Originally Posted by
raleighrider75
Why would the Italian bikes have the Japanese components?Would it be for their lesser models?The reason I ask is I have a Bianchi road bike and am wondering if it is Italian made.It has Shimano drop outs and Suntour gears.How can you tell which is which?I was under the assumption that an easy way to tell was where the serial number was located.Under the BB-Japanese and on the seat post-Italian.I'm not sure where I read that bit of info but would like to clarify if in fact that is bs or not.
I've been tracking Bianchi serial numbers for a while and in the mid-1980s there was a transition of the location, from the seat lug to the bottom bracket, on the Italian made frames. The only way to tell for sure is via the serial number format or if there is a country of origin decal. Post your serial number and I will tell you.