My 2015 Bianchi L’Eroica
I originally discussed this bike in a post last year after I first heard about it, Preview of the Bianchi L’Eroica. I determined that I wanted to get one as soon as they became available and put my local bike shop onto the job of tracking one down. After a few months of phone calls and inquiries my Bianchi arrived in January of 2016. It appears to be the 17th bike in production based on the serial number, and is certainly among the first to arrive in the US.
It arrived in a huge box and was nearly completely assembled and took very little to get it in running condition. But, I knew that there were going to be few things that I would want to change right off the bat. The bike came with 23c clincher tires, which (from my experience) I knew were not ideal for the gravel roads that this bike would be used on. So, I ordered some Compass Stampede Pass 32c tires and put those on. The supple casing of these tires and their more voluminous profile would be just the ticket for the expected conditions. The other issue was the handlebar and brake lever position. I prefer the top of the bars to be flat, but this bike was set up with the bottom of the drops horizontal to the ground. It is a minor adjustment to move the brake levers to the correct position for the new bar angle but requires removing the bar tape. Not really a problem, because I was going to change the bar tape to Brooks leather as well. Other minor changes include change the cable housings from black to red as well as red toe clip straps.
Before
After
Here is the bike as it appeared after these few changes. During my test rides I was very impressed with the way it rode, in large part due to the fatter tires. The saddle still needed some breaking in but outside of that this bike was ready to ride. In fact, this is just how I would ride the bike at Eroica Hispania this year in June.
More to come on the performance of this bike in future articles!
Here is a link to Bicycling Magazines take on this bike.
March 15, 2017 at 4:04 pm
Hello. I own a 1977 Lygie. I am looking for a head badge. Does anyone know how I could go about purchasing one? I checked on E-Bay there is one from Italy – but it looks way to old. Any advice? Thanks… Ken in California.
October 4, 2016 at 12:36 pm
I have a Sancineto frame from the mid 90’s and I would love to add to your post and pics archive.
here is one to start with and I will take more including the BB shell with serial numbers.
i purchased this from a estate sale outside of Portland Oregon and it has never been built.
Joe