YK_

I'm curious about how much I could potentially get for it. The bike is in great shape other than some paint chips here and there that I could most likely get out with touch-up paint. I love the bike, but having to leave a celeste Bianchi outside in a theft-prone area worries me, regardless of how nice my lock is. I'm looking into the option of selling this, and buying a new bike.

(Also, it has Shimano components and a Cinelli stem/bars)

Thanks for any insight!

Bianchigirll 

I think somewhere around $400ish. It looks nice but I think some find the Formula frames a detractor for some reason.

There is something odd about Vittoria models, and I'll have to check the catalog on it but, perhaps T-Mar can also shed some light on it. There was a Vittoria model with Victory in '85/86 which was standard Bianchi fair with no chrome. But I remember seeing a Vittoria frame hanging in a shop I worked in that like this one had a chrome fork and stay. It seems that for some reason the Vittoria name might have been used on both a complete bike and upgraded frame too for some reason.

I would keep it and buy an older hybrid for a commuter.

YK_

Wow, thanks again for the information! And I may end up keeping it if I can find a half-decent bike on Craigslist for a fairish price. I don't want to completely sacrifice aesthetics for the fear of it getting stolen, but I also feel like a lot of the decent stuff I see on Craigslist is really overpriced.

Chombi

Agree about the Columbus sourced Bianchi "Formula" tubing pulling down the value a bit. I don't think it's bad, low spec tubing, but I remember reading about rumors saying that Columbus sold bike manufacturers like Schwinn and Bianchi tubing like these from their stocks of "seconds". I very much doubt that is the case, but I guess the damage was done when such was spread around the bike world.

T-Mar

600 Ultegra should out it no earlier than 1988. I'd thought they'd dropped the Vittoria by that time? Maybe a foreign model, which would also account for BG's questioning the chrome? I imagine, given the level, that it's Formula II tubing versus the better Formula I. Still it's a Bianchi and it is celesete and a small frame size, both which warrant a premium. $400 sounds fair. Serial number?

YK_

It's Formula One Columbus tubing according to a sticker on the bike. I'll go and get the serial number.

YK_

~~~

T-Mar

There should be another section to the serial number probably on the other side of the BB shell. Typically, it's a two character numeric-alpha format (i.e. 8.c). Since it's Formula 1 tubing, I'd bump the price another $25-$50.

Bianchigirll 

I think the Formula 1 tubing makes it '86ish, atleast for a US market bike.

When I went to work at a Bianchi dealer in '89 we had a Vittoria hanging around and in '91 or 92 we took off the Synchro shifters and Victory RD and put Tri-Color 600 on along with a Sachs FW. It sold like a week later since it finally had inex shifting.

I was just looking through some catalogs and I am really leaning towards the frame atleast being '86. Now this just looking at the catalogs but the '85 frame still shows the "Circle B" cartouche on the stay caps, and would be Bianchi Special tubing but it did have a chrome drive side stay. The '86 has whole Bianchi printed on the stay cap and as mentioned is Formula 1, but no chrome! The name was dropped in '87 but the model seemed to live on as the Nuovo Alloro but with Formula 2 tubing.

How is the hunt for a commuter going?

YK_

Damn, you guys are good with this stuff. And the hunt for the commuter is a tad dismal, haha. I used to have a fixed gear that I really enjoyed riding so I've been looking on Craigslist for one, or perhaps even a single-speed. But most of the stuff I've been finding has been crap. I may end up going the Kilo TT route.