Hi, this is my first post. If I am posting in the wrong place, I apologize. About a month ago I lost my beloved bike in a house fire. I have googled the make/model and I can't find anything pre 1993. I KNOW I had a pre 1993 because I bought it in College and I Graduated in 1990. If I had to guess I would think it was around a 1987/88 model. The bike I am looking for is a Bianchi Osprey. I am looking for the same model year because the color combination was my favorite thing about the bike. The bike has a Black Frame with Purple Lettering, the Seat and Cables are the Bianchi Seafoam Green Color. Does anyone have an idea how I might identify this bike and possibly find a replacement.

I also have 1 other question. The insurance company pays the replacement cost for my lost items. I can't recall what I paid for the bike when it was new but it was several hundred dollars. Since I can't go into a store and buy the same bike, what current model would be comparable to the Osprey?

Thanks so much!

Since you're talking about a mountain bike, you should also post in Mountain Biking. MTBR.com, too.

Thanks so much! I will do that now.

Bianchi Osprey listed at $535 in 1993. Pretty good rigid frame mountain bikes. Good ones similar to that are for sale routinely in the $150 range.

If you want a particular bike model and a particular year, you probably are going to have to go ebay and be prepared to pay quite a bit to get the bike shipped.

A comparable bike (but not the exact same one) will show up on any major city Craigs List just about daily.

You can use this site to search the entire USA Craigs List. But very few sellers if any on Craigs List will ship a bike. Thats one reason they are using Craigs List instead of ebay.

https://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cpbike

Thanks, hopefully I can figure out the year so I can start searching.

As for the purchase of a comparable bike, the insurance pays replacement costs. I was unclear and I'm sorry. My question is if I were to go into a bike shop and look for a 2009 or 2010 ( I'm not sure how bikes do their model years. ) bike. What would some models be that are the same level that my Osprey was in 1990? Even if I just look at the current Bianchi website there are many models of Mountain Bikes with a large price range. It seems like the low-middle end is about $650. I just have no idea where my bike fit in relation to other bikes. I hope that makes sense.

maybe Bianchigirll (two "L"s) can track down info, she seems to have a lot of catalogs from many years, send her a PM.

Wow! How does he do that?

The collective information database in this forum continues to amaze me.

Sorry to hear about your loss in the house fire. We went thru that ordeal back in '97 and wouldn't wish that on anyone. Most of the personal property we lost was due to smoke damage, not the fire itself.

Out of curiosity, was the bike totally destroyed or is it perhaps salvageable? Do you have the bike or or what's left of it or was it tossed as part of your clean up? You would be surprised what the people on this web site can do with a bare frame.

I will have to see if it is still there. I am going to guess it is pretty bad because it was in the garage and the fire started in the garage. Although, as the frame is metal, it might be OK except the paint. It does suck. I am so tired and I haven't even gotten a chance to take the kids to do much fun summer stuff. It is a full time job dealing with all these people. On the plus side, my family and our pets are all safe. We have a GREAT insurance company. ( If you are looking for Home Owners insurance AAA really takes care of you if you need to use it. ) We are in a rental house for the next 6 months or so and it is close enough to our home to continue our lives as usual. Plus, I have seen more goodness in people the past month than I had in a long time. It is amazing to me how kind complete strangers have been to us. It has meant so much to me.

Hello ladybug from your discription your Bianchi sounds more like a 1989 Forte with Tange double butted frame and Suntour XCE components. the above price sounds right and replacing it today I think would cost about 850 to 900

Don't know your location, but here you go:

https://poconos.craigslist.org/bik/1288428084.html

I think you are misunderstanding the OP. Her insurance company is buying her a BRAND NEW bike. They will pay for a bike that is the equivalent of the cost and component level of her 1988 bike in 2009 prices. If her bike was third down from the top of the line in 1988 then they will replace it with a bike that is third down from the top of the line today, not a used 1988 bike on CL.

vjp

"The bike I am looking for is a Bianchi Osprey. I am looking for the same model year because the color combination was my favorite thing about the bike"

That's all I saw.

Me too, thats why I mentioned ebay and the Jaxed site for searching Craigs List.

I would suggest the OP just head to a local bike shop and have them provide a quote of a higher end MTB. Unfortunately, the technology has changed dramatically on MTBs, the ones from 20 years ago are a lot different than what you see now. But the insurance company probably will not quibble. I would look at some of the higher end MTBs from Specialized, Trek and others. The shop can handle it, if it is a decent sized shop, it will not be the first time they did this kind of thing. Reward the shop with some business later.

Yes, they will pay for the comparable 2009 or 2010 bike. Figuring that out is my short term goal because I want that mess behind me. My long term goal is finding a duplicate. I loved that bike from the moment I saw it. I bought it when I was in college and I went to college at UC Davis. If any of you are familiar with Davis, you know that bike had been through a lot with me.

Bianchigirll, thanks so much for all your help. I looked at your photo again and had a couple things to add. The small decal on the front looks like an exact match. Also, the shifters are a bit different. They are the thumb shifters but mine seem a bit smaller and closer to the handlebars so that whole section looked a bit flatter. I'm sure all you bike people are laughing your behinds off at my descriptions. I just have no idea of the proper names of any part of the bike beyond frame, tires and handlebars.

Thank you so much everyone! Bianchigirll has identified my bike. She sent me a photo from a catalog and it is a different color but definitely the same bike. It was a 1990 Bianchi Osprey.

Maybe, if you intend to search for a 1990 replacement, you could spend your 2010 allotment on a comparable road or "comfort" bike... Why not? I'm not sure you'll be too happy with a new mountain bike based solely on your experience with your 20 year old mountain bike. As wrk101 says above, things have changed. Maybe ask the bike shop what they suggest based on how you ride.

Thanks so much. I am not sure what type of bike I will be getting yet. I have no need for a high performance bike right now. My bike riding these days is limited to a couple of blocks around the neighborhood with my kids. After I have a bike to use, I am going to keep searching for a copy of my bike.

WRK101---

Thanks for the nationwide search link.