xabi10xabi

Hi everyone,

I'm contacting you from Buenos Aires, Argentina to see if you can give me a hand identifying an old 10-speed Bianchi bike I've recently bought. Seller said it was bought in Santiago de Chile back in the 1970s.


Components:

• Campagnolo Valentino Extra / Nuovo Valentino Patent rear derailleur.
• Campagnolo front derailleur.
• "Vicenza Patent Campagnolo Italy" shifters.
• Modolo Flash brake levers.
• Universal brake calipers.
• "ITM Made in Italy" stem.
• "ITM Special" handlebar.
• "RFG Made in France" crankset.
• RFG 45/52 chainrings.
• "S.M.T Prevetti" seatpost (logo shows a ram's head).
• "Iscaselle Cortina" Made in Italy leather saddle.
• "SanRemo Racing Made in Italy" tubular rims.
• Ofmega skewers.
• Number 49141 is forged to one of the frame's rear dropouts (SN maybe???).
• "Campione del Mondo 1974-75" decal along with Bianchi decals on seat tube and downtube, a worn-out "Prodotti Speciale Campagnolo" decal on the top-tube, and a "Produzione F.I.V. E Bianchi" decal on the seat tube's bottom.

Frame's color confuses me. I don't know if Bianchi's ever made this silver frames. Anyway, I took a deep look and discovered that underneath the silver paint there's the famous Bianchi's CELESTE, I'm guessing it was its original color.

Any ideas will be more than welcome.

Thanks in advance guys

Here are the pics the seller provided (I'll take more accurate ones):

ultraman6970

The biggest problem I have with this bike is that has the cable guides brazed in the frame, no clue if they actually made this ones with those things.

Good thing you found the original color under it, the question is why this was silver, maybe somebody actually made it silver and added those ugly vinyl stickers??? You even got the tubular rims and stuff, good find.

El cabezal de la horquilla es cromado debajo de la pintura?

Just in case, bianchi produced bikes in chile, actually knew the bianchi chile owner, wish could remember the lastname.

xabi10xabi

Thanks, UltraMan!!!

Answering your question, I say yes as both headset and fork's crown are chromed.

Seller told me that nothing had been replaced except for the pedals. Also that his dad brought it from Chile before he was born and that was in 1982. He believes it was in the 70s, but I've read (not sure if it's true) that for instance the Modolo Flash levers were manufactured between 1979-88. That will put this bike somewhere between what? Years 1979-1982???

(El cabezal es cromado tanto la unión del telescopio con el stem como con la horquilla y se ve en las fotos, si es que a eso te refieres. O tú dices la horquilla en si misma, en ese caso debo decir que debajo de la pintura plateada también se ve el Celeste Bianchi en la horquilla pero nunca un cromado).

Abrazo cordial! Best!

Xabi

ultraman6970

Np man.. look bianchi girl is the only expert in bianchi I know about, sure other guys will add more info for sure...

To me that bike screams early to mid 70s big time, maybe is even older, the main thing with some campagnolo components is that they kept the design for centuries and the only way to know sometimes how old the stuff is, is looking at the date after the word patent. I'm not into stuff that old and I'm not a bianchi guy so can't help that much trying to nail the exact era this bike is from.

If you are going to restore it, find a good painter in argentina doubt will be problem, I imagine that you can find a place to do some chroming aswell?, thats the nice about some south american countries, you can do chrome plating for a reasonable price, you guys have problems finding bikes but what is paint and chrome work is not expensive. Here you can find the bikes but if you require a chrome plating work you are screwed because the restoration price goes to the darn roof and then is better just not even buy a frame in bad shape for example.

Hey, since you are into old stuff, do you know what happened to saavedra and tubulares Alvarez, notices the criterium tubulars are gone aswell.

Alvarez made IMO the best tubulars in the market back in the mid 80s, vittoria were just crap compared with what alvarez had, even the criterium eventhought were not that fancy were better than the regular vittorias 220/250 grams tubulars.

Saavedra hubs and headsets were excellent, I even had a set of track wheels with saavedra hubs, never a single problem, their cycling tools were excellent too, almost same quality than the campagnolo ones, that reminds me, I lost my saavedra crank extractor like 15 years ago, I was so f... mad DO you still can get tools or stuff there???

noglider 

The brake levers look like replacements. I'm pretty sure of this.

juvela

looks to be a chiorda build with a bulge-formed head.

xabi10xabi

Most probably since it seems to be an early 70s bike and these levers were not released until 1979.

Thanks for your help. We are definitely on the right way to unveil the mistery.

xabi10xabi

Unfortunately they all got pushed downhill many years ago (at least 20) as the result of 1990s free market policies and global brands invading it all. It would be almost a miracle to find someone who had kept a non-used pair of those tubulars. Anyway, if you are lucky enough you can still find some old tools down here (Saavedra. Campagnolo, etc), mostly at flea-markets, local fairs, and sometimes even online.

xabi10xabi

Thanks, Juvela! I'll take your lines and see if I can find any matchups with the late 60s early 70s Chiordas.

xabi10xabi

It may be time to convene almighty goddess @Bianchigirll and see what she has to say.

Bianchigirll 

Hello Thank you for your great vote of confidence but I can't help much. I saw this the other day and it is a bit before I got into bikes, and Bianchis especially, and also being from South America would be totally different from what we see here.

I have to run off to work but I'll take a closer....What? Yes it is 5 AM and yes I did say off to work....but I think it a solid midlevel "entry racer"

martl

The saddle will be an "Iscaselle" - they had a model Cortina.

The bike is a typical example of what the UK guys call "club racer" - inexpensive racing bike. I own a similar one from Vicini (see https://fotos.rennrad-news.de/p/92985). The italian ones typically had Valentino drivetrain, Ofmega or Gipiemme cranks and Universal brakes.
Most big brands offered these but they lacked the individual features of the better models - doubt anyone could tell a "club racer" Colnago from a Bianchi from an Atala from a Vicini, if they were stripped off their paint and decals

These are good, solid, decent riders, no museum pieces, but nice enough witnesses of a certain era of bike racing.

juvela

all the frame building bits (head, seat lug, shell and ends) will be agrati.

i have a 1978 "bianchi" in my garage which looks quite similar. it is fitted with an economy ofmega chainset and huret pilot gear ensemble.

Peter_B

I believe the presence of stamped dropouts instead of forged dropouts indicates a lower level model?

xabi10xabi

I'm back from a well deserved holiday trip. Thanks for the help BianchiGirl. It seems that your well trained eyes were right on it as you are not the only one saying we are in front of an entry level racer.

xabi10xabi

I guess it's a Club Racer due to the striking resemblance to your Vicini (do you know what year is yours?). The saddle was an Iscaselle Cortina, but I have already bought a NOS Iscaselle Tornado Tour de France from the 80s. Came in its original box for ten dollars only!

martl

I recon it is a '75

Uyle

This frame was repaint so all the sticker are irrelevent but the frame look similar to my late 60's Rekord or Rekord 745.