Steel on a Budget. How did i do?

[xanderssor]

Celeste Bianchi columbus EL OS. best $100 i've spent all year. as a college kid on a (very tight/mother would "be disappointed" if she knew i bought another bike) budget how should i best get it rideable? im told the shifters are shot. i have an ultegra crankset/BB i think will work assuming its not italian threaded. it came with a generic 27.2 (couldn't possible be the original) seatpost that was a biznitch to get out, thus i dont believe that its the correct size...does 27.1 exist? would 27.0 be too small?. its currently 1056 series 8spd shimano 105. Suggestions? im not sure about the rest of the components, they have definitely seen many a mile. sorry about the poor pictures, cosmetically its not excellent anyway but you get the idea. My first post! Thanks for your patience

[AngryScientist]

columbus steel bianchi is definitely a score.

check ebay, put downtube shifters back on it, they'll be cheap, and look proper on that bike.

[jr59]

Pretty sure it's 27.2

That's a very nice bike. I put mine together with stuff I had laying around!

[vqdriver]

i'll second the dt shifters. at least until you can score a used group. and just use the existing levers for brakes only.
otherwise, just fix what's necessary and repack the bearings. i think the difficulty may be discerning the correct seatpost size unless someone can chime in. was the old seatpost frozen in there or just tight? you may want to clean out that seattube and/or run a flex hone in there.
hopefully the bb isn't holding any surprises.

[xanderssor]

no its not frozen, just obnoxiously tight. the seat post tube could use a good cleaning im sure. that may fix that problem, although might a quality 27.2 post be better fitting? the one on it i believe is a modern generic aluminum that needs to be cut wayyy down. actually i do have a set of 600 dt shifters and levers for that matter. they are seven speed however i believe they can be set to friction

would a modern 9spd drivetrain fit on here? it looks like there is room for the cassette frame spacing wise, but if the wheel would take one would be another matter. realistically what might i be looking price wise in the market place for RD/FD/cassette/chain/shifters. i havent been on the forum long enough to post yet

[gregj]

Nice score!

I have the catalog at home, but I think it's 27.2. It might just be that particular post. Seatposts can vary slightly, as can frame dimensions. So some combinations will work better than others. You might take it to a LBS and ask them to check the size with calipers, if you don't have other 27.2/27.0 posts lying around.

The spacing is 130, so all 8-9-10-11 drivetrains will work. Cost will vary wildly depending on what you want, how used, and how old. All you need is a set of 8 speed shifters (~$75 used?), but you can also "upgrade" to 9-speed with a 9-speed cassette, 9-speed chain, and 9-speed shifters. You can probably get these used for <$150.

Greg

[jr59]

The seatpost is 27.2

Yes 9 speed works mine is set up that way.

no idea on cost

[xanderssor]

excellent, thanks for all the thoughts guys. word on the BB threading?

[vqdriver]

wasn't someone selling a sante group on here recently???

[ntb1001]

Nice looking frame, but are you sure it's EL OS....not just EL??
I have a Pinarello in EL, but wish I has EL OS frame.

[AgilisMerlin]

you did well, sir/maam :banana:


Italian threaded, no ?

[xanderssor]

yeah im sure its EL OS it says over/size on the seat tube sticker. i am a sir for the record. im not familiar with sante. odd shimano stuff?

[avalonracing]

That is a nice score. A buddy of mine had one. Cool bike and for $100 a very cool bike!

[Lanterne Rouge]

wasn't someone selling a sante group on here recently???

Yeah I remember that but Sante is 2 x 7 and the rear hub is 126mm - probably gonna cost more in the long run with the upgrades/repairs.

Plenty of deals on 9sp now, especially CL/eBay.

Also +1 on DT shifters. I've just slapped in DA DT shifters and well pleased with them.

[mike p]

For 100 beans how can you go wrong!! Yeah you did great!

