Looking for some info: Bianchi Reparto Corse (?)
 

First post, but have been lurking for a while now. I'm just getting into biking and previously bought an early 80's black/gold Super Leggera on eBay for barely $200. The bike is amazing, but a tad too small for me (55cm) so I've been looking around for a larger frame locally.

I found a 1997 Reparto Corse (or at least that's what the seller describes it as) and wondering if it's comparable in quality to the bike I have now. I'm planning on making the trip out to see it / buy it later this afternoon - the seller is asking around $300.

Details: 59 cm, Campagnolo group set, 8 speed rear cassette.

Here's a picture of it. I can't find a similar model with a stem like the one in the picture, and it looks like none (or not a lot) of the bike is chrome. According to what I've seen, it seems like all of the Reparto Corse models are made in Italy - is this true? Also, do they all have Columbus steel tubing? If anyone has had this bike or knows about it, insight is appreciated. I'm really a novice here.

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/638...rc5s498tf7.jpg

And just for the sake of it, a picture of the Super Leggera I have now. Most everything on it is Suntour Cyclone 7000, the brake levers are Campagnolo, and Araya 700C rims.

http://i.ebayimg.com/20/%21B%284TwUQ...Ow%7E%7E_1.JPG

Hello nice looking bikes. could you post a few better pics of the '97. now I am certain everyone her will decry this statement but.. not al bikes labeled Reparto Corse are in fact Reparto Corse bikes. I had a very heated post/email exchange over this issue with another member. however in contacting Bianchi I was told that during a period of time the management decided to label every bike as reparto corse. your bike may fall into this category. also there is really no such thing as a Reparto Corse "model". most bikes carry a model name sometimes based simply on the tubing.

in the past up until about '95/96 most all higher end Bianchis were made of Columbus tubing sometimes especially 'drawn' for Bianchi. in 95/96 Time frame they started to use lots of different materials some made just for them. alot of the production bikes were made with Dedacciai tubing sets specified by Bianchi for the Superset frame style and most carried the MegaPro style ovalized downtube.

do you really like the stem being so upright? it looks like the steering might be a bit twitchy

I'd post some better or higher resolution pictures of the Reparto Corse, but I don't have any and haven't seen any. The only other pictures the seller provided was of the derailleur and Bianchi logo on the fork. I don't think these help much. I'll post up some pictures later tonight if I decide to go buy the bike.

http://images.craigslist.org/3k93m23...09150317b3.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3k73p93...36671f10e0.jpg

I'm not sure if I'll like the upright stem. That's something I'm wondering about this bike - if that came stock or is something the current owner decided to stick on there. Possibly it's adjustable? I really have no idea.

The stem is an adjustable one, obviously the current owner is riding a bike that is way too small for them.

Your black one is nice!

vjp

Any indication that this model could have come with the adjustable stem?

I'm just wondering if it's worth the $300 and effort to go get it.

Hello no I do not think it would have come with an adjustable stem. if it is clean and works 300 is reasonable for a Campagnolo equiped Bianchi. provided it fits. I have seen justr frames (and not nice ones) go for more on ebay. andover isn't that far is it? or do you have to take the T

I'm pretty sure it will fit me better than the 55cm Bianchi I have now. I'm a little over 6 feet tall. But Andover isn't incredibly far, I'm just concerned about being stuck outbound traffic since I'm in the city.

traffic in Boston? really? I thought the "big dig" was going to get rid of that LOL

OH yes if you over 6' you need at least 59 or taller

...I thought it was friendly...heated maybe but friendly ;) :innocent: :D

BTW, I tried contacting Bianchi about that to see if they could/would provide any additional information on bikes from that period since their statement was rather vague about how you might identify a "real" Reparto Corse frame but they didn't respond. If somebody could point to a frame from the same period and point out specifically what the differences would be that would be very helpful. It's not like the old days when there were obvious differences in frame tubing, lugs, bottom bracket shells, chrome finish or not, etc. Once they started using Bianchi branded tubing, MegaPro design and TIG welding I don't know how to tell them apart or if there even is a difference.

This is just speculation on my part and unless you could find somebody that worked there I do not think you will be able to find too much accuarate information. But I would guess that after the early 80's the Reparto Corse was pretty much just absorbed into the production facility, and was more just a decal and marketing. Maybe it was around later to build actual team bikes but not production bikes?

Maybe somebody that worked at a Bianchi dealer or distributor in the 80's-90's would know if they were still taking orders for custom size frames during this period. I know the very early 80's catalogs still had the forms for custom orders. If they were taking orders for "build to fit" bikes than I would suppose there was some type of small operation either in or out of house that would be doing that stuff. But I still think the production bikes, no matter what level were still just production bikes.

Out of the three Reparto bikes I own, a '60, '77, '81, only the '60 really shows a nice attention to detail like a true hand-made frame. The others are still nice and terriffic bikes, but the work is nothing above what would be expected from a high end production bike.

I know the 2000 Veloce I bought new when I got back into cycling had "Reparto" stickers all over it, and it was a most basic tig-welded production frame.

Bianchigirl and Kommisar perhaps I can shed some light onto Bianchi's ownership in the mid 90's...they were sold to company called Cycleuropa Group in 1997. I have a feeling Reparto Course fuzziness begins around that time.

this is the reply I received from Bianchi USA concerning this subject.


