Rusty Bianchi -- worth restoring?

Hi all

First of all: I'm completely new to the world of bicycle restoration. But I'm really getting (back) into cycling, and now that the nights are getting longer I am considering having a go at restoring a bike.

I've found an old Bianchi frame (type and year I am unsure of at this stage) that I'd love to bring back to life, but I'm not sure if it's worth trying to salvage, as the frame is *very* rusty See attached photos.

So my first question is: is it? Second, if I do decide to go for it, I'd prefer to keep the frame as original as possible, i.e. leave the original paint (or what's left of it) and decals. Would this be realistic, or would you say it's so bad that it needs to be stripped completely bare and resprayed? (Something I wouldn't exclude, but would rather not.)

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Personally I'd consider a rebuild but I wouldn't be a slave to originality. I think it needs a repaint and a component clean-up and the decals and parts should be available.

At the end of the day do you want a rideable road bike, because a 2005-6 used bike would be cheaper in the long run.

Do you want a retro bike you can be proud of, because if you do that's a fairly good bike to start with. I'd avoid the modern temptation to Single-Speed (SS) it. Before you start make sure you want to spend the money to finish it. £60ish for respray. £15ish for decals. £50ish for tyres, tubes, bartape, cables etc. Headset? Bottom bracket? Chain? Cassette? Other brake lever? Pedals? Front Derailleur? Wheels? etc

For me, I like owning old bikes and I like the work that goes into them, but if I was really honest I love the reliability and design of more modern bikes to get fit on or race on.

I'm now waiting for the RetroBike Police to knock on my door!

Apologies in advance:

I'd give that back to wherever you got it from and spend the money you were to spend on this on something better.

What you have there is just a very plain frame made out of the lowest possible grade metal, no cromo, no Vitus, no Italian exotica or anything exciting. It wont be rewarding to do this up, it'll just be a waste of cash.

Have a look down your local recycling centres, second hand shops and car-boot sales for something better.

Again sorry to disappoint you but what you have there is the equivalent of today's Asda bikes.

If you strike it lucky, you could end up with something very nice and a joy to ride.

Thanks very much legrande! I haven't actually bought this frame yet, but it's really cheap. I guess I made the mistake of assuming that just because it says Bianchi it would be good Oh well, glad I asked some people who really know.

Will keep on scouring t' interweb, and will probably be back here before too long

Just to echo what LGF says, there are plenty of clues that it is nothing special but the brake bridge is a realy giveaway.

this wouldnt be a bad start - I think its from somebody on here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CARLTON-CORSAIR-M ... 120wt_1165

Thanks again legrande. Due to my slightly freakish height of 6'6"1/2 I'll be looking for something more in the 63-66cm/24.5-25.5" range. Much rarer, I know But I think something like a 531 might still be possible to find.

see this chap regarding big frames:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/profil ... ofile&u=86

*That's* a big frame indeed! A guy back in Holland has a massive 70cm (27.5") Jan Janssen frame for sale, which is about the same size.

Will drop Agency_Scum a pm. Thanks again Legrande

in the UK bianchi is a name that conjurs up images of Coppi and most bianchis are at the racin/quality end of the market.

In Italy, theyre standard fayre and in some cases are the halfords equivalent. This is what you probably have (or havent yet, as the case may be)