I get the same feeling about most manufacturers nowadays--Nothing special about the bikes to make then stand out. But go back 15 years and a Bianchi was my dream bike for if I ever went road. Never rode one and in hindsight I thought it was Hype but in 1990 I was up for a new bike to replace my Custom frame that had finally had too much use. Down to the LBS and they Had just become Bianchi Dealers and sitting there on the floor were 5 Bianchi MTB's. Bit pricier than I wanted to pay but test riding that included some offroad aswell and out came the wallet. Still have that bike and it still works but quality never lets you down.

Think the change came about when frame manufacture was switched to the far East. All the time the frames were made inhouse they had something special about them. The name still has a pull for me but think that when they became available in colours other than Celeste- something was lost. May have been hype but back 10 years and a Bianchi was the bike to have. I just can't get as excited about the modern bikes.