My girlfriend's $50 Bianchi.
 

My girlfriend who got me into cycling months ago was getting jelous of me having older bikes that i get to work on all the time (not so fun when you dont have a fully working get on and go new bike though) while all she had was a new Mercier galaxy which gives her no problems and leaves nothing to do/fix. She had been searching a bit on Craigslist for a bike for about two months but I decided to finally find her one through crazy determined searching.

Well three days ago i saw a Bianchi on CL for $75 and it was her size. It was beat up but for that price considering what our CL prices are in our area it was a steal. I called while she texted however it was already 10pm. This guy was still up but had trouble with english and or reading as was apparent with his texts and as my girlfriend texted him he just suddenly never responded with his address...gahhh This happens all too often, call/email/text a seller and never get a responce.

After my gf texted the guy again the following morning he again never responded...ughhhhh but then suddenly he texted me his address and told me to meet him any time after six, so at five we set off to LA knowing an hour was about right. Then as were nearly there he texted me to meet him after 7:30, now the hopeless feelings are starting to come over us two. Still we meet after killing the extra time in traffic and in a Mxdonalds parking lot.

When I step into the guy's place I immediately see the Bianchi there and my GF and I try and play it cool but are giddy like little school girls on the inside. The guy used it for transportation but had just got a car so he didnt need it anymore. He was curious as to why he was getting so many calls for it, and we just shrugged our shoulders. After a bit of testing everything is working and after some negciations we strolled away with the bianchi campione del mondo for $50!



Now time for pictures.
http://i52.tinypic.com/fz3k8z.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/soxxrb.jpg

It has seen many tough miles. It is also the most greasy bike I have ever seen. The Bianchi has had many things broken or lost and then replaced with non matching things such as a 27in Mavic 1 1/8 front rim with a Schwin hub laced. It also has a Shimano Skylark derailer which I have NEVER heard of.

I would post more pictures but we started stripping it as soon as we brought it home. My girlfriend and I are not fixed gear riders, however I just made a fixed gear for bike polo out of a beat up Peugeot, and since this is even more beat up the gf is making it into her first fixed gear and going to use it for bike polo too.

Perfect polo bike. Somebody got very angry at that top tube...ouch.

Congrats on your Bianchi find. however I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and would like to see more and better pics before passing judgement, but I don't believe that is a Campione del Mundo

the sticker on the DT just signafies Bianchi's victory in the '86 world championships. that decal in some fashion adorned thousands of Bianchis from '87 onward.

again I would like to see more pics but I believe this to be an '87 Strada which would have come stock with 27" wheels but not schwinn hubs.

Damn... that top tube is in sad shape.

When I see damage like that on your Bianchi, I immediately get worried about the rest of the frame set. Were I you, I would take the time to start measuring the frame and forks to see if they, too, are bent.

Measuring a frame and forks is not all that difficult to do but it might save you tons of grief later. You can learn how to do this at MY "TEN SPEEDS", and visit the page of Frame Inspection and Fork Inspection. You might also want to know a bit about Frame and Fork Repair.

Hope this is a help.

+1. The frame is toast. The down tube cable stops indicate the stem shifters are orignal and is typical of an entry level model. It sounds like a lot has been replaced on that bicycle. In addition to the hubs, I don't think Shimano was still making the SkyLark in the late 1980s.

I'm usually ready to throw down $50 on any decent frame or complete bike with a little potential. I'd probably have kept walking on this one. The top tube is a mess looking at how the cable sits on top of the damaged area. In the end I hope it works out for you and your girl.

When it's all said and done it might still be a great bike for polo because you don't have to worry about trashing it, it's pre-trashed.

OH one more thing look real close at the steerer tube. that stem looks like only the wedge portion is inserted.

sorry to say that it's not a deal at $50.

I didn't want to say it when the thread was new, but now that it's out there.... I'd be afraid of that bike.

+1

But not that bad since $50 isn't that much and you got a wheelset and other parts.

Just wondering if you knew ahead of time that it had dents on the top tube.

i have to guess no, especially since it wasnt mentioned in the original post.

I would have liked to have seen the original CL add. if it was advertised as a "Bianchi Campione del Mundo $75" you can bet the phone was ringing off the hook.

I really like the part where the OP admits to being "giddy as a school girl"

but I agree nothing in the original post suggest they knew it was bent or were initally worried about it.

Amazingly, this thread answered a question I've had about the $395 Mercier Galaxy from BD...any problems? "No problems" sounds like the type of answer I like to hear.

Might just be the angle, but the top tube is bent, not only the little dents. The frame has to be off just from that alone, sagging is probably the best I could describe it ? I would've passed like another post indicated.

A polo bike is going to get beat up anyway. It will be fine for that. She'll get more than $50 worth of fun out of it.

yes the previous owner clearly showed that on the CL ad.

Ohh ya the frame is bent, like I said it is a beater however I would expect that to happen anyways after some heated bike polo games. We don't plan on taking our polo fixed gears out to ride around for leisure, we do that with geared road bikes. Otherwise there is nothing for $50 unless one waits a long time for some special moment, or settle making a mountain bike fixed or something.

to cycleheimer, yes her bike is fine however it had to be taken in to the LBS to be put together and tuned because they come terribly assembled and anything that is assembled must be taken apart and reassembled and tightened. Oh and it came with a Deore rear derailleur which always goes out of whack after a two months or so of her riding which for some of you is easily a week.

but you do understand this is not a Campione anything it is an '87 Strada and has HiTen stays and fork?

A trip to the LBS can definitely eat up any savings you get with a mail order bike. I worked in bike shops as a kid. Besides doing repairs, I had to put new bikes together. The new bikes required a fair amount of work. We also provided free "tune ups" on the bikes we sold. That usually meant taking up new cables that had stretched, and re-trueing the wheels. You lose that service with a mail order bike, but it isn't that big a deal for somebody who does their own work. I also liked being the only one to work on my bikes after they came out of the box, and I am sure there are others who feel the same. Most owners of B.D. bikes that I've talked to have said their bikes were about "80%" finished out-of-the-box. It is the other "20%" you have to worry about.

As far as Bianchi goes, it would fit in fine in New York...especially on Broadway in Washington Heights. You would just have to wrap tape around the frame, and then hit it with some flat black spray paint to make it less attractive to thieves.

Bends or Dents Test: PASS:thumb:

Ok, good in fact. I would rather see a beat up low end Bianchi get turned into a fixed gear and get even more trashed in bike polo than say some other 80s Japanese Bianchi like say a Randonneur.