Hello all,

I picked up a Bianchi frame yesterday that is in the advanced stages of decomposition. I was just wondering if someone could give me an idea about what model it may have been.

I have an album of pictures HERE and can take more if needed.

The previous owner told me it was a mid 80's frame. Its got a 70 mm Italian bottom bracket, dual bottle cage mounts and downtube shift bosses. The spacing on the rear dropouts is roughly 125 mm and the seat post appears to be 27.2 mm. The serial number is 5 digits, and I can see L.6 stamped into the bottom bracket shell. It had a black base coat as there are still black bits of paint all over the frame, but a Celeste top coat, which I can see on the underside of the fork and inside the seat tube. "GIPIEMME" is stamped into the dropouts.

Thank you for any info, and please let me know if you need to see anything else.

Looks like my 89 CDI which came from the factory painted black.

Thanks for the reply! I think you're right. It's the only model I've been able to find a picture of that has the same fork I do. Probably a 1986?

I wouldn't be surprised if the owner just decided they wanted the bike to be Celeste and had it painted.

I'm assuming this is a lower end/every day model?

Depending on the yr I would guess. The 89 had the quatro group and was considered mid level. Good rider with DB Cromar tubes.

Too bad about the frame. Has the rust eaten through it?

unless Bianchis are rare where you are I would look for another.

No, the rusting is mostly on the surface. I'm going to double check after I clean it up a bit. It feels good and solid though.

My intent is to get the frame professionally prepped and powder coated. I personally still feel its a good investment.

Thanks for the help!

Give it an oxalic acid soak. Surface rust can look bad but not actually be a problem.

+ 1 for the oxalic acid soak, it will also get the interior rust as well. But then a blast and powder-coat is worthwhile: I'd spend the money on this.

The site of the place I'll likely get to do the work says that it will get stripped chemically, and only get blasted if it is too far gone. This must be what they're referring to.

Interesting. I was told that a powder coater will always insist on media blasting before applying the powder; otherwise the frame isn't clean enough to guarantee good results with powder. Seen it repeated here many times "Don't bother stripping the frame because the powder guy is going to blast it anyway."

As far as being a good investment; in terms of getting a nice, durable finish, sure. In terms of getting your money back when you later sell the bike; probably not.

Yeah, I guess that's not quite what I meant. Not looking for any resale value. Good investment in terms of fixing up an old frame and riding it. Not just money, but I also enjoy doing the work, so its fun.

Oh, Welcome to the Forum !

What Colour are you thinking for the frame ?

Thanks!

My colour choice might be a topic of debate, but I am of course considering going with Celeste (or as close as I can get, rather). More thank likely though, I'm going to go with a candy red or candy purple.

The important thing here is that its an old Bianchi frameset that isn't going to scrap.

Bianchi had a metallic rose Colour which was quite nice and period appropriate. Thought.

Please follow-up with how the process goes. Your 'salvation' instinct runs deep with some here.
Assuming the frame turns out well - friction or modern?
Welcome.

Is the metallic rose this one? I like the color, but I don't think it would be one I'd choose for my personal bike. I appreciate the suggestion!

Thanks!

I'm going with modern. I already have a bunch of Shimano Tiagra 4700 components that I started putting onto my 70's Sekine frame. I ran into a few small problems with it though, and I decided to get a more suitable frame instead.

This will be a much cleaner build.

Good save, post pictures of the finished build to the retro-roadies thread. The 4700 is perfect for this kind of build IMO. As for colour I think candy purple would be wicked.

Will do! Yeah the purple is my top choice. I think it'll look good with the dark groupset, and I can put on white Bianchi decals, and either white or black cable housing.

Purple would be a looker frame Colour as well. The accents on my 89 CDI are purple which go quite well with the black paint.

The 6 in the L.6 means it was made in 1986.

No engraving on seatstay caps means it wasn't a high end bike, but the Gipiemme and the "B" on the headtube lug means it is at least Italian and early-mid level.

I'd certainly look at a different bike. Just getting that repainted will probably cost more than an original-paint frameset in pretty good condition.

In the 80s, I had a Sport SX with a purple paint job like this;

, It got lots of attention, very 80s.

I had suspected that's what the 6 meant. Good to know! Thank you!

I like it. Thanks for posting! I had been thinking a darker purple, but after seeing this color I may go lighter.