Let's start with the oldest bike in my collection. A 1965 Bianchi Specialissima.
She was a little bear up when she came to see me, my friend had been using her as his beater / winter bike for many many years. He had finally decided to retire her, and luckily I was in the right place
at the right time...
The headset was shot, and most of the parts were dead or had been modded a la "drillium"…
Basically this meant a paint job and sourcing as many original parts as possible.
No easy task….
The original Bianchi headset is impossible to find. A very rare piece indeed….I somehow managed to find and purchase one at a reasonable price allowing me to make this Bianchi rideable.
Next, the rear derailleur. The original was a Campagnolo "Record". No not the more common alloy "Nuovo Record", this was a chormed cast "Record".
The original crank was a Nuovo Record type which was given to me with the bike,
but it was pretty beat up and I had a better one, so that got put on instead.
Shifters I managed to find were Super Record clamp on….close enough for now.
I may put Nuovo Record brakes instead of Universal, which would have come out a few
years later than this bike was built. I want stopping power and good looks, so
Nuovo Record may get put on.
I also like having a complete group on a bike.
Here are some pics so far…
New paint job
Original Campagnol Record derailleur
Campagnolo Nuovo Record crank
Capmagnol Super Record shifters (clamp on)
Bianchi integrated headset (not fully installed yet)
Will update some more as I complete the build….
