Italian Masters

   Regular readers of my blog are familiar with my affection for Colnago bicycles, but my taste is not limited to that Italian builder only. My everyday ride is a modern Pinarello FP2, and you may recall my recent work on a vintage Atala racing bike. I regularly look through eBay listings for a Bottecchia, Ciocc or Guerciotti bicycle that may be a little rough around the edges, one that I can purchase at a cheap price for refurbishing and resale.

   A few weekends ago I was helping the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society move some materials from a home in New Jersey. While I was there, I hoped to hook up with someone in the area who was selling a 1997 Bianchi Trofeo bicycle. He had listed his seldom-used machine on eBay with a “pick-up only” request, and at that point this detail seemed to be keeping bidders to a minimum. I told him that if his asking price was not reached to contact me, but I didn’t hear back from him.

   Two weeks later I was planning to head back to finish the moving job, and shortly before I prepared to leave, I was contacted about the bike being available. Turns out that a Korean customer had not seen “no shipping” in the listing and backed out on the deal. After a quick exchange of emails to explain my situation (more on that later) and a quick phone call, I had knocked nearly $100 off the asking price and arranged a meeting place not far from my son’s college campus at Fairleigh Dickinson.

   I really couldn’t have been happier about the Bianchi’s condition. The seller had bought it with the intent of getting into cycling, but a growing family took his attention away from that idea. He had it tuned up at a shop last summer when he made a second attempt at regular riding, but again got tied up in other activities. But for a couple tiny nicks from careless storage, the bike is pristine! It has a rather eclectic mix of components, but they are all original to the bike, according to BikePedia’s detail sheet.

   Other than changing the seller’s mismatched bar tape to that of the famous Bianchi celeste color, and a general wipe down, this bike required minimal work. I know I could make some money immediately on craigslist, but I think making this very attractive bike available to a wider market on eBay with shipping options would further increase the selling price.

   The “situation” I had referred to earlier was that I had already purchased another project bike since the Bianchi auction originally ended, and I had already gone deep into my shop budget. I set aside money from my spring/summer repairs to purchase bicycles for repair/refurbish work and resale. Sue had provided a boost to my project fund as a Christmas gift because she saw how much I was enjoying my hobby and that I was making some money out of it as well!

   I saw an early 1980s Pinarello Treviso listed on eBay at a relatively low price, considering it was a bicycle with components maybe just a notch lower in quality to the Colnago Nuovo Mexico I’m working on. The seller had an option available of making an offer instead of using the regular bidding process, so I set a hopeful price close to what I paid for the Colnago package. I figured that, although the Treviso doesn’t share the status level of the Nuovo Mexico, this was a complete bicycle, and required far less work to restore it to its former glory.

   Unfortunately this bicycle has turned out to be quite a headache, starting with the completely inept packaging of the disassembled machine. Protecting the frame with pipe insulation tubing is a great idea, in combination with a standard manufacturer-type bicycle box, but this Bulgarian postal service job (according to the seller) only involved a whole mess of plastic wrap and some craft paper!

   The mailman had only a slightly more puzzled expression on his face than I did when he plopped this large brown mass down on my porch and asked me to sign for it. I told him that I knew what it was, but that I expected a more secure method of shipping. “A bike…in there?” he asked. “Ha, good luck!” 

Well, I haven’t had too much fortune with the bike so far, but I’ll keep this entry to a reasonable length and fill you in on the rest of the story next time.