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Bianchi Project

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Richardnew

Look Ma, No Hands!
Here we go. Another Bianchi project. This is a 1998 Trofeo. This was a Craig's list special. It was really rough (and still is) but all the parts were there. I've got a blog on the bike where I try to keep the project updated. I've done a number of cars in my time but this is my first bike project. It's already a little more than I expected - but then that's usually the case.

Bianchi 1.JPG


Richard
 
Welcome to the CABE!

There are a few people on here that are really into lightweights, although it seems many of them are of older vintage (the bikes).

Keep us posted on your projects!
 
Welcome! I would make some friends at your local bikeshop on this one. They can help you on wheel combos and some of your bikes other issues. Great starter bicycle.
 
I took the bike out for a ride today. I have no gears but the brakes work. I installed the new pads and got them adjusted. I'm making progress here.

Up to this point I've spent $462 on the project. I'm already over the value of the bike but that's what happens with every restoration project. Here's a breakdown of my costs up to this point.

Richard Newton
 
This was sort of interesting. This happened yesterday when I installed the new tires.

Bike Tube.jpg


This is a Vittoria latex tube. This happened with only 4 lbs. of air. Anyone ever see anything like this before?

Richard Newton
 
I'm using MKS pedals. First, $25 the price was right. Secondly, they look like the old school Campagnolo pedals. They're definitely not Compangnolo quality but they're pretty decent. If you take them apart and add a little more grease they work nicely.

MKS Pedals.jpg


Richard Newton
Bianchi Blog
 
I've been riding it for 2 days now. It has no gears but we don't have hills in Florida.

Bianchi 6:13.jpg


The bike is still in the original silver paint. Bianchi offered silver in 1998. That may have been the only year they made silver bikes. That means I'll do the repaint in silver. I can do the decals in blue.

Richard Newton
 
I'm really getting into this bike tire thing. The bike came with slicks. I have no reason to run slicks and a friend of mine felt I should use a treaded tire. He's been riding for twenty years so I actually listen to him.

Mounting the tires was incredibly difficult. We're not sure why. My friend has done this hundreds of times and usually on the side of the road. He does do the Ride across Iowa (Ragbrai) thing every year. He knows about mounting tires quickly. The rims on me bike are the original Rigida Vela 32 hole rims. They shouldn't have been a problem.

Bianchi Tire.jpg


We think the problem (?) may have been with the wheels even though they're perfect wheels. Then again it could be the Continental tires. At any rate they're on the bike. I was told though that if I have a flat I should take the bike to a bike shop. He's not doing this again.

Richard Newton
Bianchi Blog
 
Mounting tires

Some rim & tire combinations are a complete bear to mount & others are easy. One of the bike shops I worked in sold K2 mountain bikes & one of the models had a tire & rim that made it almost impossible to mount the tire. And usually mountain bike tires are easier to mount than road bike tires. Guess it all has to do with tolerances. My modified 3 speed with 700C rims is shod with Specialized Armadillos. I hope they never go flat on the road. I'd probably break my plastic tire levers trying to fix the flat.
 
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We ended up using WD-40 on the tire and rim. I never like doing that but I've done it on hundreds of car tires. Sometimes you just do what you have to do. Actually there is a special tire lube you can use when mounting car tires. I didn't have any so I used my ever handy can of WD-40.

Richard Newton
Bianchi Restoration
 
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