Thomas,
Sorry for the delayed reply. The Bianchi in your photo is one we purchased from Gary Fisher, it had belonged to his mom. It was a brown Competitizone. After a while it was sold and the new owner asked that it be refinished. The customer insisted on Celeste and wanted to upgrade the components to Specialissima specification. I would have preferred that the original finish be maintained or restored, but the customer is boss. These circumstance is a good example of why we put our little CyclArt decal on our work, which might otherwise be confused with an original at some point in the future.
One reason I did not respond sooner is that I took the time to got through our files to search for original photos of Specialissima frames. I find black ones, but no Celeste. Of course this in no way proves that they did not exist, or even that we have not had one pass through our hands.
The photo you sent was taken by a visitor to our shop. No representation by us was made regarding it. I find the idea that the Celeste color was not used on Specailissima frames interesting. Although that is possible, given the erratic tendency of Italian production, and the popularity of the color, it seems unlikely that NO Specialissima was Celeste. What evidence supports the theory?
JFC Jim Cunningham CyclArt Vista, CA USA (760) 599-1015 x13 M-F 10am-6pm PST http://www.cyclart.com
-----Original Message----- From: Thomas Rawson [mailto:twrawson@worldnet.att.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2003 9:53 AM To: info@cyclart.com Cc: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Bianchi Celeste Specialissima?
Hi Jim, Theres a bit of controversy raging on CR about whether the Bianchi Specialissima ever came in Celesete. Also theres a picture on Classic Rendezvous website of a Celsete painted Specialissima thats credited as in Your showroom - picture attached. Was this bike an original celeste specialissima or one Cyclart created?
Tom Rawson
Oaklnad, CA