Mike

[cmbicycles]

Made in Italy frame, so likely Italian threaded BB. You can probably rejuvenate those shifters by soaking the guts in wd40 or some similar penetrating spray

[xanderssor]

Pretty sure it's 27.2

That's a very nice bike. I put mine together with stuff I had laying around!

Italian frame= italian threads, my thinking as well. Perhaps jr59 can enlighten me as to how his went together. as far as the shifters the ratchets in them feel fine, i havent actually tested them yet i was just told one was bad. i put a cut cable through out of curiosity and it seemed to pull fine however that was without proper pressure...we shall see. otherwise dt it is until i can scrape together a little more $$$ for the project

[oliver1850]

Great buy. I have one of those. The "Reparto Course" on the chainstay is a reference to being built by Bianchi's better craftsmen as opposed to the more mass produced models. I think it was Bianchi's 2nd best frame at the time, they had one made from Genius. Cost $2300 complete in 1994, with Chorus. The tig welded Genius bike was $100 more.

Seatpost on mine is 27.2, BB is British. Bianchi was evidently progressive compared to some builders.

[canadasteep]

For $100 - you couldn't leave it for the next guy!

Figure out what you want to do with the bike - getting a 9 speed group
is probably the way to go. Also a good way to open up options to 2nd hand wheels. For a nice "budget"build, 9speed might also make things easier.

Also, dt shifters can be mounted on the handlebars: check out Paul Thumbies.
I have them on my 8speed, and I like them a lot.

[thirdgenbird]

My bianchi cross bike is marked "reparto corse made in Italy" but has an English bb

[mtechnica]

It's almost certainly 27.2 and Italian threaded (check the threading before assuming anything it's easy). Clean the shifters out with wd40 then tri flow them before assuming they're shot.

[jr59]

Italian frame= italian threads, my thinking as well. Perhaps jr59 can enlighten me as to how his went together. as far as the shifters the ratchets in them feel fine, i havent actually tested them yet i was just told one was bad. i put a cut cable through out of curiosity and it seemed to pull fine however that was without proper pressure...we shall see. otherwise dt it is until i can scrape together a little more $$$ for the project

I'm pretty sure it was english. Please don't take what I remember as fact.
But if you made me guess it would be english. But check first.

[oldpotatoe]

excellent, thanks for all the thoughts guys. word on the BB threading?

Probably the far superior Italian threading(Columbus SL frame) but take the RH crank arm or look on the RH cup....36x24 equals Italiano, 1.37x24 equals english threading.

[oldpotatoe]

Italian frame= italian threads, my thinking as well. Perhaps jr59 can enlighten me as to how his went together. as far as the shifters the ratchets in them feel fine, i havent actually tested them yet i was just told one was bad. i put a cut cable through out of curiosity and it seemed to pull fine however that was without proper pressure...we shall see. otherwise dt it is until i can scrape together a little more $$$ for the project

Bianchi was probably the first 'Italian' company to adopt English threading even on some of their made in Italy frames..

[xanderssor]

thanks folk, ill take it in today and solve the BB mystery as i dont have a puller. perhaps the shifter one as well. maybe if the stars align it'll be rideable. gasp. but by then it will have probably started to snow....as this is wisconsin....and spring means alternating weeks of 60's and snowstorms

[gomango]

thanks folk, ill take it in today and solve the BB mystery as i dont have a puller. perhaps the shifter one as well. maybe if the stars align it'll be rideable. gasp. but by then it will have probably started to snow....as this is wisconsin....and spring means alternating weeks of 60's and snowstorms

Or freezing rain, which is what we'll get tonight in St. Paul. :(

[saab2000]

That's a super find for $100. And that generation of 105 is excellent stuff for the money. D/A performance for hundreds less. Of course, that applies to all 105 stuff.

If you need a new headset look for an Ultregra sealed cartridge unit. They last forever.

This is exactly why buying used is great. Pennies on the dollar for cool stuff. And it has character.

[velomateo]

Awesome score. Bottom bracket on that era Bianchi is English threads. I have the TSX version.