The Gran Turismo

Coming soon, more photos and a brief write-up of Campagnolo's heaviest-ever derailleur, the Gran Turismo. For now, here's a "drawing" of an example from the Campy Only museum:


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Bianchi Superbike to Feature Super Record

Bianchi is set to unveil a new carbon-fiber superbike at Eurobike that will be built up with a very appropriate gruppo: 11-speed Super Record. Click here for more info. Here's a photo:



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Today's History Lesson: BMX

BMX racing--kid-sized bikes raced by kids and adults over short, dirt courses--blossomed in the 1980s. When it did, Campagnolo made a short-lived effort to capitalize on the craze, producing a gruppo for BMX bikes that was based on the popular Record gruppo. Several anodized colors were offered, including blue and gold (pictured here).

Here are photos of a period bike equipped with a Campy BMX gruppo (hubs and cranks), mixed with a variety of non-Campy parts.













Although it was only sold for a few years, the BMX gruppo is still available. The crankset makes a great addition to a fixed-gear or single-speed bike.

Learn more about Campagnolo history at the Campy Only web site HERE

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Do You Know This Derailleur?

Reader Paul G is looking for info on this front derailleur. The clamp is silver, but the mechanism has a grey-ish finish. If you have any info, email us: enorris [at] campyonly [dot] com. (The cage, BTW, is not original.)



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Sponsorship Opportunity at Campy Only

One of our longtime sponsors, CampyOldy, has decided to scale back his operations in respect of trading days. He will still be around at the same address and website, but he will no longer be a sponsor of Campy Only.

Campy Oldy will be with us through the end of September. At that time, we'll have a slot open for a business selling retro equipment (take a look at www.campyoldy.com for an idea of what he has been selling).

Potential sponsors with questions about rates and placement can contact us via email: enorris [at] campyonly [dot] com.

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Today's Bike: Custom Appel

Reader Richard F sent this photo and description of his custom Appel:

"Thought your readers might like to see my Campy equipped road bike.

This is an 853 Appel Racing Custom, built for me by Mike Appel in Waterloo, WI, one of Trek’s original builders back in the 70’s. The bike’s green/white/red color scheme comes from my old club back in England, the Willesden CC. Groupset is 2001 Chorus, although observant readers will notice that the crankset is the 4-arm version from 2004, not the original 2001 5-arm version. The wheels are 2006 Eurus, bought on clearance when Campy’s all-new 2007 models were launched. Keeping it mostly Italian, bars and stem are Cinelli, and the saddle is Selle Italia. Red Hudz add a dash of color to the cockpit. I like to think of this bike as representing the pinnacle of classic steel frame / alloy component technology. Mike did a great job with the frame, and this bike is a joy to ride, even though it is now nearly 10 years old!

Oh yes, there is one brand ‘S’ component. It is the little plastic gear cable guide that bolts on under the bottom bracket shell. I just happened already to have one when I was building up the bike, and it seemed appropriate to place one of ‘those’ components where it could get sprayed with road crud by the front wheel!"



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Today's Bike: Campy Equipped MTB

Campagnolo got into the burgeoning mountain bike market late, and never made a big impression on the market. After a few years that included some awful gruppos and some good stuff, they left and have never returned (although the introduction of 'flat bar' parts and triple cranks makes it possible to cobble together a modern Campy MTB).

Today's bike, from Samu L in Finland, brings back the MTB days. It's a a 1991 Klein Adroit with a full Campy OR set up. Very nice and very unusual.



More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldklein/sets/72157623255597197/

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75th Anniversary Jersey Marked Down

If you're interested in that limited-edition Campagnolo jersey that was selling on eBay for $2,600 last week but didn't want to pay that price, you're in luck. It's been re-listed for under $2,000.

Here's the link for the eBay page: http://cgi.ebay.com/CAMPAGNOLO-75th-ANNIVERSARY-EDITION-JERSEY-NO-35-/200506303703?pt=US_Men_s_Athletic_Apparel

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Going to 11 Gets Better, Says Campagnolo

Report from Eurobike, courtesy of Bike-Eu.com:

http://www.bike-eu.com/products/4245/revolution-11-at-campagnolo.html

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No Buyer for the $2600 Jersey?

