Back in'93 or '94 I purchased my first proper road bike since the old Schwinn Varsity 10-speed I had back in the 70s. I'd gotten out of cycling but came back as mountain biking started to get popular in the late 80s. I wanted a road bike for training and as a break from all the off road riding my group did. I lived in Germany and European brands were obviously the natural choice. I ended up with what the bike shop in Augsburg described as an entry level road racer. It's a Bianchi "Vento 606," made with Columbus Gara tubing (.8mm with no butting). As the on-line info describes the tubeset, "Road set especially suited for amateur and touring cyclists who demand stout, lightweight racing frames. Cr Mo Steel - Weight: 2300 g"
I've seen other Vento models with different numbers (602, 502, etc.). Some have the ergo shifters and others had down tube versions, all of which seem to at the low end of the road racing spectrum. That's not a put down of this bike, Bianchi made a huge range of road bikes from the upright mustache handlebar town cruisers to Reparto Corse dream machines. This particular model was the lowest priced road racer with the new (at the time) Ergo shifters. It's got the (possibly) Stratos gruppo.
Here are some old pictures from 1994 of the bike (and me).
Over the years, things got worn, scuffed and generally in need of a good spruce up.
The best way to add zing to an old bike is with a good set of wheels. I went to Greg at TWE in Newtowne for the work. I kept my rear hub which was fine, but replaced the shot front hub with an inexpensive used but very smooth Record with grease port hub. I matched these with 210 gram Vittoria Open Corsa Evos and latex tubes; a really nice combo to me. The result lost the bike almost three pounds and were noticeably stiffer than the old no-name rims/tires. The impression I got was that the new wheels forced the frame to absorb road vibrations more than the old ones, which felt more controlled and precise, though this was almost certainly also due to the lighter front wheel and better rubber. On hard accelerations the front actually lifted off the ground.
Since that went so well I replaced the old bar tape with matching celeste tape, found a used Sella Italia Flite saddle and a proper Campy aero seat post. Some touch up paint and a good cleaning and she now looks almost new.
The final weight is now 10 kilos and she rides better than when she was new. I probably spent as much on the re-do as the bike originally cost, but I consider it money well spent. I ended up with an updated old friend that's even more fun to ride than ever but it's still got the same old familiar feel and dimensions as my body's become accustomed to over the last 19 years. If only the owner was as easily refurbished!
