding it/cleaning it up/regreasing instead of replacing.

slave2zeros

They never took it apart

slave2zeros

Bianchigirll 

Yep that is the Bianchi branded Ofmega crank. I would start with simply overhauling the BB and putting new balls in the current retainers. I the cups or spindles are pitted finding a correct Ofmega can be tricky. I would (and had to because I stripped the extractor threads) shelf the crank and put something else on it if that was case. Or you can read up on spindle tapers on Sheldon Browns website and use something close in length.

slave2zeros

Thanks, my girlfriend's coworker used to work in a bike shop and has a stand and lots of tools and does his own work. I'm going to talk to him and see if he can help me clean it out, replace the BBs and rebuild.

Henry III

If all else fails and the cups are pitted. Could always just get a newer cartridge bottom bracket for fairly cheap.

slave2zeros

After talking to my friend he recommended possibly replacing the bottom bracket with a newer one although that also might mean replacing the crank, no?

Pars 

Not necessarily. Measure the spindle length, and the amount of spindle sticking out each cup (to determine whether it is asymmetrical or symmetrical). The older Campy NR/SR which this crankset appears to be a copy of used asymmetrical spindles. I assume yours is Italian thread, so it would have been about a 115mm spindle for Campy.

You might be able to find something like a Miche cartridge BB, which will be the proper ISO taper (instead of JIS, which Shimano and most Japanese manufacturers used).

But as was mentioned, I would take it apart and clean the cups and spindle and take a look at them first. It probably uses 11 1/4" balls per side in retainers, or more if loose. Grade 25 bearing balls are dirt cheap.

Pinarellopista

Hello all. I just purchased one of these fine Bianchi’s. I am very happy with it. Like the person that originally posted, I did Clean-Up the entire Bicycle. Changed a few things on the bike a personalize it. But put all of the stock parts, saddle in a bag for safe keeping. Upon removing the stock Ofmega Crankset, I noticed that the Spindle was over-tightened. I removed the outer lock ring and used my pin spanner tool to loosen the non-drive side bearing cup. I found all the internal parts to be in great condition. I replaced to stock “caged” 1/4” inch ball-bearings with loose 1/4” ball bearings. Eleven “11” per side in the Bottom Bracket with out the bearing cage. Spindle was in perfect condition. It is 120mm in length. I never remove the drive side bearing cup from the frame, unless you are replacing the Bottom Bracket with a new one. I would much rather have a stock “Spindle / cups” in a vintage bike like this. It’s serviceable where a cartridge unit is not. I hope that this helps you.