My girlfriend who got me into cycling months ago was getting jelous of me having older bikes that i get to work on all the time (not so fun when you dont have a fully working get on and go new bike though) while all she had was a new Mercier galaxy which gives her no problems and leaves nothing to do/fix. She had been searching a bit on Craigslist for a bike for about two months but I decided to finally find her one through crazy determined searching.
Well three days ago i saw a Bianchi on CL for $75 and it was her size. It was beat up but for that price considering what our CL prices are in our area it was a steal. I called while she texted however it was already 10pm. This guy was still up but had trouble with english and or reading as was apparent with his texts and as my girlfriend texted him he just suddenly never responded with his address...gahhh This happens all too often, call/email/text a seller and never get a responce.
After my gf texted the guy again the following morning he again never responded...ughhhhh but then suddenly he texted me his address and told me to meet him any time after six, so at five we set off to LA knowing an hour was about right. Then as were nearly there he texted me to meet him after 7:30, now the hopeless feelings are starting to come over us two. Still we meet after killing the extra time in traffic and in a Mxdonalds parking lot.
When I step into the guy's place I immediately see the Bianchi there and my GF and I try and play it cool but are giddy like little school girls on the inside. The guy used it for transportation but had just got a car so he didnt need it anymore. He was curious as to why he was getting so many calls for it, and we just shrugged our shoulders. After a bit of testing everything is working and after some negciations we strolled away with the bianchi campione del mondo for $50!
Now time for pictures.
It has seen many tough miles. It is also the most greasy bike I have ever seen. The Bianchi has had many things broken or lost and then replaced with non matching things such as a 27in Mavic 1 1/8 front rim with a Schwin hub laced. It also has a Shimano Skylark derailer which I have NEVER heard of.
I would post more pictures but we started stripping it as soon as we brought it home. My girlfriend and I are not fixed gear riders, however I just made a fixed gear for bike polo out of a beat up Peugeot, and since this is even more beat up the gf is making it into her first fixed gear and going to use it for bike polo too.