Hey everybody, I am new here. I hv an advantage with celeste color. Think this should be Japan model manufacturing in 1994. The serial number is 95J2194. Can anyone give me a clue the place and year of the manufacturing? A million thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forums. Your being in Hong Kong complicates matters somewhat, as Bianchi models very often vary from market to market. However, the serial number appears to open format and almost certainly a 1996 model manufactured in late 1995. As to the manufacturer, I can't provide an identity but given the era, and assuming the HK Advantage was the same level as in the USA, I'd expect Taiwanese manufacture, though that format was also used by a Japanese manufacturer. Typically, there is a country of origin label of the bicycles. Photographs may help.

Dear T-Mar, sincere thanks for your information. try many times to post pic but I am too junior and not allowed.

Actually I show a catalog of Bianchi 1994 Japanese version and found my bike. As I am told celeste Advantage only sold in Japan once.

With all due respect, your Advantage is not a 1994 as pictured in the Japanese catalogue. While the image is poor, the catalogue bicycle is clearly a road model with dual pivot brakes, while yours is a hybrid with cantilever brakes. I still maintain that it is a 1996 model, manufactured in late 1995. The most readily identifiable component on your bicycle is the Shimano Alivio crankset with the small chainring bolts that extend though the crankarm spider. This particular version appears to be the FC-MC14 version, introduced for the 1996 model year. If you check the back of the crankarms there will be a product number identifying the crankset and double alpha character date codes that will reveal the year and month of manufacture. Based on the serial number, I strongly suspect will date from late 1995 (i.e. TG to TL codes). BTW, don't believe what the forum says about posting pictures....

Trying to find our more about this bike. Serial number 4C1C1775. Just joined not sure how this works, just checking it out. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Welcome to the forums. Can you tell us a bit more about your Bianchi? What color is it? Does it have anything stating what kind of tubing it is made out of? What brand are the components?

Pretty sure its all steel, Black with gold decals, Shimano side pull brakes, Rear d is Shimano RD-Z501 I bought it new in Michigan about 1983 or 84. Thank you for responding.

It sounds like you have a Brilliant Black '84 Strada.

I think you’re right. I googled brilliant black 84 strada and the first pic is my bike.

Thanks, awesome forum!

Hello! I bought this Bianchi frame and I'm having trouble identifying it. Serial number is 6104485 (marked on the head tube). Color is celeste. Seller says its 1980s frame. I have photos but can't post them here Any specs/info would be much appreciated. Thanks

Could anyone help me identify this, please?

Seller claims it to be Columbus SL.

Serial number is 9.G on the NDS and then 393 on the DS.

Based on the serial number it should be 1989 model. I don't believe there were any Columbus SL models that year, at least not in the USA.

Hellooo, can you identify this bianchi pista dalmine? has the color of Tosca with serial number 08C0047644, do you think it's real or fake?
thank you

Welcome to the forums. This is a relatively modern model. The Dalmine (or any other aluminum Bianchi Pista variant) weren't offered in North America prior to 2012. However, you're located in Indonesia, which complicates matters, as Bianchi models often varied from market to market. Looking at the serial number and how the first characters are a smaller font, it's very tempting to say that it's a 2008 model.

Edit: Picture assist...

Hello everyone. I’m hoping you can help me ID a Bianchi I picked up last week. I think it may be a late 1980s Trofeo or Limited SL since it’s in the two-tone Celeste and black Argentin scheme but I’ve spent what feels like hours looking through older posts here and haven’t seen an exact match. I think it may have all or mostly original parts but for instance it doesn’t have the rounded black stem that I’ve seen on Trofeos. Here are the details:
Campy headset (stamped Campagnolo - Brev. Int)
Stem is 3ttt
Suntour shifters
Formula Two Columbus frame
Ofmega crankset
Campy seat post
Modolo brakes
Suntour Sprint 9000 derailleur
Campione del Mondo sticker
Made in Italy sticker
Serial reads N.61 (or is it 19.N?) and 31107

I don’t have enough posts to upload pictures yet but hopefully the above list is enough to help narrow down what model this is.

thank u very much mr T-Mar for the information, which makes me affraid that this frame is fake because the color is different from the pista dalmine in other buy and sell forums and the photo is my bike
that i shared in the bianchi owner group, but havent received a response

it sounds like an ‘88 Trofeo. Is the World Champion sticker round? Great riding bike, I miss the one I had

Yep, round Campione sticker. I’m still hung up on the fact that most Trofeos I’ve seen appear to have a more rounded/sleeker black stem, whereas the one on mine is chrome and more angular. I suppose it could have been replaced at some point?

