Options:
(A) Ride as is
(B) No-expenses-spared nuts-and-bolts restoration and fresh Campy mech
Anyone?
![s-l1600bc]()
Greetings all. After much deliberation, I have decided to part with my beloved 1985 Bianchi Centenario. We are saving to buy a house and I always ride my Surly LHT touring bike these days so this beautiful road bike is going unappreciated even though I love it so.
In case you do not know about the bike, it was released in 1985 in a limited quantity of 1500 to celebrate the centennial of the Bianchi company. It features Columbus SLX steel tubing and a black chrome finish with their famous “celeste” green 80’s decals and a 14 karat gold hand-stamped head badge (check the photos). They originally released this bike with a full pantographed Campagnolo C-Record grupo however by the time I purchased this bike in 2008 those pieces of its history were parted off.
The grupo it features now: 80s Campagnolo brakes, 1″ headset, Bottom Bracket, Crankset, Front derailleur, and hubs. The hubs are laced to Mavic Open-Pro 700c rims with DT Swiss Double-butted spokes and fairly new 25mm Continental Gator Skin Tires. The rear derailleur is a Suntour Superbpro and the shifters are as well (in and of itself highly coveted, rare and sought after) and the pedals are Suntour Cyclones with cages. The handlebars are Cinelli with a Cinelli stem. Finally the saddle is a Turbo in celeste leather. The seat post used to be a super cool 80s Campagnolo Aero but it broke on me once while I was riding and I fell! So it’s a decent no-name piece that I found that fits aesthetically even though it is not in keeping with the quality of the rest of the bike. The brake levers are Shimano 105s and the handlebar tape is pretty new as well and is celeste.
The paint is definitely worn away and chipped in places due to its age and the fact that both the previous owners and myself rode this bike regularly as opposed to coveting it as some piece of art meant not to serve a function, though it CERTAINLY is a piece of velo art history. The frame and fork are not dented or bent anywhere and the thing rides BEAUTIFULLY.
I hate to get rid of this bike, and I also know I could part it out and make more just on the Suntour and Campagnolo components but I would rather sell it to a fellow vintage steel bike enthusiast who will love and ride this bike and give it the kind of home that I have in the past.
![bianchi-centenario-catalogue-1985]()
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1985-Bianchi-Centenario-57-CM-with-Campagnolo-and-Suntour-SuperbePro-/291692430543
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