Greg,
SKF has long had a factory in Italy, just outside of Turin, that mainly
produces bearings for the auto trade, but on good authority (a friend who
does Swedish/English/Italian translations), they also produce for the
bicycle trade. I take that means Campagnolo. SKF also has other factories
throughout the world and I seriously doubt that Campagnolo received supply
from the Swedish factory.
> I've said this before, but Campy's bearings were so good because they came
> from Sweden!! (Also, they spec'ed 'em tight, tight, tight...).
>
> I think Tullio spec'ed SKF bearings very early on in his career . I have
an
> early Pista headset which has a navy blue box with an SKF logo on it -
that's
> how proud he was of his choice of bearing supplier. They were undoubtably
the
> most expensive available at the time, but guess what? They were the best!
> Back then, they were probably without peer in terms of surface hardness,
> roundness, general uniformity, and surface finish.
>
The last time that I was in Campagnolo (about 5 years ago), Valentino had
very little true power in the company. It would seem that he was in fact in
a bit of a power struggle with the adminstrators in charge of his mother's
share of the company. Hopefully, this has since cleared up as he seemed to
have a good head on his shoulders.
> Today, there are manufacturers that are roughly equal to SKF in quality
(FAG,
> NTN, NSK, to name a few). I would guess that Valentino has changed where
he
> buys bearings to reduce cost. Anyone know for sure?
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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