Once I was the proud owner of a 1951 Bianchi Paris-Roubaix, with eponymous shifter system. I must say it's one of the coolest bike gizmos I've ever seen (right up there with that Simplex widget...the demultiplicator?); however, my experience with it was decidedly mixed.
Without wasting lots of space, I think it's fair to say that there was a very good reason why no-one used the thing (nor used the Cambio Corsa, which has the same problems, magnified by more complex operation)for more than a year or two....it's a nutty rube-goldbergian device, and close inspection, as well as my limited use of the PR shifter, together suggest that the system is reliable (if that's the word) only when brand new and all the parts are fitting together perfectly. Over time the splines on the axle wear, and no longer fit tightly in the drop-out teeth, which condition makes for dropped shifts, or, disasterously, bent drop-out teeth--at which point, the system is useless.
I have no doubt that Coppi and others negotiated these systems with near flawless efficiency...but note that *everyone* went to the Gran Sport almost the moment it became available..I doubt if that was just coincidence..
Charles Andrews Los Angeles
Doland wrote:
Does anybody have an idea as to how difficult or expensive it would be to fabricate something similar to the Cambio Corsa rod shifter? I'm taking just the shifter mechanism parts, I understand that serrated dropouts would be required as well, which is a different issue.
Reason I ask, is that it would be really neat to have the experience, but I don't know anybody that has one.