Looks like nobody bit on the eBay sale of the 75th Anniversary jersey: http://campyonlyguy.blogspot.com/2010/08/2599-for-jersey.html

What's next ... ?


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Campagnolo Wheels

Campagnolo's engineering and manufacturing prowess isn't limited to bicycles. They've made wheels for Ferrari as well as a variety of parts for the automotive and aerospace industries.



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Entry-Level Campy

They're seemingly as rare as an oil-free beach in the Gulf, but low-priced Campagnolo-equipped bikes *can* be found. Here's a road test from the UK online site BikeRadar that features a Xenon-equipped (10S) bike from Italian maker Wilier:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/escape-xenon-10-39548

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Today's History Lesson: The Portacatena

Offered for a short time in the 1980s, the "Portacatena" (chain holder) was offered as a way to make it easier to get the rear wheel in and out of the frame. Think of it as an automatic chain hanger.

Here's how it worked: The stock righthand (rear) shift lever and frame stop (the washer with the square hole) were replaced by the Portacatena units. The shift lever, as shown in the photos below, added a small, spring-loaded release button that let the lever go past the #1 (smallest cog) position when the button was pressed.

At the rear dropout, the semicircular piece was bolted to the inside of the righthand dropout. It creates a resting place for the chain.

To use the Portacatena, the rider would shift first to the smallest cog and then, pushing the button, would shift the chain onto the holder. With the chain on the holder, the wheel could be removed easily without touching the chain. Putting the rear wheel back in was easier as well, because the chain was held in position.

Key to using the Portacatena was to remember to pedal lightly and shift back onto the cogs before trying to accelerate. Otherwise, you could rip the chain holder off the dropout and wreak all kinds of havoc on your frame.

Racers who used the Portacatena learned that they could put it to another use on downhills. Shifting to the chain holder on a long downhill, they could silence their bike, since the freewheel would be free to spin. Thus silenced, they could sneak up on the riders ahead of them.

And now, photos of the Portacatena from the CampyOnly collection. Note that this was made to fit Campy's 1010/B dropouts, which were available with pre-tapped holes to accept the Portacatena's mounting screws.












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Aftermarket Ultra Torque Parts

Kerry Whittle is offering a range of custom-made aftermarket parts for your Campy Ultra Torque crankset. He writes:

"Here are the photos of parts I have made so far.

The chainring bolts were some quick replacements we made that use a 6 x 1.0mm button head cap screw instead of cutting screw threads to make an aluminum screw. I wanted something more durable for everyday use. The machine screw is steel and threads into the longer end of the assembly.

The other piece is a Hirsch Joint Protector/Bearing Puller Cap. It is used to give the screw on a gear puller a place to rest at the end of the half-spindle and protect the Hirsch Joint from damage.

The chainring pictured is a 34 tooth inner for an UltraTorque crank that was CNC milled from 6061-T6 plate. It is hard clear anodized. Hard anodizing only comes in clear and black but is very hard and slick. Clear turns out medium dark gray as pictured. This is a ring I rode this winter on the grit covered roads we have here in the high desert here in Utah. The wear was much less than what I would have expected to an OEM chainring. I couldn't see any wear between the teeth."

We particularly like the Hirsch joint protector. It's perhaps not something the average home tool kit will need, but any shop that's going to replacing Ultra Torque bearings on a regular basis should love this item.

Prices: Chainrings for $35-45, the Hirsch joint protector for $15. Check with Terry on prices for the chainring bolts.

Kerry Whittle
T2C Racing
West Jordan, UT
kk7jo@earthlink.net









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$2,599 for a Jersey?

At least on eBay seller thinks they can get a princely sum for a limited edition Campagnolo jersey. They're selling a 75th anniversary wool jersey for a "buy it now" price of $2,599.

Campy Only doesn't think the jersey will go for anything near the asking price, but let's wait and see.

The auction is here; the sale offer ends on August 8 at 13:33 Pacific Daylight time.

Who Needs 11 Speeds?

A writer for the local newspaper in Exeter offers an interesting perspective on 10- and 11-speed systems in this article:

http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/news/Craze-increasing-gear-range-increases-problems/article-2478524-detail/article.html

What do YOU think about 10- and 11-speed drivetrains? Use the "Comment" button to tell your fellow readers. (CampyOnly's bikes, by the way, top at 9 speeds.)

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