>>1177955>But they were never especially well crafted is the point.Actually, they were especially well crafted, and for most of their history have been universally regarded as amongst the finest bicycles available. The evidence is the long history of racing success at the highest level.
You have a good argument to make that Japanese road bikes were as good as Italian ones from around the 70s onwards. Is a Team Miyata as good as a Columbus sl bike? Well I'd want to ride a few of them to answer that and I think the answer is probably yes. The mid range offerings are certainly equal. A lot of people, people who actually have ridden top tier race bikes in that era and have informed opinions, would disagree though. The nicest steel bike I've owned has been Italian as well. Sure there's a fetishisation of Italian bikes, but wanting to ride your bicycle for arbitrary reasons is important. I think you've also got a point that the marque has declined. I wouldn't buy a new one. They still do have (bad) riders on Bianchis in grand tours though. It hasn't gone that far downhill.
That's it though, that's where your argument stops. You cannot say that Japanese bikes were even close, for what is the majority of Bianchi's history. You cannot say that Bianchi was never even that good.
When Fausto Coppi was riding, he was the best, Campagnolo was the best and Bianchi were the best.
