Heatherbikes

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BIANCHI-BA...item1e67afba84

I was looking for little road/touring bikes and came upon this. It has lugs but a unicorn fork(eeek) which I am willing to overlook. It is japanese made, I intend to ask the seller what the tubing is, but often people have no clue. Is this a low end bike? Was it a touring bike or an early mountain bike? Is it priced too high?
Thanks, Heather

Chris W.

FWIW this particular ebay seller really does know his stuff, and his communication is pretty good too The only problem I've had with him is that he is really good at finding the good deals in the Boise area before I do

Cheers,
Chris

Bianchigirll 

I think the Backstreet was a model above the Boardwalk for a year or two, and these decals were only used in the US in '90/91. aside from the less than glamorous looks what is wrong with unicrowns? the Backstreet would have been a hybrid frame so the geomentry is not exactly what you would want for a touring (especially "Loaded" touring) but would make a great sport tourer just the same.

where do you live? I think the price is is a bit high for just the frame/fork especially when you add the $90 shipping.

kingsting

I'm going by memory here from when we sold Bianchis but the decals look to be 1990 - 1991. The Backstreet was actually a hybrid bicycle. I think they were in the $450.00 range and had Tange Infinity tubing.
I remember taking a few Bianchi hybrids for a spin back then and they really had a nice feel to them. Even the entry level models.

Edit: BG beat me to it so I have some repeated info here.

Those bikes did ride nice though...

Heatherbikes

Oh, the only thing wrong with unicorns is less than glamourous looks. So, an early 90's hybrid would have been good for ____? Back then I was still in high school, buying my first bike on my own and the market was saturated with mountain bikes. I do not remember anything else.
I live near Vancouver BC, which isn't that far from Boise. He is including tires which I would not really want. It's all the other parts that I'd have to start collecting adding up to a fairly expensive bike(in my world anyway). I occasionally see bikes like this on craigslist for about more or less than this frame, but rarely in the right size. I am actually looking for a higher end bianchi-but might consider this as a commuter and hauler of groceries etc.. But, I fear the price is too high.

Bianchigirll 

Unicrowns are just plain cheaper to make than a regular crowned type fork that is why we have them, same with tigged frames V lugged.

Bianchi developed the hybrid for people who wanted a a mountain bike with a bit more upright rididng position and more 10spd like handling, but were not going to take the bikes off road. they were fine for the occasional dirt road but never intended to go where real MTBs went.

If you do not have a ready source of parts to build this I agree the price for the whole bike would be high, off the shelf wheels about $200, cranks derailleurs and shifters (have you given thought type of handlebars?) another $150+ and then seat n post bar and stem....

I really like my Infinity framed Bianchi MTB but I think the price for this frame is a bit high. if you could score a decent MTB that you could harvest everything but the wheels for cheap it may be doable.

BluesDaddy

That is WAY TOO MUCH to spend on a hybrid frameset, especially one with damaged paint. You should be able to find a complete bike for less than that. Also, it's not gonna be a full-fledged touring bike with the limited bottle- and rack- mounting locations.