I may have figured out how custom-built Bianchi road bike serial numbers work (at least in some instances).

There is a long-running debate on the forum about SBX frames with late 80's stickers. SBX is from 93/94 so this causes consternation...

The serial number is the key (I think anyway): the format "B" XXX-XXX is reserved for custom builds. "B" means Bianchi - made in Italy at the Bianchi factory. The rest of the number is simply the frame number increasing incrementally - starting at "000-000" and going to "999-999".

My SBX has late 80's stickers and the serial number is B 008992. Other posters with similar "weird" SBX frames have B 008919 and B 008905. These frames were probably made close in time together but they are each custom - geometry, cable routings etc. These bikes are all SBX - so probably made in 1993/4. Custom frames are notable for design differences from the production bikes (decals, simpler brake mount, no pantographs etc.). It seems the Bianchi design philosophy for "custom racing frames" is to keep it simple - no fancy stuff, just function. A bit like a racing car perhaps?

Bianchi serial number of the day: 63f023t 290 - any comments? The first part looks like a "generic" type serial number to me - randomised and containing no information - other than that it is unique to the bike. Also what does 290 mean? Seems the bike is from 1994 based on my reading of other threads?

I never trust decals on a Bianchi, as it is arguably the most popular brand to "flip". Consequently, to maximize the return on investment, there are a lot of replacement decal sets and even repaints. There are a lot of "flippers" who choose decal sets based on their personal preference or cost and not necessarily what is era correct. They tend to prey on the "newbies" who want a celeste Bianchi at any cost.

Bianchi didn't introduce SBX until after they introduced their Superset II frame configuration in 1991. Superset II frames are easily identified by their down tube, which is slightly oversized and takes on an oval shape at the bottom bracket. To ensure it's SBX you also have to look inside the BB shell for the five helical ridges at the ends of the doen tube, seat tube and chain stays. To the best of my knowledge, the SBX frames were built to standardized geometry.

Rather than "keep it simple", my take on the cosmetic evolution of the Bianchi racing frames has been "keep it inexpensive". In the early to mid-1980s there was lots of embossing, In the late 1980s the embossing started to be replaced with decals. In the 1990s even that disappeared. This was probably to offset the technological frame developments, first with Superset, then with Superset II. Bianchi was big into the development of eponymous tubesets with Columbus, such as Bianchi Special, Formula One , Formula Two and SBX. The frames were advancing technologically but the cosmetics were getting more plain.

63 is likely the frame size, in centimetres.
290 could be a part code for the BB shell itself, as it's in a location where it would be covered by the cable guide. If you see it on other shells of the same style and era, that would raise my confidence level.

Hi T-Mar,

Thank you very much for the input. I will have to re-read some of your earlier posts about the five helical ridges - not entirely sure I understand what I am looking for here!

The five helical ridges were a Columbus innovation to improve a tube's rigidity with a minimal increase in weight. They were employed on Columbus steering columns, at least as early as 1960, then were incorporated into the butt end of seat tubes circa 1982 after frame builders started experiencing failures with Camapagnolo's brazed-on front derailleur hanger. They were then added to the bottom bracket butt of the down tube and bottom bracket end of the chain stays to create the SLX and SPX tubesets for the 1984 model year. With these tubesets, the intention was to increase ridigity in the bottom bracket region, to increase power transfer. Bianchi's SBX was a further development of these tubesets, with slightly oversized tubes and a down tube that was ovalized at the bottom bracket end.

Rigidity can be increased by increasing the diameter or thickness of the tubes. Increasing the diameter of tubing means going away from lugged construction or developing oversized lugs, neither of which were considered viable options at the time. Alternatively, the thickness of the butt could be increased but at a weight penalty. Columbus realized a compromise could be reached by using helical ridges. A ridge effectively stiffens the tube by increasing wall thickness but only in the direction perpendicular to the ridge. By using five ridges and arranging them in a helix, tube rigidity is increased around the entire circumference of the tube but at a fraction of the weight of increasing the thickness of the tube's butt.

The ridges in the Columbus steering column and SLX/SLP are only 3.5mm wide by 0.35mm thick, this can make them hard to see, especially is there is dirt or corrosion. Often you need a strong light and sometimes it is easier to feel them. If the framebuilder shortens the wrong end of the tubes, sometimes the ridges can be virtually eliminated. Attached are pictures of a pristine steering column, section of an SLX tube and an illustration of the helical ridge arrangement in SLX/SPX. This should give you a very good idea of what you will be looking for.

Hi T-Mar - This is simply awesome! Thank you for the information - it is super clear. I have had a closer look my SBX downtube and am sort of convinced that i can feel these ridges... :0