1998 Bianchi Volpe

Its been a while since I came across the inspiration for another project. Oddly enough I found a beach cruiser in the trash to fix up now that Im in Wilmington, but that just started a notion.Lets build a "vintage" roadie with the biggest tires I can squeeze on the frame and that calls for a touring or cross frame.All my other frames, save the Axis, can handle a maximum of a 28mm tire. Most only 25's.

Luckily, I found a craigslist ad for a 55cm 1988 Bianchi Volpe frame. Made from Bianchi Superset steel and tig welded, this touring frame was the perfect canvas so to speak. Ive always been fond of Bianchi frames and this would make it #6. From what I understand the Volpe was a late model derivative of the Axis and since I love the Axis in its current state, why not try its little sibling.

It had an electric conversion kit on it and the nice guy who had it listed was really only interested in the kit. He purchased it from the original owner, who gave me the receipt and the owners manual to boot. So, I got the frame for really cheap. It actually came with all the bits too. It was pretty roached in terms of shape, but only cosmetic. There was no paint rehab in this frames future.

The original Blur paint color, as Bianchi named it, would have been wonderful, but it was too far gone to save. So, I decided on just painting it flat black. That didn't last long. It looked too plain and didn't fit the frame at all. So an inspiration came to me one Saturday in the form of Dario.

One of my favorite frame builders was Dario Pegoretti. He had a knack for custom painting his handmade frames in some of the most beautiful compositions. Unfortunately, I don't have his skill or the patience to think about a really cool artistic composition. I went another more impulsive direction.

As a test I purchased 5 different acrylic colors with a nod to the 90's and splattered the matte black frame with a tiny brush. Then added a clear coat after the splatter had dried. The verdict is still out. I'm not entirely sure if I actually like the results

but its grown on me.

Still in the works. I ended up spray paining the cranks black and added Shimano SLX rear derailleur that was on the frame. The stainless steel stem, nitro handlebars were part of the purchase. I also found another set of Campagnolo Proton wheels and paired that with an 11sp cassette that was in the parts bin. Right now it has a sun tour barren shifter and gran come brake levers, but I may change that setup depending on how it rides.

1990 Basso Loto

UPDATE: Already switched up a few things. Swapped the threadless stem with black Cinelli bars, 1R stem and seatpost. Keeps the black and white theme going well I think. Much more comfortable with a little height on the bars. Score! I finally found a Basso Fior di Loto. I've been searching for this color variant and model for a while now and this one popped up on Ebay from Brownsville Texas. Super excited to build this up with the Campagnolo parts from the Pegoretti upgrade that's in the works. From what I have gathered so far, this frame is most likely from 1990. Its a 55cm Columbus SLX steel frame and fork, Basso Fior di Loto model in the Caribe colorway. It has a few fandom stickers on it that removed fairly easily and with a little elbow grease. The paint polished up nicely afterward and there are only a few nicks and scratches. This 1990 Catalogue cut shows the color variants available for this model. I've always been at

1989 Pinarello Treviso

I was able to find a new frame update for my collection, this installment is a 1989 Pinarello Treviso, Cobalto Smoke, 56cm frame. It was in decent shape when I purchased it locally off a bike forum member in SC. It has some ugly stickers on the top tube (subsequently removed) and a paint scheme that can only be described as.... classic 80's italian. An odd "smoked" blue, thusly named Cobalto Smoke, from the catalog. Here are some pics from the forum post. The paint was pretty dull and very fragile. One of the first tasks completed was to remove the unwanted stickers and try to rehab the paint. I tested a few paint options, using thinned testors model paint, and found a near match for the base blue. My brush technique wasn't great but it worked well for small scratch marks. Added a duple-color clear coat after a thorough polishing. Turned out well and should be better protected. Next up was to replace the decals, which were long gone, but g

1987 Pinarello Veneto-SOLD

UPDATE: I sold the frame fork and headset to a guy in Nashville, Tn. Kept everything else for the next frame. Not sure what that will be...maybe a Basso. A few parts went toward the Treviso. You can read that post to see how that build turned out. I was able to mark another classic italian bike off the wish list this past weekend. This "Record Blue" 1987 Pinarello Veneto. The bike is 56cm and is equipped with: Columbus Aelle tubing, 3TTT Bars and Stem, Ofmega Headset and Cranks, Campagnolo shifters, NR front, Victory rear derailleurs and Modolo American brakes. I found a set of Mavic MA2 wheels with a campy front hub and a shimano rear 7 speed. Finally a bike where the old blue Michelin Kromium tires actually look decent. Its not exactly the model I was searching for but still rare enough to make an effort. I'll continue the search for a Montello SLX. Until that time, its not the lightest of my collection, its not in the best shape, but its still a joy to ride.

Cicli Meacci

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