what to do with old road bike

i have a 1987 bianchi strada - 8 speed, double chainring , cro-mo frame ,
it's heavy - 27 pounds.

the frame is 21 inches or 53/4 centimeters, and the stem is 9cm.

the handle bars are 38cm wide.

the reason i mention that is my new lemond is a 55cm, 56 measureed c-t, the stem is 12cm, the handlebars are 46cm wide.

the bianchi was always too small, now it feels ridiculously so when I compare it to my lemond.

anyway, I don't really want to part with it if there is something useful i could do with it - cyclocross maybe, or maybe just a more sturdy bike for short family rides when I dont' need to go fast.

obviously it's a quill stem , so if i keep it, i need a longer stem, but what about the handle bars?

how much weight could i save by swapping out parts?

any ideas will be appreciated.

Wider bars are no problem. Obviously , you can spend as much as you want on an old piece of junk and save a few pounds, but what is the point for a beater? It does not have the tire clearance of brakes for a proper crosss bike.

Single speed or fixed gear. Maybe swap the bars for some nice bullhorns or a moustache. Some nice big beefy tires.

And an UAB (Urban Assualt Bike) is born

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( Former Typhoon Driver )

I almost exclusively use my older road bike (Trek 2500) as a trainer for use in the basement. (It's been clamped into a rear wheel mag trainer all winter). I will probably start riding it out on the roads once most of the snow and slop is gone, (I live in Minnesota) and later this spring break out the new Tête de Course. At that point the Trek goes back on the mag trainer for rainy days.

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"The only thing in this world that gives orders, is balls"
~ Ski-U-Ma! ~
"Know your limits... Then FK'N Crush'em!!!"

I wouldn't spend much money on it--- it's still a good bike, worth riding, but it isn't worth 30 bucks at a garage sale in the US. I'd give it away to somebody who would ride it-- it's always a good thing to keep every bike on the road for the general health of cycling.

If you want to get funky with it, I wouldn't touch the drivetrain. Try getting some old mtb flat bar or flip the drop bars upside down and grind off most of the drops for bullhorns. There is a highrise stem you can buy to raise the bars about 3 inches? (Nitto I think-- Check with Sledon Brown's website for more ways of getting the most of of older bikes) But a new Japanese stem will set you back 50 bucks plus.

The upside with getting a highrise stem, good saddle, or other upgrade parts for an older bike is that they can transfered onto another bike if you current beater dies. There's plenty of 80's steel bikes out there....