I really appreciated the wonderful pictures of the Cambio Corsa at Date:
Mon, 14 Oct 2002 http://ebay.com/
and the nice repartee about the bike.
Being something of a contrarian, it seems to me that this gives excellent witness to my favorite hypothesis: After the beauty and elegance of the early hub quick-release, Sr. Campagnolo delegated his design duties to others, people with a commitment to oddity for its own sake, or to genuine design medocrity with marvelous execution. In the former category the primary witness is, of course, the Cambio Corsa. Instead of using a small chunk of metal with little inertia to change gears, a la contemporary French and British designs in the Data Book, Campagnolo used two levers and moved the whole wheel, with rider weight on it. But, it did save the heavy (if unmeasured) friction of the jockey pulleys. The creativity here was even better than the later Gran Turismo chain mangler and boat anchor, or even the elegant single-pulley Sport that would handle a full range of cogs from 16 - 22. But no front double plateau.
and then there are the long line of carefully crafted derivative designs, starting with the headset.
I looked up to Campy from my first Sears with Campy Gran Sport in 1962. Until Frank Berto's tests, I never knew it was possible to design a derailleur that did not need to be overshifted and then brought back to the neutral point. Frankly, the first generation DuraAce shifts a whole bunch nicer than the same vintage super record. Is Mojo loving something despite its characteristics?
Harvey "grumpy tonight" Sachs
McLean Va.