1950s Bianchi Sport City Bike

It’s been a few years since I’ve restored a bike older than the 1970s, and this Bianchi Sport was the perfect candidate.  With a timeless, classic design and high quality details, it was born to cruise the streets in style.  Mechanically simple, it retains a few distinctively Bianchi features that set it apart from the rest.  Read on to learn about this lovely ladies’ bike and the restoration process.

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1972 Italvega Super Record chrome 53cm road bike

chromital_DS1     

I built this bike up over the weekend, starting with a vintage Italian-made frame that I found online.  It was fully chromed under the paint, so I stripped the paint and polished up the chrome to a nice shine.  I added a shiny silver Shimano 600 group and Dia-Compe brakes, along with brand-new wheels and saddle that complimented the classic spartan look of the frame.

While the frame didn't have any identifying logos, some research confirmed that it's an Italvega Super Record. Italvega bikes were designed and hand-built within the noted Torresini workshop at the Torpado factory in Padua, Italy.  It was carrying a sticker from Zumwalt's Bicycles in San Diego, CA so perhaps it was their in-house brand at one point. 

It's a quality frame, with gorgeous long-point lugs and Columbus SPX tubing, one of their higher-end tubesets.  Size-wise, it's 53cm bike, with a 53cm center-to-center top tube and a 53cm center-to-top seat tube.  Read on for more pictures and details:

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