Re: [CR] basement find Bianchi

(Example: Racing:Wayne Stetina)

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:29:03 +0000
From: <joeb-z@comcast.net>
To: Bob Freitas <freitas1@pacbell.net>
In-Reply-To: <4B86BDDE.4010001@pacbell.net>
Cc: curmudgeon1957@yahoo.com, CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: [CR] basement find Bianchi


In the East up to at least 1978 or so you could buy upper level Bianchis from a guy named Sid Starr. This was a minimal idea of a distributor. He pulled up in a van and you made a deal for what he had in the van that you wanted. Mighty tempting stuff. I maybe remember the all Campy road bike at $600 wholesale? However, we bought a very nice display track bike from the NY show and we were quite happy to sell it for cost ($400?) after a year and a half. So selling these upper level bikes was no bonanza.

Joe Bender-Zanoni
Whitneyville, CT


----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Freitas
To: curmudgeon1957@yahoo.com
Cc: CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2010 1:13:50 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [CR] basement find Bianchi


I always refer to these bikes as the missing links. Bianchi distribution was dodgy here in the USA ranging from 1968 till maybe 1978 or so. A time line would be interesting here as distribution switched from outlet to outlet. Anyone know when Bianchi USA actually opened its doors? All Pro bikes I have seen in this time period all seem to be ''gray market'' bikes that found their way over here via direct import. Based on the decaling(black) and the seat tube marking (73-74) we might guess this to be a 1975 bike sourced in Europe, thus the MANN badging. Was MANN a shop or Team I could not say. I have a small collection of photos showing bikes from this time period and probably should organize them into a time line.

Anyone who worked for a distributor or shop that handled Bianchi in the 1970s could you pipe up here? Even if its anecdotal it would help. I know Ben Lawee distributed Bianchi until 1968 or so and then at least here in the West there was a small time distributor(1970-1972) who could not deliver much of a selection then in the late 70s Bianchi USA appeared .

Also about this particular bike, note the Campagnolo dropouts, all Reparto Corsa production used them, bikes produced at other facilities used lesser types and its an easy indicator of origin.

BOB FREITAS
MILL VALLEY, CA USA