Jerr-issimo:
The first dated Record cranks were in 1973. The first dated Nuovo Record ders. were in 1970. I think you might be over-analyzing things a bit IMHO (and I'm pretty anal about it sometimes...). I think us bikenerds do have a tendency to do that (me included...)! Go easier on the caffeine perhaps.... ;-)
Schwinn sometimes bought many-year supplies of Campy Record / NR parts for the Paramount program at a time, so it was fairly common to see a much older part on a brand-new Paramount back then. Not so much in the case of externally-dated parts (maybe one year older in those cases), but certainly for many other parts to some extent. One of the good things about vintage Campy parts is that they *didn't* experience major changes all that often....
Don't worry, be happy!
Greg "Tullio's vault" Parker Dexter, Michigan
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 07:40:18 -0700 (PDT) From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Campy component dates
As I posted previously, I recently bought a 1973 all chrome Paramount. The frame and most of the components are near-NOS, but some of the components, certainly the 1995 crank, are of doubtful originality to this bike. The serial number reveals that this frame was built in January 1973. This makes me wonder about the 1973 RD. Did Campy begin dating RD's with a given date exactly at the beginning of a calendar year? Someone previously stated the belief that Paramounts were in high demand and that a frame would not sit in inventory, but would be built up almost immediately. The RD date was probably stamped on the body plate when it was manufactured. Campy then had to assemble the RD, pack it with a shipment, and ship it from Italy to Chicago. Schwinn had to receive the shipmemt, unpack it, inventory the RD, and install it on the Paramount frame. And even then, a frame would not necessarily receive the RD "hot off the boat", but perhaps an older one from Inventory. If Paramounts were indeed built up immedaitely, it seems impossible all this could be accomplished in the month of January, especially since the Campy factory was probably on New Years holiday for several days at the beginning of the month.
Do those CR members who judge shows pay attention to this sort of stuff? Would you consider a 1972 RD more correct than a 1973 on a January 1973 Paramount frame? Nitpicking, perhaps, but it's the nits that separate the prize winner from second place.
Also, it seems that Campy began dating RDs earlier than cranks. Were there 1972 or 1973 dated cranks, or would these have been undated?
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX