BlueDevil63 

Some time ago I posted asking why we saw so few 1970s Bianchis. Lots of interesting discussion followed. A month or so ago I posted about the departure of my 1983 Bianchi Specialissima to a buyer in Luxembourg. Well today I present the replacement, a 1979 Bianchi Super Leggera. I picked this up just after I sold the 1983 Specialissima. It was in good original shape but needed some TLC. I did my usual procedure of stripping everything down to the bare frame, clean and ScratchX the frame, do some touchups, refresh the paint infills and replace cables and housing. I also relaced the handlebar leather with some turquoise waxed cotton thread. The crank was milled by a previous owner and the job is acceptable if not great. Lube and clean all components and bearings and reassemble. I think everything is original but the rear derailleur. It came with an early 80s Super Record but the 1980 catalog I had access to showed the Super Leggera coming with Nuovo Record RD (the Super Corsa came with Super Record RD) so I put a 1979 NR rear derailleur on it. It is nowhere near as perfect shape as the 83 Specialissima but I am a sucker for the chrome head lug Bianchis so I am more than happy with this one. Haven't taken it on a test ride yet as it is about 35 degrees and snowing. Oh and this is from the Piaggio/Vespa ownership era, hence the head badge.

repechage

Pantografata, chrome lugs. What is not to like? Seeing a nicely detailed bike always gets me thinking of how to squeeze a bit more time in the evening to get cracking on my group.

I will wait on those, a box arrived today that contains my son's next bike, he has about 4 cm more required to fit so I have a bit of time.

bibliobob

Purty!

Kobe 

The gold rims add the perfect bling to a gorgeous bike. I can't wait to hear how it rides, hopefully we will not have to wait to Spring to find out.

Giacomo 1 

Wow, that is a show stopper!

Right down to the water bottle and holder. The pantographing is just gorgeous to, as are the handlebars, brake handles and shift levers. Heck, the whole darn bike is gorgeous!

I had no idea that Bianchi put so much work into their early bikes. A beautiful example for sure!

flash2070

I agree! Definitely a gorgeous bike, and outstanding job of restoring it as well! I would love to add a Bianchi to my small collection, but definitely a 70's Bianchi is more to my taste. Congratulations!

Flash

randyjawa 

Boy, do I like that bike! I know where there is a 60cm one but, sadly, the previous owner drilled two holes in the top tube, running the cable through them. His bike is early seventies, I believe. I do have some pictures, but they are in the city and I am at my summer cottage.

repechage

Early bikes? They were almost 100 years old at that point, what 95? My take is it is nice to see that they still had a Reparto Corse area to produce top flight machines.
I bypassed the crank arm spyder milling during my initial review... very nice.

Giacomo 1 

I said early simply because Bianchi's seem very rare prior to the 80's. Actually, they seemed pretty non-existent before then, at least in the States. Of course I do realize they are one of Italy's oldest bike builders...

gomango 

This is why I stick around.

I get to see exceptional bicycles like this example.

Man, you really know how to put it all together.

Thanks for sharing.

northbend 

I like this one alot!

repechage

Just teasing a bit. Text does not always do well to show inflection, and I just don't like emoticons. In Southern California in the early 60's Bianchi was one of the Continental European brands that was seen reasonably frequently. But the distributor was local and the sales much beyond the US coasts probably did not happen, save maybe Chicago.

gregaz

Beautiful! I am in the process of restoring / building a 1983 Nuovo Record and this is great inspiration. Thanks for sharing!

Tell me more about Scratch X? My normal process is clean / clay bar / polish / wax.

shoota 

Learn to use emoticons? I mean, that's why they were invented..

So did I miss what rims those are? You don't see gold rims everyday, I like them!

aggst1

Superb bike! OP, I am impressed with your work! I just brought back to life a 1978 Super Leggera this past summer and got very familiar with it. The only thing I haven't done yet is to get proper Campy brake hoods. I noticed that your handlebars and stem are very shiny. Mine have some pitting. What did you use? Mother's polish? Here is a photo:

BlueDevil63 

Thanks for the kind remarks. This frame style is my favorite of all Bianchis. The seat stay caps are my favorite style, the chrome head lugs are beautiful, as is the fork crown. The sewn on grip leather is classic Bianchi. And celeste, a classic Bianchi must be in celeste. I would prefer a Bianchi headbadge over the Piaggio/Vespa one but I can deal with that. To answer the questions:

The rims are Mavic OR10 rims. These were standard equipment on the Super Leggera for a number of years. The Super Corsa came wirh OR7 rims which were lighter. I believe ScratchX is a very fine polishing compound with some fillers. Removes scuffs, scratches and other imperfections without harming paint. This bike's finish does have some issues. Yellowed clear coat has turned it more of a yellowish green than a pure celeste in some areas. I matched the paint as best as I could but it was a different tone in each area. The paint on the fork crown was pretty flaked away (chrome underneath) so I repainted the entire fork crown. The handlebars, stem and seat post were deanodized and polished when I received the bike. I repolished these items (using a buffing wheel) and redid the paint infill.

The shift levers are not something I have seen before. The ones I have seen have been fully cutout with the inside surface painted blue. These are very nice and caught my eye right away.

I think early Bianchis are pretty available, although certainly not common. I see a small number of 50s and 60s bikes, almost no 70s bike and a fairly high number of 80s steel bikes. Examples of earlier Bianchis:

'64-'65



'57

Robofunc

So beautiful. Nice work.

callig

Beautiful job on that Bianchi that's a real eye popper and congratulations on getting that one.

Drillium Dude 

The only era of Bianchi that tingles my jingles

What a beauty; thanks for reminding me that there's still one more bike out there that I want to add to my stable (damn you!)...

DD

Barchettaman

I think ScratchX is a ´detailing´ product made by Meguiars

https://www.meguiars.com/en/automotiv...cratchxreg-20/

I use the equivalent product made by Autoglym in the UK, Paint Renovator (highly abrasive), followed by Super Resin Polish (mildly abrasive with lots of fillers).

Proceed with care as bike paint is usually extremely soft!

WNG

Gorgeous example of why I developed Bianchi lust back in the 70s. I love it!

Pars 

Very very nice work on that bike, a real beauty!

Bianchigirll 

Very Beautiful!!!!

KonAaron Snake 

Between this beauty and that amazing X4 earlier this week, I might have to revise my opinion on Bianchis...WOW that is a beaut.

You consistently acquire some of the nicest two wheeled machines around BD.

kroozer

Another perfect bike from BD63.