Bianchi Sport SS reinvented

The Bianchi Sport I worked over a few years back(similar to the Eco Pista pictured above) turned out to be a great bike. It saw a lot of Nor Cal and even made it into a Blackburn video. While not one of the legendary Bianchi marks, it really is a great riding bike and it is my Bianchi regardless. Alas it suffered a setback when I took an off road shortcut and trashed the wheels beyond repair during the filming of that same Blackburn video. 

The replacement wheels got it back on the road but even with the help of pro mechanics, I never got it dialed in and working well again. I was lucky enough to have a loner bike through Blackburn and then get a couple of other nice late model bikes leading me to mothball the Bianchi. 

As noted, this Bianchi Sport wasn't a high end machine even new but it does have some nice frame tubing that's supposed to be better than the fancy all Italian manufactured bikes of the same era. So, it's both a good candidate for a radical upgrade and far from "ruining" a rare vintage bike. In part this is about realizing ideas I've had for it from the start. It's also an experiment to see how far I can take an old ten speed short of cutting and welding the frame. Turns out you can do a lot and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. 

Since these photos were taken its been through a couple evolutions including an upgrade to a modern stem. That will require an upgrade to different shifters and I finally found a celeste saddle for it. 

Nor Cal on the Bianchi

Not too long ago I went on a team ride in Big Basin down near Santa Cruz on my early 80's Bianchi Sport SS. We took a short stretch of very rough dirt and the Bianchi came back pretty broken and wasn't ride-able until I replaced the wheels. As part of the re-fit I also upgraded to a Shimano 7 speed cassette and spun on some SPD's. That has collectively taken the old bike to a new level altogether. It's noticeably lighter, a little more snappy and responsive and is a better machine for climbing by far. I guess it's now a 14 speed and it looks less like a vintage bike with the alloy wheels and machined braking surfaces. It's old but reliable Ishiwata tubing leaves it squarely in the roadworthy category and well worth riding as it rivals many bikes built today. To look at it you might not guess it's a 30 year old bike but then again, a lot of it is no longer 30 years old.

Anyway, given the rebuild and an opportunity for a ride out of town, I struck out for Occidental and did some touring of wine country. It was beautiful weather and I got to drop in on the Union Hotel, one of the sponsors for the  St Patrick's Day Massacre Charity ride I did the photography for. The coffee was good and the peach turnover was great!

The bike is due for a new derailleur chain, bottom bracket and maybe a headset soon. I'll have to repeat the 70 mile ride, grab another turnover and compare.