Today is raining, so its a good opportunity to post an update.The replacement fork needed cutting. It was too long and had lots of excess threads which necessitated a thick spacer. I cut the steerer to size, debured and chamfered the top, and ditched the spacers. Fairly easy process, and it turned out well! I also counted 6 spirals inside the steerer tube, which is supposedly the number Tange used (whereas Columbus had 5), so more evidence pointing toward a Tange fork.
For the cockpit I already had some Prima 199 bars hanging in the garage. I picked up a beautiful NOS 3T Record 84 stem. Frame had come fitted with a nice FSA headset, so I kept that.
Before cutting fork
Wheels have 7400 hubs with Open Pro rims, 36 hole. The tires are some cheap but VGC CST that came on another used bike.
As I mentioned before, I was given a Campy SP-10RE seatpost. When I got it, I could see the wedge looking area between upper and lower clamps had been flooded with superglue. Hmmm, seems like an indicator that PO was having issues keeping things set properly. I scraped off all the old residue. Sure enough, I have been having exactly that problem, where after a good ride the level gets thrown off. Not sure if anyone has some advice on this particular model… I was wondering if Finish Line Fibergrip would help or hurt the situation, I just haven’t gotten around to trying yet.
Topped it off with a Flite TI with suitable colors. I chose the bar tape and saddle after looking at some of the old Mercatone Uno bikes online, although I don’t think they even rode Bianchi or used this color scheme in 1992. At that time it was possibly GB MG or Gatorade.
Assembling cables was a breeze. The internal routing has tubes, so passing a new uncut cable (tip of braid still welded) passes right thru. There are housing stops built in so the housing only goes about 1cm into frame.
For the RD, I swapped out the B screw for a longer version due to 30T cog in the cassette. While I was skeptical, it turned out OK and the short cage is able to shift it well enough. While I won’t ride that way, cross chaining would push the limits but not break things. I definitely appreciate the low gearing as a bailout 😀
Overall I am very happy with this bike. I didn’t put much $ into this one.
I have already put quite a few miles and elevation on it. As far as ride qualities, it is stable, easy to ride with no hands, and very confident on the downhills. No discernible flex on the climbs. Ride is nice and smooth, it’s really a pleasure!