bianchi losa special
| frame: | bianchi losa special (columbus sl; 53cm) |
| brakes: | shimano dura ace br-7800(f)/br-7402(r) |
| brake levers: | shimano r600 |
| bottom bracket: | shimano bb-7402/teledyne titanium (113mm) |
| cables & housing: | shimano slr housing/cables |
| cranks: | shimano dura ace fc-7402 (170mm) |
| chainrings: | shimano dura ace sg-7402 52/39 |
| chain: | shimano hg-91 (7/8-speed) |
| cyclocomputer: | cateye strada (black) |
| derailleur (front): | shimano dura ace fd-7400 (braze-on) |
| derailleur (rear): | shimano dura ace rd-7402 |
| cassette: | shimano dura ace 7402 8-speed (14-28) |
| handlebar: | guidon philippe "professionel" handlebar (42cm) |
| handlebar stem: | sakae sr 11mm stem (22.2 quill; 25.4 clamp) |
| handlebar tape: | viva cloth tape (yellow) |
| headset: | shimano dura ace 7402 |
| hubs: | shimano dura ace 7402 (36h; 100mm/130mm) |
| lights: | cateye nano shot plus(f)/dinotte 300r(r) |
| shift levers: | shimano dura ace 7700 |
| skewers: | shimano dura ace 7402 |
| pedals: | mks neuvo wide titanium (9/16" x 20 tpi) |
| toe clips: | mks steel (l) |
| toe straps: | toshi (white) |
| rims: | wobler profil tx |
| rim tape: | velox fond de jante (17mm) |
| saddle: | brooks swallow w/ titanium rails (black) |
| seatpost: | nitto 72 (26.8mm) |
| tires: | panaracer evo 3 (700c X 25) |
I bought this frame because I liked the paint job and the fact that it is a "Bianchi" in name only - the frame was built in Milan, Italy by a true craftsman of the art of frame building, Giovanni Losa. His shop is primarily famous for being the in-house builders of Cinelli Supercorsas from the 1990's to 2008. Given that it was rebadged as a Bianchi my overactive imagination would like to think that it was a custom order for a racing team who rode Bianchi's but wanted something a little bit better. I like all the little details on the frame - the splined Columbus SL tubing in the steerer tube, the bottom bracket cut outs, the gorgeous rear brake bridge, the internally routed cable tubing on the top tube, etc.
But more importantly, I like the fact that I can fit a modern gruppo onto the frame and for this task I chose the Shimano Dura-Ace 7402 gruppo which were donor parts from an unusable Miyata Team. The styling of the Dura-Ace 7402 is a hybrid of the 1980's Campagnolo Super Record Gruppo and the C-Record Gruppo, but with the shifting smoothness and performance of the latter and the weight of the former.
contact: jonathantakeuchi AT gmail DOT com