Upgrading 80's bianchi?

[distincthead]

A few years ago I had to sell my 'good' bike. It was an Ibis 'spanky' steel frame with a carbon fork, campy group, etc. Loved it. Anyways, someone took pity on me riding around on my old trek piece of crap rust machine and gave me their old Bianchi Limited. It's a great bike! I've always loved lugged steel frames, so I prefer these old beasts, but there are some things that are driving me nuts. I HATE INDEXED SHIFTING. Unfortunately, I know I'm stuck with it. I just wanted to know if there's anything I can upgrade on this bike to make it more modern. As I said, it's an 80s Bianchi Limited (early 80s, I think. If it matters, it's got a black frame/red theme going on from the factory), it's got columbus tubing and is made in Italy. I think it's got a shimano 600 group on it right now, although various parts were replaced and are 'newer' than factory. I've been 'dealing' with the current group, etc., for a few seasons now; but my riding it has made me realize that certain things need to be replaced (cassette, BB, brakes, etc). It just so happened to come with my favourite out-of-production seat of all time, so I'm down with that. Frame fits me perfect... it just... needs some love! :)

If you guys need it, I'll try to either post pics (if the cam works) or find pics of a similar model. THanks in advance!

EDIT: Btw, it's a road bike, not a hybrid.

[distincthead]

Also, any information on these bikes would be nice! :)

[distincthead]

Ooopss... I just re-read the thread, and realized I made a big mistake. I meant to write "I HATE DOWNTUBE SHIFTING", but hey, whatever. I definately don't hate indexed shifting. haha.

[schmuzzy]

my "B" bike is an '86 Raliegh... 531... campy gransort... etc.

first thing to do is to completely go through it. rebuild/ regrease the BB, headstock, clean the frame while stripped down... re tape the handle bars... re wire the brakes and shifters....


and for about $40 in ball bearings and cables.... you'll be AMAZED at how GORGEOUS those old machines can look and ride.

re-read last statement about 30 times.


second- MAYBE go buy some new wheels.


my $.02


enjoy your classic. keep 'er clean and keep 'er mean.

[distincthead]

You're right about that! He took very good care of it despite the thousands of miles it has on it. The paint is still fresh and shiny, the components are still nice and glint in the sun. It's truly one of the best looking bikes I own. The only 'stock' thing about it I'm going to replace no matter what is the shifting, but that's for the future. I wouldn't do ANYTHING to it at all if it wasn't for the fact that some of the components are beyond the rebuild stage. I took it apart completely and did what you suggested back when I first got it, and it rode SO MUCH BETTER. The wheels he has on it are fine. In fact, they're Mavics, very similar to my favorite open pros. I'm not a fan of lightweight wheels, I tend to turn them into tacos too easily... ;)

One question. If the cassette wobbles (like a warped record on a turntable), is that the hubs or something, I can't imagine it's the cassette? And since the hubs (both front and rear) are shot, can I rebuild them with new bearings?

[artmichalek]

One question. If the cassette wobbles (like a warped record on a turntable), is that the hubs or something, I can't imagine it's the cassette? And since the hubs (both front and rear) are shot, can I rebuild them with new bearings?It's likely that you have a freewheel rather than a cassette. If it looks warped, the axle is probably bent. You should have no trouble finding axles, balls, and cones for the rebuild.

[distincthead]

It's likely that you have a freewheel rather than a cassette.Thanks for the correction, I'm always mixing up lingo. So a freewheel is basically a generic term for the rear hub & the bunch of sprockets that have the coasting mechanism built in to them instead of the hub; whereas a "freehub" is a collection of gears (cassette) & a hub with the coasting mechanism built into it, rather than the gears/sprockets/whatever they're called?

In that case, you're correct. The shimano 600 I have (6 spd) comes with a freewheel, hence the bent axle... ;)

I'm probably wrong on that, but I've gone 5 years with no one correcting me :mad: Damn politeness!! haha!

[dgregory57]

For an inexpensive solution to your shifters, you may want to move them up to your handle bars. I have Kelly Take Offs and they do the job for me.

http://www.kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html

They aren't STI, but they do put the levers near where my hands usually are. :D

You will also need cable stops that can be placed on your downtube bosses... and short pieces of cable housing, and longer cables... whether you use Kelly or later move to STI.

[garage sale GT]

I am restoring an old Schwinn, not real valuable but a good sound bike.

The freewheel style rear hubs are crap. I am working on an idea to mount a freehub style rear wheel and use the existing derailleur, but have not tried it.

I found my rear derailleur has more than enough travel to span a new Shimano-made 8 or 9 speed cassette, but only if you back out the adjustment screws.

So what good is travel if it's in the wrong place? Well, the derailleur's travel starts too far inboard, so when I get my wheel laced up I plan to get a longer fixing bolt and mount the derailleur to the bike with shims, so it is further outboard and the travel starts on my largest rear cog.

Also, the Kelly Take Offs are cool but it would "preserve the context of the styling" (i.e. it would be a lot cheaper) to just find a bike shop which had old parts and ask them for a headset lever mount. You will still need longer cables, and cable housings to run between frame and lever, and a place to mount the cable housing ends.



BTW, I do not think the freewheel and sprockets should wobble from the axle being bent, though it undoubtedly is bent. The axle is fixed to the frame and may make the wheel run crooked but not wobble. I think the freewheel threads are poorly machined or the hub shell is bent if you see the freewheel wobble with the wheel in the bike.



Why didn't they just use a 1/2" or 5/8" axle on these bikes??? Has anyone ever seen one which didn't bend???