Well, I finally had my Bianchi TSX Reparto Corse frame looked at by a very reputable framebuilder and his conclusion was that the hairline crack I found in the head tube was not serious enough to warrant a rebraze. Some of you may have read some of the tear-drenched threads I posted after finding the crack. I'm not going to have it refinished for now, but I am going to start looking for a component group. The original goal of piecing together an 8spd Campy Chorus group has been squashed by the reality of the cost. And I have also retreated from my original thought that Shimano on an Italian bike would just be wrong. So, I'm asking the Forums' opinions about what component group would be the best quality versus cost for an upper shelf Italian frame?

Why not get Campy stuff anyway ? Not just the high end stuff of the time. For now at least.

Then as time passes, keep an eye out and start piecing the group you want little by little.

Don't rush it. Build the bike and ride it!

Here's my 96 with Campy Record eight speed.

The soul of that bike is in the frame. Outfit it with whatever works well and you can afford.

When you're riding it nobody but you is going to care about the country of origin of the components.

well it looks like you have an Athena brakeset and a nice Campi? crank just go from there. what are your wheels? it looks like that was offered as a complete Chorus or a frame/fork. personaly I would put it back together and enjoy that great Bianchi ride.

OH I often think about updating my '90 Proto (from the Reporta nel Corse) but then look at it and why? she rides like a dream everything works and she actually somewhat of a classic. and besides according to those posts about that specialized and trek bikes steel and DT shifters look to be back in style

I just built up my 84 Bianchi Alloro with mostly Shimano 600 stuff and I am super happy about it. I am sure Campy would be more fitting according to people that care - but I don't and I just wanted something to ride comfortably and I had the STI parts from another bike. Who cares what anyone else thinks? You can always change it later anyway so if you later get the chance to pick up the parts you want then you can switch it.

Do you have any idea how good 8s Mirage was? The Mirage line throughout its history was just stupid good for the price. The older stuff with the shiny metal bits instead of plastic is downright beautiful. I say go Campy but with targets of opportunity then upgrade as cooler, sexier parts become available at your price. Remember the law of ebay as illustrated by the great sage Tom McMahon:

Ya! That's what I'm talking about. What a beauty! That would be the goal.

I've never felt the "soul of the bike" as much as I did with this frame. I "borrowed" an older 105 7spd SIS DT group from another bike I had with Wolber GTX rims and was blown away by how precise and efficient the bike rode. I swear the bike demanded that I push, push, push. I could get more of a work-out riding this bike for 10 miles versus 20 on any other bike I've owned and enjoy myself afterwards twice as much.

I've since returned the 105's to the Giant 980c Cadex and plan on selling it and my Expedition in order to create a bike fund to finance the components on the Bianchi.

[QUOTE=Ronsonic;9542164]Do you have any idea how good 8s Mirage was? The Mirage line throughout its history was just stupid good for the price.

I'm going o look into that.
Does anybody else have an opinion on Mirage?

That matches my experience, as well -- my Bianchi is a blast to ride. I consider it my male midlife crisis alternative to an Italian sports car, which I cannot afford.

Shortly after buying the frame, and gaining an appreciation of how nice the frame is, I began to experience delusions of grandeur by having the frame professionally refinished and hanging sweet Campy jewelry all around. I talked with Ed Litton who specializes in Bianchi restorations who said that I was looking at around $600 to have the frame restored right. Judging by prices on EB, it was probably going to cost 400-600 for the Campy. Needless to say, I've since come back down to earth, especially after finding the crack, and would now just like to put a solid group on it that would match the quality of the frame without being a show-pony. Anyway, I figure if I had spent that much money refinishing the frame, I would be afraid to touch it afterwards.

The frame did come with those brakes, and thank you for IDing them. That's a start. I bought some Kool Stop pads for them and they work really well. They are definitely going back on the bike.

The cranks that came with it are Shimano 600 and are pretty worn. I don't know if they're original.

I also bought a set of Mavic Open Pro rims. Unfortunately they are both 36H. I think I'm going to try to find 1 matching 32H for the front. But buying the hubs is going to drive the rest of the group. It will be Campy or Shimano after that.

I'm going to have to agree with you. I'll be the big 5-0 this year and I feel like I'm 15 again riding my Schwinn Continental across the back roads of Southern Indiana on this bike.

[quote=rothenfield1;9542633]A complete Mirage group shouldn't sent you back much more than $250-$300. I put a new black 3x9 group on a bike I built, the exchange rate was good, and I think the group was about $225, new Khamsin wheels were $117. Keep up with Loose Screws, Wheel & Sprocket, and PBK.

I'm with the "build it up" folks. Where you have Campy, keep, where you don't, get.
Then, slowly, over time, get the components to match.

I started my 2x8 Chorus group with wheels and cassette, Shimano 600 otherwise, not the smoothest shifting, but OK. Over time, I added what Chorus I could, Veloce until I could get Chorus. After about 18 months it was all Chorus, and I like it lots. The cost was offset by selling/trading out the Veloce and Shimano 600 stuff.

I've never heard anyone else utter those words in reference to a Proto.

[QUOTE=rothenfield1;9542633]I had a bianchi equipped with 8sp mirage (my first road bike actually). I loved it at the time, but in hindsight it shifted pretty poorly compared to the 10sp campy and shimano bikes I have ridden.

"I started my 2x8 Chorus group with wheels and cassette, Shimano 600 otherwise," - RobbieTunes.

I thought mixing Campy with Shimano was forbidden by the bicycle gear Gods?