Hi Gang,
I'm with Sheldon on this, campagnolo dropouts are strong enough for anybody. In almost 30 years of professional experience I cannot recall a Campagnolo dropout failing in normal use (crashes don't qualify). Having said that many if not most frames I see have dropouts set for the incorrect width for the intended hub and are not square with the outer locknuts. Clamping a quick release skewer puts enormous pressure in this area and this would be a more likely cause of any actual failure. Axles of hubs are much more subject to failure. Almost every bent axle (crashes excluded) I have seen can be matched to a frame with poor alignment and spacing.
My 5 cents,
Gilbert Anderson Raleigh, NC
In a message dated 1/17/01 2:58:15 AM, tomwitkop@juno.com writes:
<< Further divergence but perhaps helpful. I was recently at John Hollands' frame shop north of Baltimore in Maryland. He is very knowledgeable and happily shares that information. He also builds beautiful appearing frames although I have never ridden one of them. To the point-he advised that he receives approximately one e-bay frame weekly with problems. Most problems are the wrinkled top and down tube; the fracture in front of the bottom bracket shell; and one I was ignorant of-the hairline fracture in the right Campagnolo dropout. He had a 2 lb. coffee can full of fractured Campagnolo dropouts. His theory is that the normal freewheel style set up allowed for an extended spacer or spacers between the right side lock nut end of the bearing. This extended axle would continually flex while riding constantly massaging the dropout and eventually and apparently, inexorably, leading to failure. The theory seems reasonable to me. More impo.
TomWitkop >>