SamSpade1941 

A while back I decided that I needed a C&V touring bike, as much as I enjoy my Surly LHT and think its just about as good as it gets in the touring bike department, I've had a desire for something with a little more panache. I had initially been looking for a Vintage Trek 520, 614, 620 or 720. Nothing really came up that was what I considered affordable. Since I am on a budget every bike I buy has to be in the $100 or less category like my $40 Schwinn Circuit and $80 Specialized Allez.

I ran across this Bianchi Portofino locally and when I looked at the ad photos the bike looked to be incredible condition. Before I purchased it I posted photos in the Whats it worth forum and had absolutely no input. Anyway I went ahead and purchased this bike for $80 and when I got it home where I could look at it really close it appears as if this bike was never really used much if at all. The owner apparently did not ride this bike much before hanging it up . Originally I thought it was an 86 based on the very tiny amount of information I could find, but im not sure that's correct now. It has an All Shimano 18 speed drive train with the words " Light Action" on the rear derailleur. I did a little reading and it appears Light Action was pre SiS but this bike has clicks on the shiftier and is indexed .

This bike shifts gears perfectly and has 700c wheels with 700x28c Panaracer tires which appear to be in good shape but I will probably replace them do to their age. Anyway even the Avocet Touring II saddle is in perfect condition and wheels roll smoothly and true. The bike was definitely too small for the owner because he had the post adjusted out bast the minimum insertion line. The only thing that's wrong with this bike is one very small paint blemish on the head tube which I will touch up after I find a good match for the paint.

My question is this what is this bike worth ? Absolutely no one even answered in the whats it worth forum and yes I know its not an Italian Bianchi but its a very light (to me ) Tange Chromoly frame and fork with all the braze-ons you could ever ask for.

Paging Bianchi Girl !!! But any and all help is seriously appreciated !!!

merziac

No Idea what its worth but easily what you paid without a doubt and pretty dang cool.

SamSpade1941 

Thanks I appreciate it, after I give it a tune up , replace some old parts like the, cables, brake pads, tubes and tires. I will be going for a ride. I cant imagine even in the shape its in that the grease is OK given that this bike is at least 30 years old. Still I was shocked at how smoothly the bike shifts . This bike is in the best shape of any C&V bike I've purchased so far. Tomorrow I am going to look at a Paramount that someone converted to a fixie and try to figure out if its worth my trouble to buy it.

merziac

You do realize we need more pics stat, right?

The Golden Boy 

It looks like a cool bike; post pix of the drive side, pix of components, pix of decals...you know stuff that might be of interest.

Pompiere

Any time you can find an upper level bike in great shape for under $100, it is definitely a bargain.

As for the Paramount, if the frame is straight and your size, it should be worth the trouble to rebuild it.

T-Mar

SIS was introduced on some Light Action models, starting in 1986. The 1986 specs don't specifically mention SIS on this model though the derailleur is spec'd as the 525GS. Curiously while Shimano stated the RD-L525-SS was index compatible, they didn't make the same claim for the longer cage RD-L525GS. Unfortunately, the the specs don't mention the shift levers and I can't tell from the catalogue pictures.

Regardless, it certainly looks like a 1986 and it was replaced by the Volpe for 1987. The serial number should tell us the exact manufacturing date.

I always considered this model to be lower mid-range but still it's easily worth 2X-3X the paid price.

SamSpade1941 

@T-Mar

I looked earlier before I left the house and it has Shimano 600 EX shifters and light action RD / FD . I was wrong about the wheels . They are 700c Araya with Suze sealed hubs . I’m thought they were Shimano at first. The brakes are Shimano and The rack and bottle cages are Blackburn.

52telecaster

that would be a wonderful bike in my estimation!

Hiro11

This was the first bike I ever purchased. I think it was $400 in lawn mowing money in 1986. I used it for medium duty touring. It's a pretty nice mid-tier 80's touring bike. I certainly never had any problems with it. I still love the paint and decals on this one. I re-wrapped the bars with yellow Benotto tape which looked pretty sweet. I have no idea what happened to my bike.

SamSpade1941 

Thanks I rebuilt the bike and it turned out really nicely . It just needed a good cleaning and lube , cables etc... I did replace the drop bars( with something wider ) and I replaced the stem with an ENE Dia Compe touring stem. It was a lovely riding bike and I probably should not have sold it but there was a local fellow who needed it as his Expedition was stolen in Portland , and I wanted to help him out. FWIW my sold for $400 , this is one bike that I definitely had sellers remorse over because I loved how it rode.

Here is the finished product after rebuild.

SewardRum

I have a Bianchi Portofino that looks just like yours. Mine is in need of a rebuild, but the paint and components are all in great shape.

mstateglfr 

Since OP has asked multiple times for value, here are some general estimates.
They are general because I have no idea where the OP lives, and that affects value.

Current condition- $175-250.
Refurbished condition, so new decent tires, actual bar tape, new cables and housing, and fresh grease on all bearings- $350-450.


What a bike is worth depends on location, time of year, inventory its competing against, and quality of work.
I will say that there doesn't seem to be a lot of love for down tube shifting on the secondary market around me, even if its indexed, compared to bar end or STI(shifting from the brakes). Maybe its a local issue or maybe only those wanting older bikes are still wanting/willing to use downtube shifters

SewardRum

Agreed. Sometimes during a rebuild I have to fork out the bucks to purchase some new parts rather than clean-up and re-use, and that generally adds quite a bit to the monetary value. Nice look and good fit are also important part of the equation for whoever ends up purchasing and older vintage bike.