1994 Bianchi Osprey… my first “real” MTB?

Looking good! Wish there were Osprey decals available somewhere.

H Lloyd have headtube decals and will make up stuff from your artwork. Have done this with them, good results and not spendy at all.

I guess proper scans or skills to craft them are what I was after :)

These would look pretty good in higher resolution. Of course not originals for my Osprey or OP's.

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I’m sure there’s someone on here who could do / offers that. Will try and find the link.
Edit. Search for pdlouche and ask

I’m not too concerned about having fresh decals. I kinda like beat up look. I did buy some gloss clear coat today, so I’m interested to see how that brings the sparkle in the metallic blue out.

Inspired by the Crust Bombora’s and one of my favourite bands, I did a small tribute to my wife on the NDS chainstay. I did it about 4 times, because writing on chainstays is actually quite hard. I wasn’t too concerned about it being perfect. It fits the aesthetic of Sonic Youth. I did a couple more coats of clear as well, this time gloss. I’m going to leave the frame to cure for a few days and then start building it up.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XrZ3opXYpf4&feature=share

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Found the 26.8mm seat post I had stashed away. Unfortunately I think this frame takes a 26.2mm, so there was no way of getting this in there. Going to borrow a 26.0mm first to make sure I order the right size.

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Also, I have a spare BB, but no NDS cup. Planned to take the one out of the Specialized and was prepared for it to be a nightmare because it came with the frame years ago… it came out so easily I was surprised.

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Found the 26.8mm seat post I had stashed away. Unfortunately I think this frame takes a 26.2mm, so there was no way of getting this in there. Going to borrow a 26.0mm first to make sure I order the right size.

So I went and bought digital vernier calipers. I measured the seat tube. It was all over the place but it was showing close to 26.8mm. I measured the seat post on the Paconi, that’s also 26.8mm. So I took it out and tried it in the Bianchi. It went in without much effort. I greased up the silver 26.8 post that I tried today and it went in fine. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I’ve had this post stashed in my spare bike parts for like 3 or so years, still in the packet.

I could build the bike up this weekend, all I am waiting on is the front rack, which will hopefully arrive next week, but it is nice to have a project to work on when my son is at school and my daughter is asleep.

EDIT: Couldn’t help myself and test fitted the bars. Fuck this bike is looking tough.

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Looks really really good with the bars on, can't wait to see it finished!

Thanks. It’s been a fun project.

This is awesome.. I done something similar with an old Bianchi and also a old Peugeot Raider.. couple of pics below.. although they were drop bar gravel..

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Look up retrodecals on facebook.. he should be able to recreate those..

Had a stressful day and needed to relax. Decide to install the bottom bracket (which could’ve made my day worse). It went in nice and easily. Threads looked great when I cleaned them up. Still need to put the NDS side on, then clean up and tighten the cranks. Clearance is fine as well.

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For decals you can request here: https://wanit.co.uk/index.html

Now that the SpaceClydesdale is finished, starting putting this together.

Installed the stem and spacers. The seal for headset was slightly stuck on the forks when I bought the frame, but I could knock it down using a tall spacer. Hopefully it’s okay. It doesn’t sit right against the headset, but the forks don’t feel loose.

Also installed the bottom bracket, cranks and derailleurs. Unfortunately the front derailleur covers the sweet Tange MTB decal. The cranks also sit quite wide. I might need to swap out the bottom bracket with a narrower one.

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After some overthinking (and retro MTB Facebook advice) I’ve come to the conclusion that the spindle on the BB that I’ve installed is too wide. Main my concern is that I wouldn’t be able to shift to the big ring, and also having a really wide Q factor. I measured the BB on the Specialized (which was stuck in the frame and the spindle was loose, which is why I’m not using it), which is what I ran these cranks on, and that was 111mm. I ordered a 111mm SunRace BB to pick up today, but the shop called me and said they don’t have one in stock, but upgraded me to a Shimano 110mm BB. I’m hoping that the 1mm doesn’t make too much difference. I did also notice that I used to have a bit of trouble with the front derailleur rubbing on the big ring on Specialized. I’m hoping the new BB that is slightly narrower with a not loose spindle solves that issue.

I also am swapping out the front derailleur out from the modern Shimano Alivio to a Shimano STX, which is what this bike was specced with back in the 90’s. I’m also hoping that plays nice with my front shifter.

110mm BB worked perfectly, no issues with crank arm clearance. Hopefully when I get the STX derailleur everything sits nicely.

Also got the cheap front rack. It looks okay, but there’s going to be some bending to get it into shape. The brackets sit a lot wider than the canti bosses. I think this will be a stop gap solution until Hungry make a bigger Big Lunch.

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Did some more this afternoon. Front rack and brakes installed. I wasn’t sold on the rack, but I think it will be fine once the Wald is attached. It needs to be levelled as well. Also bodged a light bracket out of a piece that came with it. I have no idea what it would be used for originally.

I need to adjust the front brakes and possibly shorten the outer for the rear brake a touch so it doesn’t make the v-brake noodle sit at an angle too much. I might buy some cable donuts because the brake cable doesn’t have a heap of tension.

Bar angle needs to be adjusted. I did it in the stand as the bike was pointing downwards.

Need to buy 5 more cable ferrules, and once the front derailleur is here, it will be finished.

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So close. Just need the front derailleur to arrive, some more gear cable outer and to buy pedals.

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It's coming together really nicely and quickly!

Is the round bit of the lamp mount something that came with the rack or a Passport (other brands available) lamp bracket?

It’s one of these Problem Solvers light mounts.

When your pedals cost more than your frame… Picked these Crank Brothers Stamp 1’s yesterday. Also cabled the brakes and adjusted the headset.

Once the front derailleur is delivered, I’ll finish cabling everything and it will be done.

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Front derailleur arrived today. The seller neglected to tell me that the clamp had been modified from 28.6 to 31.4. Luckily I had some shims and made it work, but it was still frustrating.

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