Bianchi-Specialissima
 

Any guesses as to this bike's age? Not mine. Yet.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=289076http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=289077http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=289078http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=289079
Thanks.

-D

ha! 2 in one week! 1960s for sure, I am not the person to narrow it down. There was a thread on one earlier this week.

It's very early 60's. Does it say "Specialissima" (can't tell from the pic)? The crank would be from "Competizione", one model below. Lack of oiler on back of headtube would confirm. And a 27.0 post (sometimes).

Looks like a great find. Adjustable Ambrosio stem is worth a few bucks....

If it is a Specialissima, then 1963 or earlier based on the two wide chrome bands on the seat tube. But is it? The crank looks wrong, the decal on the downtube right after "Bianchi" is hard to read but doesn't have the shape of the word "Specialissima". Of course it also looks like some of the components have been changed (stem, bars) so maybe the crank was too.

All-

I saw the bike briefly and a friend took some photos. I ASSumed "Specialissima" because of Bluedevil63's fine post ( http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Specialissima ).
If it is a "Competizione" would the frame be the same tubing as a "Specialissima"? So a step down, lesser stock components?

Thanks.

-D

I do not think the Competizione frames are much different, maybe Columbus SP instead of SL, but I think a lot of the Specialissima's were a mix, or all SP sometimes. I know mine weighs as much as an SP frame.

They were pretty much indentically specd. as well except for the Magistroni steel crank in place of the cotterless alloy Record. Italia saddle instead of a Brooks Comp Standard. If that bike is available and reasonably priced I would grab it. I doubt anybody could tell the difference between riding a similar year Competizione and Specialissima in a blindfold test (if you could actually ride in a blindfold).

The lower end bike from that period is the Gran Sport. That one is noticeably a lesser bike. Stamped drop-outs, etc. But similar livery so hard to tell from your not too detailed pics.

If you grab it, please post more pictures. We need to see more old Bianchis!

SP was not a lesser steel, only a thicker gauge? It should be the same cost in theory, so there would be no reason to differentiate that from model to another unless they assumed slower and fatter riders would be riding the model down, which would not be sound logic. Did SL even exist then?

I'm not sure what you are taking from my previous statement? My point was there was not much if any (at times) difference between the two frames. I'm not an expert on Columbus tubes. But would think lighter is always more expensive, and maybe needed more time or skilled labor to work with (which would add some cost)?

I think the main difference in cost was a few different parts. That made a big difference in the day.

My educated guess, based on the limited evidence, is it's an early 1960s Competizione. I am basing that on the downtube decal (the word after "Bianchi" is more consistent with "Competizione" than it is with "Specialissima") and the componentry, especially the steel cottered crank vs. a Campy cotterless crank. The age estimate (early 1960s vs. mid 1960s) is based on the number of chrome stripes on the seat tube. Somewhere around 1963 or 1964 Bianchi wnt from two to five such stripes. The integrated head set certainly is consistent with my guestimate. It also appears to have the right brass colored head badge, although I can't be sure.

As for the tubing, if it is in fact a Competizione, it is probably built with a lesser grade tubing than the Columbus SL used in the Specialissima. Columbus didn't start using the terms "SL" or "SP" - and they are the same alloy, just differing thincknesses - for some years after the early 60s, but it was the same steel, metalurgically speaking. I have a 1961 Competizione frame recently repainted by Ed Litton (I rattle-can painted it in the 1970s when I was in high school), and he said my frame had seamed tubing, not the drawn Columbus SL/SP. One example is certainly not enough for saying for sure, but I would be surprised if my Competizione was a one-off.

My undertanding is that the "Competizione" was the lowest end frame made at the Reparto Corsa works and that is was meant to be the "entry level" racer. One then worked up to the Specialissima and another even higher level one.

What was the top model called, the one above the Specialissima? I've heard of it but can't seem to pin down its official model name, or how one would identify one.

The model called "Team" was above the Specialissima (in the 60's). But as a production model it was just a Specialissma without the exposed chrome "socks" on the fork and stays. And it carried a decal on the head-tube instead of a metal badge.

There were also actual team bikes built for professional riders and these can vary quite a bit in detail. Sometimes very nicely filed, and with interesting braze-on's. These are really neat bikes, I would love to have a good example in my size.