Hi Trina,
Yes...in a way...yes, you were correct. There was a change in management at that time and they used the RC insignia for almost everything. But, since then it has been changed again. Now, the RC is going back to the way it is supposed to be. So, for a period of 2 - 3 years the Reparto Corse was a bit diluted. Now it is going back to high end in each categories. I have been with Bianchi for quite a few years and have seen many changes, but that was not such a great change and I am happy it did not continue.
Best to you.
David Reed

In a message dated 7/9/2009 2:03:02 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, bianchigirll@yahoo.com writes:
Hello

I just learned something very interesting. apparently the 2002 Veloce was produced in the Reparto Corse area. are all Bianchis made in this department now or are all Bianchis just coming through with that sticker?

in either case this is very disappointing news in that I was very proud of my three fabulous Reparto Corse bikes. now I am not so sure

Trina Brady

Well, if it's a 1997 and 8 speed, you know it's not Record or Chorus. Not a good pic, but looks like Mirage to me. So maybe an Eros?

I asked that seller for the original photos and received them. Posted to Flickr so you can see:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/...62bd6be3_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/...bc7d8c5c_o.jpg

Using this site (http://www.bikepedia.com/QUICKBIKE/B...&Brand=Bianchi) I decided it was an Eros, assuming it actually is from 1997. Triple front, Mirage group. Seller says he doesn't have the original stem.

I opted out of it, but that's because i'm already building up a Pinarello. I was considering buying the bike for just the components before i saw it was Mirage. If i'm going to upgrade it, i'm going to go whole-hog.

You have no idea how excited i am that my sleuthing equaled T-Mar's knowledge! ;)

A friend of mine has this unridden 1999 RC frame. It's my size and I often dream about getting it and moving the stuff from my 2006 Cannondale Synapse onto it. Would I have any compatibility issues?

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...V2Frame002.jpg

Bianchigirll knows far more about Bianchis than I do but I suspect that date to be pretty acurate. I've also heard that they stopped using lugs about that same time but I'm not sure about that. What I believe is that at some point in the late 90's most Bianchi production moved offshore to Taiwan - and after that point anything made in Italy was branded "Reparto Corse". There is another site out there that provided some pretty detailed information about where bikes are made that IIRC seemed to be saying that Bianchi might have been welding aluminum frames and finishing/assembling carbon fiber frames in Italy but I don't remember if it mentioned anything about steel frames. When I bought mine in 2002, and I suspect for some years prior to that, the Taiwan frames were built from Reynolds tubing (520 or 631) and equipped with Shimano components while the "Made in Italy" frames were made of Dedacciai tubing and Campagnolo equipped. And labeled "Reparto Corse". Whether you consider that to be real or not I guess depends on how you define Reparto Corse. Clearly "Race Department" would no longer apply as there were any number of bikes pouring out of Bianchi's Italian facilities labeled "Reparto Corse" that were in no way intended as racing machines. I think where Tina and I disagreed was whether a 1997 or so TIG weld steel Dedacciai frame marked "Reparto Corse" is the real thing while a later extremely similar frame is not. AFAIK today they stopped producing anything below the "Hors Catagorie" bikes in Italy so you can't buy a Veloce level bike labeled "Made in Italy" or "Reparto Corse" like you could a few years ago so the issue resolved itself.

Absolutely gorgeous frame! Pretty sure sure there would be a BB issue. Not up on the newer C-dales but don't they also have the new BB30 bottom bracket system? If not, there's still the Italian versus English threading. A new C-dale may also have a tapered steerer. Maybe a different size seat post? That sgould be about it.

You have no idea how relieved I am that your sleuthing confirmed my suspicion. ;)

The OP's celeste, with that stem looks an awful lot like Roccobike's Bianchi.
-Gene-

Yup! Same problem. My bike is a 51cm for a rider that requires a 54-56cm frame. I refuse to sell it until I get a Celeste color replacement frame of equal quality.

My bike doesn't have the BB30.


Isn't a 1999 new enough that it wouldn't have Italian threading?

Well, I bought it. Mostly because it's a good looking bike and fits me much better than the Super Leggera which I'll probably be selling now.

The components are (mostly) all from his old Eros. The frame had cracked, and through a warranty with the local bike shop or Bianchi (not sure?) he replaced it with this. Makes sense it would/could be another Eros. Most everything is indeed Mirage but some stuff on the stem is Record. I'm still a little confused since it doesn't say Eros on it anywhere.

The frame says:
Bianchi "Chromo Lite" Reparto Corse
Double Butted, Heat Treated, Mega Pro Concept
Handmade in Italy

The fork also says CRMO Double Butted

Not sure what else to say about it. Took the rear rack off and am going to change the pedals if I can get the damn things off...otherwise it rides nicely. And it came with the bike computer, which I've been meaning to get anyways. Not sure how I feel about 24 speeds though.

Also - the frame has a little nub in the front / above the fork to hold a pump. I don't see this on the '97 Eros: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/S...anchieros.html

I would bet it's the same as this frame shown below. As late as 2001-2002 the following models used a variant of this frame:

Veloce
Campione
Eros
Eros Donna
San Remo
Volpe

The Veloce had a carbon fork, the Eros Donna women's specific geometry, the San Remo was a tourer with canti brakes but they all shared the same official Bianchi description is provided here:

Frame Bianchi Reparto Corse SL Chromo Lite: Double-butted chrome-moly steel alloy, TIG-welded and heat-treated. MegaPro down tube with variable section; ZFS (Zero-Flex Stay) rear-triangle design. Vertical dropouts.

I've been very pleased with it other than for the TIG welds.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...isar89/001.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...iVeloce003.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...iVeloce007.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/tn_002-1.jpg

I have a 1996 R.C. frame that I bought new . Lugged Columbus TSX extra light , Chrome fork ends and stays. Bianchi is engraved into the BB shell. Heck of a ride IMO.