Chris wrote:
> Dave Martinez, Stevan Thomas, and Steven Maasland contributed comments (see copy
> below) on a Bianchi Paris Roubaix Bike I am selling on ebay. I am writing to
> further elaborate on the bicycle. I am selling it to raise some tuition money
> for my children's education. I purchased the bike from Nigel Scott/Martin
> Coopland several years ago. I was told by Nigel that the bars/stem were
> original to the bike. Nigel purchased it from the original owner (a Brit) that
> imported it to England. I defer to Steven Massland's expertise in this area so
> obviously this detail may not be correct. I know little about the steel
> Ambrosio bars and stem but I have always liked the delicate appearance of them.
> Perhaps Steven or another list member could comment on the age, etc... .
>
> The BB axle DOES have the Bianchi "B" marking but it is somewhat faded and does
> not show well in the photograph. The rear hub is marked "Bianchi"; the front
> hub is a three piece FB with an open C Campy QR. The rims are sewup type but
> unmarked. They have a near semicircular cross section somewhat like a
> Conloy/Constrictor. The pedals have a the name "Cobra" on the their dust caps.
> I don't know anything about this brand; perhaps another list member could
> comment.
>
> I believe Stevan Thomas is correct in his observation that "the below chain
> stay" Paris Roubaix was a last gasp iteration of the rod changer mechanisms. I
> really don't know how common this derailleur is; I have not seen another one
> (comments?....).
The bars and stem found on the top-end 1940-50 Bianchi bikes, like the one being sold by Chris, are indeed Ambrosio. Bianchi was apparently in the habit of marking them with the Bianchi brand. To the best of my knowledge, they used steel bars until the end of the 40's and then switched exclusively to alloy ones (also apparently marked Bianchi.) I agree with Chris' view that the steel bars are very lovely.
The Paris-Roubaix gear went through a few iterations: it came out in the late 40's without any markings on the chain guide cage and was simply known as single lever gear. Then, following the win of Fausto Coppi (not Serse!) in the Paris-Roubaix, on a Bianchi with the one lever gear, Bianchi/Campagnolo added the marking Paris-Roubaix in a semi-circular form just above the rod attachment. This lasted a very short time (perhaps little more than one year), then they switched to the Paris-Roubaix written as appears on chain guide cage on Chris' bike, in a straight line. As a last change, they tried to get the gear to work while pedalling forward by moving the chain guide cage below the chain stay. I believe the below the chain stay positioning of the cage is rather uncommon making Chris' bike quite special.
Other changes that occurred with the PR gear set-up is that seemingly only the first generation one came with the frankenbolts on the skewer bolts, the gears with the PR marking of the chain guide cage all apparently had the 'D' ring skewer bolts. Bianchi originally called the model with the one lever gear 'Folgorissima' and the decals would have been the ones similar to those seen on Chris' bike (except that they also had a small gold decal on the headtube that said Folgorissima.) Both Campagnolo and Bianchi made the name change following Coppi's win, to Paris-Roubaix. Bianchi then wrote Paris-Roubaix Bianchi on the down-tube. Another element to be checked regarding PR-equipped bikes is the number of teeth on the rear drop-outs. There should be 19 teeth on the PR equipped bikes whereas all but the last Cambio Corsa bikes had 17 teeth only.
As far as Chris' bike goes, I think it is a nice looking bike that will give you years of pleasure, without the need to do anything. It has the uncommon chain guide cage positioning. It may not be perfectly original but then few bikes are after more than 50 years. The price will definitely go up quite a bit from the level it is at so far. As the bike was apparently first sold in Britain, the bike could have been differently equipped than the way they sold in Italy. The handlebars, pedals and rims could therefore perhaps be correct. Customs duty considerations could have encouraged people to import unassembled or incomplete bikes. Proof of this can be seen in the mid-50's Hörmann catalog that I recently received. It shows a Cinelli equipped with wingnuts and predominantly French equipment, something that would never have occurred in Italy at the time.
I hope that Chris gets enough money to cover his family's tuition needs and that the new owner gets a bike for an equitable price.
--
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