1982 bianchi touring bike

[DIANEA]

I bought this bike new back in 1983 - at a young age when I could barely afford rent - saved my waitress money and paid $600 for this bike, which I loved completely if that's possible! I rode it for years but stopped after my daughter was born. In just the last year I rediscovered it - and started riding again. Poking round the internet I learned there was a fork recall on certain models and sure enough my bike was one of them. I contacted the company and took the bike to a certified shop and Bianchi sent a fork replacement. I felt good that after so many years that they where still responsive and honored the recall ..I thought so far so good.

However my issue is that the fork replacement is completely wrong! It is a generic fork painted black and has nothing to do with the branding or unique signature of my blue Bianchi bike! In my opinion it has downgraded the value and is unacceptable. If this where a car no one would tolerate this. I get really sad when I look at my bike - it looks like a hack job. I've written to the company but have not received a response, yet. Has anyone else experienced this? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

[Tim M]

The bike is 29 years old. If the recall you mention is CPSC Release # 90-138, it was issued in August 1990, 21 years ago. Bianchi sent you in 2012(?) at your notification, what is known as a repair fork. If Bianchi at this late date has not complied with CPSC in some way, you might want to take it up with CPSC. Sorry.

[DIANEA]

21469' dateline='1335296935']
The bike is 29 years old. If the recall you mention is CPSC Release # 90-138, it was issued in August 1990, 21 years ago. Bianchi sent you in 2012(?) at your notification, what is known as a repair fork. If Bianchi at this late date has not complied with CPSC in some way, you might want to take it up with CPSC. Sorry.
[/quote]

Thanks Tim, I did hear from a Bianchi Warranty Manager telling me he was sorry I was disappointed but claimed they couldn't match the color, 'black was the best choice' and they returned the bike to being 'safe and functional'. If I bought my bike to be 'safe and functional' I could have gone to Sears and paid alot less...

[nfmisso]

HI Dianea;

Bianchi complied with the law - pretty amazing nowadays. Even picking up the labor - which at shops here is not much less than $100- per hour.

Now if you want to go the rest of the way; there are many custom painters who can do a good job of matching, or painting it how ever you like. This will cost a couple of hundred dollars. You will also need to disassemble the fork from the bike, and mask off the areas that should not be painted. You may also be able to purchase Bianchi decals to match yours, take a look on ebay, and there is a company in England that make retro bike decals.

Or for not much more, you could have the whole bike painted and decal added to suit your imagination. Again, proper dis-assembly and masking is recommended before the painter starts - painters are artists not bike mechanics.

You could also look into vinyl wrap of the forks - this is popular on cars, not sure about bikes.
http://www.fellers.com/index.cfm/spKey/aboutwraps

[DIANEA]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate your comments.

Considering I only found out about the recall recently and only by accident, the length of time and age of bike in my mind was irrelevant, Bianchi had an obligation and was aware that there where 1600 bikes out there that where part of this recall and until the last one is reported and corrected - it's an open ended obligation. But I guess my expectations where too high and thought Bianchi would have distingushed itself by preserving the bike's integrity and namesake and not just compy with the law...man, what was I thinking!

At the least, I wish it had been better explained before the work was done so it did not send me into shock.

Diane

(05-03-2012, 03:56 PM)nfmisso Wrote:  HI Dianea;

Bianchi complied with the law - pretty amazing nowadays. Even picking up the labor - which at shops here is not much less than $100- per hour.

Now if you want to go the rest of the way; there are many custom painters who can do a good job of matching, or painting it how ever you like. This will cost a couple of hundred dollars. You will also need to disassemble the fork from the bike, and mask off the areas that should not be painted. You may also be able to purchase Bianchi decals to match yours, take a look on ebay, and there is a company in England that make retro bike decals.

Or for not much more, you could have the whole bike painted and decal added to suit your imagination. Again, proper dis-assembly and masking is recommended before the painter starts - painters are artists not bike mechanics.

You could also look into vinyl wrap of the forks - this is popular on cars, not sure about bikes.
http://www.fellers.com/index.cfm/spKey/aboutwraps