I have an Allegro Special, date unknown but 60-68, according to the Allegro Web site (the serial number is 179326, if that means anything to anybody). It has the ITALY and the BREV. as you describe.
Dennis Ryan Louisville KY Happened to have that machine out anyway ...
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org]On Behalf Of David Bilenkey Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 11:36 AM To: Classicrendezvous Subject: [CR]Please check your steel Campagnolo headsets!
I asked this question a while ago but got no real answer so I thought I'd ask folks a favour and see if something clearer comes of it.
I'm working on a couple of project bikes and noticed some minor detail differences. Both of them have chromed steel Campagnolo headsets, and they are very similar but the one that's currently on the ~'65 Frejus says: BREV. CAMPAGNOLO ITALY BREV. CAMPAGNOLO ITALY on the top and bottom cups in a slightly recessed groove around the circumference. Note the periods after BREV.
The one that's currently on the ~'72 Bevilacqua says (in a slightly recessed groove around the circumference): BREV CAMPAGNOLO ITALY BREV CAMPAGNOLO ITALY on the top and BREV CAMPAGNOLO ITALY BREV CAMPAGNOLO <C> on the bottom cup.
Notice the disappearance of the periods behind the BREV (both top and bottom), the loss of one ITALY and the introduction of the <C> (on just the bottom cup and I think on the bottom of the crown race but I haven't checked that). Otherwise the headsets look identical (in shape).
So my request; is could list members having bikes with their (believed) original Campag steel headsets with similar writing on the cups, take a moment to check these details and report what details they found (with the year of the bike/headset)?
I passed my original question on to John Barron and he reported a few things
including:
> The next gen is what most everyone knows with words circumferentially in
> a recessed path, or wide groove. These started with a <C> on the lower
> cup (early 70's) and finished without.
But I'm beginning to wonder if there were initially sets without the <C> but with the period after BREV, and then the <C> was introduced and the period got dropped (when is what I'd like to figure out), and then eventually we had sets with neither the <C> nor the period. So I'm hoping the list might be able to help uncover this bit of trivia. I'm of the opinion that this headset I have on the '65 Frejus is correct and that this style of headset dates from the early 60's.
David Bilenkey
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada