RE: [CR]Gransport vs Valentino. front Mech. Good Point

Charlie Young wrote:
> Someone told me that the distinguishing feature was the
> location of the fixing bolt on the FD cage. Vertical for
> the Gran Sport and horizontal for the Valentino.

I'm chagrined and embarrassed because I was the one who "corrected" that nice "32clifton" lady on ebay. I said "The Valentino listed as a Gran Sport could be an honest mistake." It now looks like the only mistake here is my own, when Campy calls the same part both Valentino and Gran Sport in Catalog n.17, as pointed out by Martin Coopland (thanks Martin).

The Valentino/GS isn't as nice or as valuable as the 50s GS, which had bright chrome plating on the cage and seattube clamp, where the Valentino has dull (zinc?) plating. Maybe it's chrome that just isn't as polished. As Charlie pointed out probably the easiest point of difference to pick out is the location of the cage fixing bolt. Then there's the main body, which on Valentino has a boss that extends out from the body where the pushrod emerges to go to the cage - in effect showing less pushrod than the old GS.

John Barron has photos of the cage on two iterations of the old GS, showing a logo change, but unfortunately not showing the body where the pushrod emerges. See: http://www.velostuf.com/gransportvariations.htm I'm still looking for a definitive picture of the 50s GS front.

For good pics of the Valentino/GS, see the eBay auction: http://ebay.com/<blah 524726>

I have e-mailed 32clifton to apologize for being a know-it-all.

Mark Bulgier
Seattle, Wa
USA