Bianchi Conversion
 

Hi All,

Im not much of a biker but have become an avid Peloton Rider during COVID. My girlfriend and I live in Venice Beach and I am tired of my heavy beach cruiser. Recently she purchase a Linus bike on OfferUp and I am jealous of her purchase lol. Surfing around I found a Bianchi SX 1986 for 200 dollars.

Is it possible to put wider tires on this bike? would it be affordable? I dont really care if its not the best configuration Im just looking for something to cruise the boardwalk that is lighter and quicker than my steel beach cruiser.

Is this a good idea? Im just concerned that the roads here in Venice are a little too rough for just a straight road bike and I feel like the wider tires give off a more casual aesthetic plus its turquoise... its an amazing color, lol, perfect for Venice.

Hi, and welcome to BikeForums. Is that Bianchi SX like this one?

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ear-value.html

If so, it's likely going to have a pretty slim clearance between the chain stays, which will limit tire clearance. It looks like it may have 27" wheels (630mm bead seat diameter), which would also limit your tire selection some.

If you're looking for a basic bop-around-town bike like the Linus, I'd look into early '90s hybrids at the oldest...check out the Show your Trek MultiTrack thread for some ideas of what you can do with hybrid bikes. They have clearance for larger tires and they use parts that were VERY common back then and even still today in terms of fit standards. They'll have posts for cantilever or linear pull brakes, they'll already be fitted with at multi-speed drivetrain, and they're generally pretty plentiful in terms of the used bike market.

If you're lucky, you can score one for well under 100 bucks. If you see one where the person's asking much more than $150-200, keep shopping. Plan on putting at least some money into it to get it really fit for your style and to replace consumables like cables, etc. Don't worry about trying to stay under what the bike's worth on the market (in terms of investing money into it). Unless you really get lucky with a garage sale find, you'll almost always put "more into it than what it's worth", but you're making the bike yours in the process...which definitely has value...at least to me. ;)

It is like the one on the top thread that you showed.

I mostly want a more road bike than that trek bike. I like that this one Im looking at has road bike handle bars.

My question is really if its possible to put slightly thicker tires on it as I like the bianchi aesthetic and I want a road bike more than city bike. I just want a road bike that isnt purely a road bike if that makes any sense.

I know what you mean. The modern "gravel bike" probably fits your needs -- it's a "road bike" but with clearance for tires much wider than traditional "road bikes" have.

I don't know how large of a tire you could fit in that Bianchi. I'd recommend asking the fine folks over in the Classic & Vintage forum, as some of them probably have the exact bike you're considering buying and can tell you from experience or after a quick measurement the tire clearance on that bike.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/

I ended buying it... found another one for 130... So I have more money to modify it now. Definitely will take a slightly wider tire and the rims are kinda rusted and original. Its definitely a cool bike. Going to ride it around for a while and see how it does on the busted roads of venice. Needs new pedals though as it has clips.

Not turquoise, Celeste.

Great! Especially the link!
Though my lady called it pistachio.