1984 Bianchi Grizzly

I just found this old Bianchi Grizzly, that I'm guessing is an '84. Compared to my '84 ridgerunner this frame is lower quality and has lower end parts. I can't find any database for Bianchi's serial numbers, but the parts and the lugged build, and since the serial starts with LS4... I'm guessing it's 84.

oh, and she's huge... I love how they used to make mountain bike frames so big!

Looks like the same fork as the Ridgerunner. Definitely the same fork crown. Yeah I know the cable is inside the yolk, I just got it like that, soon to change. Oh, yeah and it's got those nice super long Dia Cope brakes, love those.
Oh man, so much head tube!Check that bend in the bars, similar to the ones that came on the 86 stumpy sport.
But the stem is something else. Kinda like stumpy "golf club", kinda bmx, kinda like a snake head.
The head lugs are properly spoon shaped on the underside.
The seat stays are sloppy and the brazing and mitering was done poorly.
Shimano Unisift model. I've never seen this style before with the small steel clamp and the angular cable stop. Unishift seems like a bad name for a multi-speed shifter...



Very similar again to the Diamondback. It's got a lot of room for a fat tire. Unfortunate crimping from a kickstand, I hate those things!

A closer look at that crazy bend.
Clunky braze-ons, kinda like a Miyata no?
Biopace, ugg. Tourney GS cranks are cool though. At first I assumed that the Biopace might have been an add on from a later date, but a little research shows that Shimano was making Biopace as early as 1983. Suntour bear trap pedals.

Street Bikes

I just returned from a very brief east coast blitz. I didn't get to dirt a dog a day while out there but I was obsessively checking the streets for cool early Mtbs. It's kind of funny how getting interested in these old production mountain bikes really makes looking at crappy bikes in the city so much more fun. Many of these bikes are obviously just commuters and delivery bikes. Now I catch myself really trying to see if crackheads are riding some old gem, because well, these bikes turn up all over the place. Anyway, I only saw two bikes of note; one in New York and one in DC. Apologies for the phone shots:

An 1986 Bianchi Grizzly ( a guess on date and model, but seems right)

By the looks of the parts on this Peugeot I'd guess 84/85 and it's either the Canyon or Orient Express model. I didn't do tons of research because I was just being lazy, but here's a link to some catalogs.
Same fork crown as my '84 Ridgerunner and similar lugged bullmoose bars like the ones that came on the 1983 Trek 830.