When a Bianchi comes up for sale, I pay attention. I think we all have certain bike brands we mindlessly search for, “just in case” something pops up, and for me that’s Bianchi. I didn’t know much about this specific model, but a mid-00s fat-tubed aluminum Bianchi has a “high floor”, meaning it’s gonna be pretty decent even if it’s at the low-end of the catalog for that year. Another good thing about Bianchi: the buyer of a Bianchi usually knows a thing or two about bikes, takes good care of it, and it tends to age well.

What we have here is a 2004 Bianchi ML3 “Alloy”, with Campagnolo Mirage (drivetrain, shifters) and Bianchi-branded components (brakes, wheels, stem), with a 9-speed “triple” crank. Based on how much seat post is showing, and how the handlebars and shifters were angled forward, I suspect the previous owner was a little too big for this frame, which I measured to be 47cm from the center of the crank to the very top of the seat post.

All this meant we had a perfect project: improve the crank to a matching Campagnolo Mirage Ultra Torque, and make necessary adjustments elsewhere. It already had 28C tyres, a nice touch.

Stunning in gold, making it maybe a little less common.