Bike Check: Andy’s steel Bianchi CX
Andy let us take a look at his beauty Bianchi steel cyclocross frame, which he’s set up as a single speed in advance of Victoria hosting Single Speed CX World Championships this November. This is the same frame he raced for a couple years back when he lived in Edmonton, before putting it on commuting duty for several years. A testament to the strength and durability of a quality steel frame, this bike is in surprisingly good condition after being put through multiple seasons cyclocross races in tough prairie ‘fall’ conditions, known on the west coast as ‘winter’ conditions.
Hung on the Celeste steel frame are TRP mini-vee brakes, a bit more power than traditional canti’s, and infinitely easier to adjust. The TRP’s are grabbing aluminum Mavic tubular rims, and Andy’s running Clement MXP rubber. These are laced to a weird set of DT Swiss HüGI disc hubs, just in case he ever decides to have Matt weld on a set of disc brake mounts in the future. He’s also found, and gutted a set of Campy’s 10 speed Chorus levers to make a lightweight singlespeed ‘specific’ set of levers. Or maybe they’re Campy 1.0 and the ‘.’ has worn off?
Celeste and Steel looking at home inside the tape
Singlespeed simplicity, with an earlier version of FSA’s carbon SLK cranks and Shimano XT pedals
Not entirely ‘traditional,’ Andy’s running TRP mini-Vee’s front and back for a bit more stopping power
A slimmed down version of the Bianchi head badge to fit that ‘classic’ 1” head tube
Steel. Fancy, fancy steel, yet tough enough to survive over a decade of riding and racing
Campy Chorus 10 speed shifters …. ahem …. Campy Chorus 1-speed. Gutted to save weight, of course
As you can tell from the wear marks, this frames been used for a variety of purposes over its life
DT Swiss HüGI hubs, with both disc tabs and the majority of the cassette sitting idle.
Disc tabs just waiting for someone to make a 1” fork with disc mounts…
Mavic Reflex tubular rims, not sure that patent’s still ‘pending.’ And slightly newer Clement MXP tubs
Faded over the years, but ‘handmade in Italy’ means quality frames outlast their decorative bits
