big chainring 

Thought this deserved its own thread. I'm usually not a fan of roadsters, but this one I cant stop looking at.
https://cgi.ebay.com/BIANCHI-Model-RE...item3a625a04cf

gustin18

My shop is a Bianchi dealer. That would look oh-so-perfect in the storefront window!

Bianchigirll 

it is very beautiful but $3500 plus 300 shipping is too much for me.

thirdgenbird

it has 48 years on me, but i would still ride it.

nlerner

And is that a carrying handle like on that new Rapha city bike?

Neal

Bianchigirll 

I saw that pretty cool eh? bianchi is always on the cutting edge LOL must be for carrying the bike up the stair of your villa after too much wine

iab

Very common for city bikes.

Citoyen du Monde

I call foul on this bike. I do not believe for a moment that the bike finish is original, nor do I believe that the rims are original. Let me explain my reasoning.

I have a 1936 Bianchi that is 100% original apart from the tires, inner tubes and rim strips (I have a full uninterrupted history of the bike from 1936 onwards, as the bike was my wife's Granfather's, then sat in my Mother-in-law's garage before being gifted to me as an engagement gift from her). You can check it out here: https://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/..._da_Passeggio/

The rims on these bikes were generally painted and the ones on the ebay bike are fully chromed. Another important clue to the non-originality is that during the war, ALL bikes were required to have the rear fender painted white during the periods of black-outs. When they said all bikes, the fascist authorities meant ALL bikes and nobody was excused from this law. There is no way that the paint could be removed without a trace. Then look at the chrome, much of it is pickled, but the paint is near perfect, this does not correspond with how most of these bikes aged where the chrome is invariably better than the paint.

This bike is perhaps the one that I use the most of all the bikes I own. It rides wonderfully well, but I wouldn't want to ride up too steep hills.

realestvin7

Maybe it wasn't ridden all that often, if much at all during its first years. Hence, the absence of the white paint...

Citoyen du Monde

The possibilities of this being a viable explanation is as good as nil. Take a look at the famous movie "Ladri di Biciclette" (The Bicycle Thief), you will then understand that bikes were the mainstay of transportation and they were comparatively expensive and nobody would spend the money and let it sit around. There was simply no market for "duplicate" bikes or not necessary bikes in the 30's. With austerity measures during the war, the use of a bike only became even more important, with many of those lucky enough to own a car switching back to bicycle use. One simply would not forego the use of a bike.

realestvin7

Somebody call him out on it, then. Lol.

Daveyates

I think there are a lot of reasons why it wouldn't of been painted. I don't see that as an issue unless you make it one.

bibliobob

+1. It was a world-wide depression, and the war only made matters worse. Not too many bikes would've gone unused.

deleterious

Those horn grips are just amazing! I wish they still used horn for bike parts.



Well, this guy does:

ftwelder

The seller says about the wheels "fully original with the exception of new rims and tyres (which are a N.O.S. couple of the legendary Pirelli Stella, widely considered the best tyres of those times), a new set of N.O.S. decals of the very same quality they used originally and a B33 Brooks saddle" so the seller claims to have laced new wheels, replaced transfers and the saddle. Perhaps the paint was good to start with and the bike had some luck.

'just sayin'

Thumpic

then don't buy it...............

bikerosity57

Regardless, I wouldn't kick it out of the garage, would you? The price is way to high though. Whenever I see inordinately high prices especially starting prices on a bike, I get suspicious. Still if I stumbles on one for around $450-$500 I would be sore tempted.

bikerosity57

Isn't there a company in Italy still producing a bike almost exactly the same as this? I can't remember the name of the brand but i recall it is a man's name, Ulmo, Pio or something like that

iab

With today's exchange rate, this one is about $265, https://cgi.ebay.it/BIANCHI-1937-FREN...item4aa7b847be

Not an uncommon bike.

iab

What makes you think CdM is in the market?

bikerosity57

Umberto Dei. That's the brand I was thinking of. It took a while for my internal hard drive to spin up.

Citoyen du Monde

I have no intention of buying it, but at the same time, I don't plan to let some unknowing buyer purchase it under the impression that "Both paint and every component is fully original" I stopped reading the description when I saw this misleading claim in bold type. A nice Bianchi roadster in truly original condition from the mid-30's will often sell for 1000 euros upwards in Italy. The problem for North American buyers is shipping due to weight, size and technical complexity. Dismantling the rod brakes and mudguards for shipping is not overly simple.

These bikes have many collectors in Italy. In fact there are likely more collectors of vintage roadsters than vintage race bikes. Another thing that most people ignore is that the most expensive bikes in virtually any full-range bike manufacturer's selection was invariably a roadster and NOT a racing bike! A nice, matching numbers, original Bianchi roadster will go for over 1000 euros if sold by a savvy seller. I have even seen some immaculate ones (with the white rear mudguard) go for over 2000 euros.

Umberto Dei is no longer an independent builder but is now just a marketing brand. You can indeed get a modern interpretation of one of these old-timer roadsters in Italy with Umberto Dei name as well as a few others, unfortunately the quality has no comparison to what you can get on some of these older bikes. I personally would like to find myself a nice Taurus. If I could find the specific one that I want, the ebay seller's asking price would not be out of line. Pay special attention to the brake calipers, the routing of the brakes and the crank attachment method.

bikerosity57

You can see that the quality of these Italian roadsters is a lot higher than even the old Raleighs. I believe the modern Italian roadsters are a lot better quality than the Indian, or Chinese by a long way. I had a catalog once a while ago for the Umberto Dei (amazing I couldn't remember the name), and regardless of whether they aren't as nice as in by gone days, they are still very nice indeed.

Veloria

For what it's worth, I have encountered a modern DEI in person and was shocked by how heavy it was. And I say that as someone who is used to English Roadsters and Dutch bikes! The DEI weighed about twice as much as my Raleigh DL-1. I would not be able to own such a bike, because there's no way I'd lock it up overnight outdoors in Boston - and dragging it up the stairs would be mission impossible.

southpawboston

Wow, that Bianchi would have been considered "C&V" even back when "The Bicycle Thief" was filmed .