Conference noted::bicycle

    ANYONE     ANYONE    ANYONE  

    I have one and am very pleased with it. What do you want to know?
    
    --william hwang--
    

    I have a Bianchi Limited, and am very happy with it.  Great bike.
     There were a couple of almost recent reviews in bicycling, and/or
    cyclist magazine.  they seemed really pleased with it.  Let me know
    where your cube is (CSC32::KILEY) and I will be glad to give you
    a copy of the reviews.
    
    Laurie Kiley
    

    What componets do you have on them ?  Did you swap out any that
    were on the bike when you bought it ? Is the frame a good one ?
    I'm looking at poss getting a 53cm frame. How are the brakes on
    these bikes....     Tom

    hi there laurie  i'm at 2p3 rdg area tom monroe....
     i would like to see the copies of the reveiw......
     i'm the ugly one.......   thanks...

    Hey Laurie  did you look at the Limited SL (some type of special
    edition of the Limited) ??????.................Tom x5448

    	If you get a Bianchi, you HAVE to get the special "throw-up
    green" paint job.  It makes them go faster, just like a red paint
    job on a normal bike.  If you don't believe me, just ask Fausto 
    Coppi.  He let them put this nasty color on his bike, and he became
    a legend.  There you have it. Cause and effect.  Proof beyond doubt.
    
    Trust me.

    	I'm interested in buying a Bianchi.  Can you recommend any good
    dealers in the Acton Area?  That would be Acton/Concord/Littleton/
    Maynard etc. etc.  ALso any dealers in northern Vermont near Burke,
    Lyndonville or St. Johnsbury, say.  (of course, I'm not opposed
    to travelling up to NH to avoid sales tax.)

    	Also, what *were* the reviews and in which magazines?            
    

    I have a Bianchi Champione Itallia and am very pleased with it.
    It was purchased at the Bicycle Barn in Westboro for around $500.
    It had also received good reviews (of course I read them after I
    bought it).
    
    --wch--

    
    I have a Bianchi Stelvio equiped with campy. I bought it 3 years
    ago at Bob's Bicycle in Springfield, MA. I know that Bicycle-Alley
    in Worcester sells Bianchi's. And remember, not all Bianchi's are
    made in Italy...
    
    Melanie

	How do you tell where the Bianchi was made - and where else
    are Bianchis made other than Italy.  What to watch out for??
    
    	WHich dealers are likely to be easiest to deal with - best
    prices, best service (good *and* quick) etc.
    
    	Thanks, Valdeane
    

    
    The lower end models are made in Japan.  If the bike has a tag
    on it that says "Made in Italy" then it probably was....
    
    The tag is generally down by the bottom bracket.
    
    Stew
    

If it's made in Japan, does it have English threads?

ed

    re .13	<If it's made in Japan, does it have English threads?>
    
    	Well, I have a horrid feeling that ed knows the answer to this
    and the question is just a hook, so I'm tempted to pass.
    
    	Oh, well:-	It is Generally the case that bikes made "for
    the US market"  have threads that conform in pitch and diameter
    (though not necessarily in thread profile, grrrrr) to what used
    to be referred to as the  "English"  standard, (though the English
    themselves  "went metric" a while ago).  Am I caught yet ?

    	Of course "Some People" would also claim that bikes made in
    Japan with metric threads don't have metric threads;  this is the
    pitch and diameter but not profile issue again.  Ask someone with
    a Campy hub about the first time they put a Japanese cluster on
    it, they may have thought it was just tight because the Japanese 
    hold their machining tolerances closely. (guess again Theobold)
    
    	R
    

    My Bianchi (Champione Italia) has the Suntour 7000 gear set with
    Ofmega components in the chain ring and headset. Does this help?
    I believe that mine is the "lowest" in line that is made in Italy.
    There is another one that is made in Japan with the Bianchi green
    that is "lower" then mine.
                                          
    
    --wch--

Well, Bianchi's that I've worked on that were made in Italy have Italian
threads.  One of the most notable differences of "Italian threaded
components" is that the bottom bracket is of a different diameter
and both cups are right hand threaded.  A "English threaded" bottom
bracket has left hand threads on the fixed cup -- a much better idea.
It does happen that there are also differences in the pitches and the
diameters but for "most currently made" bicycles you can get away with
knowing what the ethnic persuasion of the builder was.  I don't know
why they are not called "Japanese threads" since most Asian built
bicycles sold in this country use them.  Perhaps the Japanese are just
not too proud to adopt someone else's standard, especially when doing
so makes it easy to take over the market.

Now, French or Swiss threads, that's another story.

Then it might be more appropriate to call them English Standard, Italian
Standard, ...

ed