The 1998 bike of the double victory has a rather tumultuous genesis. Bianchi had just become Swedish-owned thanks to the ingenious Apulian Salvatore Grimaldi, a former Volvo worker who became a successful entrepreneur in the metalworking industry in Scandinavia. The visionary Tarantino thought in 1997 that the future of mobility should be on two wheels and reinvested in various bike brands including Bianchi to create what would become one of the most important multinational companies in the two-wheeled world. In homage to the national colors of the new ownership, yellow was added to Bianchi's celeste to create the color scheme that would later be called Mercatone Uno. The bike that the team found, the Mega Pro XL 7000, did not satisfy the Pirate who, after some tests, assembled his own prototype, starting from the Dedacciai 7003 T6 tubing lightened and evolved in sloping geometry. The pursuit of lightness led to the use of refined titanium accessories from Bergamo-based PMP such as quick-release seat clamp and wheel skewers, while the fork and pedals are from the French brand Time. Even the pedals, the Equipe Pro in titanium and magnesium, are the result of a prototype specially designed for the Pirate with a particularly compact axle. From the experience of the 1998 prototype, in 1999 the SC 61.10 was born for commercialization, which today we often see as the basis for 1998 replicas. From a collector's point of view, we can say that the SC 61.10 is the model introduced to the market that most closely resembles the Pirate's prototype, and various versions and limited series will be offered, such as the replica Giro 98, limited series 101 replica Giro 98, and 102 replica Tour 98 with precious celebratory fittings. These pieces have become highly sought after and rather expensive. The SC has the unfortunate characteristic of being extremely fragile. Frame breaks are very common, especially on the steering tube and in the bottom bracket area, as well as on the frame body, leading to subsequent evolutions where much work will be done on these critical points until they are definitively resolved with the futuristic EV4, which will manage to combine reliability and lightness.
GALLERY