Chuck Schmidt wrote:
Anyone have an idea when the Campagnolo down tube shifters and the bottom bracket guide went from the narrow to the wide clamp?
Here's a picture of the narrow variety:
http://www.velostuf.com/
Well, I'm gonna try to answer my own question (based on conversations John Barron and Peter Johnson).
I believe that the wide down tube shifter clamp came out with the Record rear derailleur (intro'd Oct. 1963). The Record had a revised cage shape with the pivot behind and closer to the jockey pulley and center punched rivets. This is twelve years after the introduction of the Gran Sport in 1951.
The wider base clamp corrected the problem the earlier clamp exhibited of slipping down the down tube, and the levers were thickened to eliminate the bending problem (the open "C" was closed too).
Strangely, the Record rear derailleur never appeared in any of the Campagnolo catalogs. Catalog #14 (1960) shows the Gran Sport, and Catalog #15 (1967) features the Nuovo Record.
If anyone has more info or ideas on dates please help!
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California http://www.velo-retro.com (Campagnolo Timeline, Reprints & T-shirts)
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