Help identifying Bianchi model and age
 

About 5 years ago I acquired this steel frame as a partial trade for a frame I was selling. It had a broken spindle and frozen bottom bracket so the cash offset was not much and I had not yet met a BB that I could not remove. Well, after a whole day of drilling, grinding, and sawing (and almost giving up) I was able to remove the BB and begin rescuing the frame from the dumpster. I believe it to be a Bianchi based on the statement of the previous owner, finding traces of celeste paint after stripping all of the rattle can paint, unicrown fork, and the ovalized downtube at the BB shell. There were no decals or stampings (fork ends, dropouts, or stay caps) that would point to it being a Bianchi. Looking through the available catalogs on the internet, I had originally guessed that it was an early 90's Eros and left it at that. I built up the frame as a 650b conversion with a 1x11 drivetrain.

I have to say that after four years of riding it is probably my favorite bike in the stable. So my curiosity about the bike has grown and I'm hopeful that someone can assist with model and year. Stampings on the bottom of the BB shell are F6 H59 015238

Thanks

Here are some pictures of the bike:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a27fe243a9.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b9985ccad4.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bcb35673d2.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0cba5d9a96.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a8daaf4ce6.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ae0fa999ff.jpg

What size is the seatpost? The BB shell was English? Is there anything on the dropouts? It could be one of the many frames, maybe Taiwanese, from the early '90s made witht eh SuperSet 2 frame design.

Seatpost is 27.2mm and yes, the BB Shell was English. Nothing on the dropouts.

Thanks

27.2 that's interesting. I don't have a lot of experience with them but if that is the case it could very well be one of the many Italian built Dedalo tubed frames. Sadly you may never know its real identity

Welcome to the club! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a9a2a50579.jpg

Here are some pictures showing how the frame looked when I acquired it. I assume the BB was original, but I don't recall the manufacturer (but remember that I didn't recognise the name). In addition to the frozen BB, the left DT shifter stud was sheared, requiring brazing on a new one. Bummer that I won't be able to pin down the specifics, but still, I am immensely satisfied that I was able to rescue the frame and enjoy riding it. I painted it with acrylic lacquer, but am not pleased with its durability so a repaint is planned for a year or so down the road.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a8e02681e9.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a62d7a3664.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9b917bc1bf.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aec85359c0.jpg

Miche? Looking in the catalog for the later '90s I don't see a white bike

Yes, it would be a early to mid 1990s Bianchi based on what appears to be a Superset II BB shell. It's an entry level road/sport based on the dropout eyelets. Something along the lines of a Premio.

It may have been a Miche; however, since I do recognise that manufacturer, I should have remembered that. Oh well, I'm just thankful that I remember as much as I do. The white paint was a creatively sloppy rattle can job done at some point in its history. It had a very thick alligatored clear coat layered over the white - tough to remove! While stripping, I found small traces of Celeste around steerer tube and other crannies, so that was probably the original color.

Thanks T-Mar