Bianchi: Celeste the greyhound         Featured Bike! on 03/26/2012

Fatso clinchers, too; Rivendell Ruffy Tuffys, which are about 27mm inflated. I originally built it up with a 70s tubular wheelset I got for $ 25 at a yard sale: Super Champion Arc-en-Ciel rims, a 50s LF Campy Gran Sport front hub, and an early 60s "medium flange" Campy Sportsman (I think) rear with D'Alessandro Speciale tires. I think the tires are sort of mid-level 80s trainers. Those wheels appear in the FrankenFollis listing, since they're likely to end up as temporary wheels on the older Follis while I'm assembling the parts for the keeper wheels.

As I mentioned in my mea culpa, my photos are way out of date. The current build includes a C-Record non-aero seatpost, Chorus aero pedals, and the same wheelset with the Ruffy Tuffys. But it's been pissing down rain here for the last few weeks, so a photo window has not yet opened.

...if I'd ever gotten my act together and taken the necessary high-res photos to send to him. Thanks for reminding me. A lot of the parts have changed, and I need to take new VS photos anyway; I can get photos of frame/BB/headset details, which is what Pro Bianchi Dude will need.

Headtube decals are usually pretty easy to find. There are a variety of sources for Bianchi decals, both original and reproduction:

Reproduction
These are usually stickers, not traditional decals. Stickers are printed on a thin, clear plastic film with an adhesive backing, and then stuck on the surface of the paint/powdercoat. You can clearcoat over them or not.
1. There's a guy in Australia (known in the VS forum as "the decal Nazi" bacause he's a little edgy) who sells reproduction decals through an eBay storefront called Cyclomondo. He sells both individual decals, and full sets (a full array of decals for a particular make/model/year of bike). He usually has an auction of "Bianchi headtube decal" where you get your choice of several different Bianchi headtube decals - you make the buy, then you tell him which one you want. He goes in starts and fits; right now there's almost nothing there, but he often has several hundred items listed. He just started doing pantographed (engraved) components, so he may be restocking right now.
2. There's a service called VeloCals that does much the same thing, but they mostly sell full sets, rather than individual decals. I'm pretty excited about this guy at the moment; he's just posted some Durifort tubing decals and Bertin decals that will be a real help with this bike. I may email him to ask whether he'll sell decals individually.
3. There's a graphic artist in San Leandro called VeloGraphic (about 15 miles south of me) who seems to do decals to order from a library he's been assembling. He's a frequent poster on BikeForums (username: mswantak) and seems to know what he's doing. According to his site, if he doesn't have the correct decals for your make/model/year, he'll make the graphics up at no charge - I guess he views it as an addition to his library. I've often thought of biking my butt down there on one of my more decal-naked bikes, just to see what's in his library already.
4. Of course, if you have a graphic already, you can create your own stickers or decals with an inkjet printer. You can find instructions and supplies all over; MCG Paper is one supplier who has prepackaged kits for several types of decals/stickers.

Original
These are usually traditional decals. Decals come in a couple of different variants; waterslide and rub-on are the most common. Waterslide decals are printed on a sort of glue layer, which softens with a quick dip in water. You then slide the decal into position, and the glue hardens to the paint. Rub-ons are like rub-on lettering from the '70s/'80s; you burnish them onto the finish. With both types, they tend to fall apart if they're not clearcoated.

5. H Lloyd Cycles in northern England is a big source of vintage decals. They're strong in English brands, but they also have a selection of European stuff. The catalog doesn't have many photographs, and the decals are all sold a la carte - you have to know what you need in order not to make mistakes. I've never emailed them, so I don't know how good they are at answering pre-purchase questions.
6. Vintage Transfers is a retailer in Italy selling old decals. The website isn't designed for direct sales; I think you have to email the guy and tell him what you want.

But I will be following up with Bianchi USA; it's something else on my lengthy to-do list...

thanks for the detailed and lengthy reply! wasn't expecting so much information, this is gonna be a great help :)

good luck on your follow up with bianchi, let me know how it goes when you get to it :D

Ci-nell-i, Ci-nell-i, Ci-nell-i;
ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DAHHH...

It does get schmutzed up pretty quickly, but a combination of Goo Gone and Simple Green keeps it in decent shape. And since the white Campy hoods are scuzz-magnets, it's an opportunity to detail two birds with one stone.

I tried doing a two-tone thing with white+celeste cork tape, but the cork stuff is really too thick; you get a Pop n' Fresh look. Cotton should work better, but that makes it a really short-run ride; I'm old enough that I need the padding. Anyway, it's hard to find cotton tape in colors other than black these days.

I've put about 400 miles on this in the last few months, just in city riding. Once I found a pair of oldie Sidi leather-soled laceups with cleats, it became a much easier ride (but way harder to walk around). Next step: C-Record or Superleggera pedals, and a silver seatpost that I can run supershort. And the gumwall Panaracers, if they ever come in...

I'm...too sexy for my bike
Too sexy for my bike
So sexy something something

It still has the stock stem (too short) and bar (way too narrow). Once I get wider bars and a longer stem on, and get the cables sized correctly, then I'll throw the pricy/swanky Cinelli cork tape at it.

That's the reason I have the bigass cable coils masking-taped to the fork and the seatstay. I always leave a lot of extra cable available until I have everything dialed in; I hate the idea of having to toss a nearly new cable just because I cut it too short before getting the fit finished.

Unfortunately, my scrounger instincts aren't working on my behalf in this case. I have a couple of Cinelli 1A stems in pieces, but no stem fixer bolt/wedge that fits right. And I need such an ancient stem, if I'm going to use the old-school Campione del Mondo 44mm bars, with the oldie Cinelli 26.4mm diameter.

Sigh; the perils of being an aesthetic snob. However, this does give me time to master tape tricks like this; celeste and white, maybe?