Bike of the Month – September 2021

We first saw this months ‘Bike of the Month’ at the OldVelos Cycling Festival at Curraghmore House in County Waterford, Ireland and were very impressed by its near original condition. Its owner, Paul Murphy of Kilkenny has left it pretty much as it was when he bought it. We suspect that the handlebars and stem were changes at some stage in its life (it has a ‘headclip’ type headset). This was possibly done to give the bike a more ‘sporty’ look by changing the original straight handlebars for drop handlebars.

Bicycle Make:                        Bianchi
Bicycle model:                       We suspect that it may have been a high end city bike.
Date of Manufacture:            1960

Equipment:

Campagnolo Valentino extra for front and rear derailleur, Bianchi chainwheel and cotter pin cranks 52/48, 4 speed Regina Regina block. Wheels are Nisi alloy rims bianchi Bianchi hubs,  Brakes are Universal centre pull ,levers are same, drilled. Saddle Brooks. All chrome work and brackets by Bianchi. The bike is fitted with a beautiful chain guard to protect the owners trousers fro the oil on the chain.

Other information:     

The bike was imported direct from Milan Italy about 10 years ago .It has been in the owners possession about 2 years. In that time he has only done minor work such as servicing the cables, bottom bracket, wheel bearings etc. The bike is used regularly, sometimes on club rides here in Kilkenny with the local club MCC. It handles very well and preforms as well as any modern bike. Interestingly and as many of you know the Valentino gears used were named after Tullio Campagnolo’s son and were  the entry level in the early sixties.