I asked the seller about this item and just now got this reply from him (Alain Lapierre):
HI,
Its pretty academic now, since, ring sold to Japanese buyer, made me an offer I coudlnt refuse ! I got it from an ex-DAF rider, who rode also rode for Eddy Merckx. These chainrings were supplied, specially modified by Campagnolo for the big Alpine stages, and were probably manufactured in the low hundreds. Kinda rare then ;-) With quite exquisite machining tolerances, it was possible to make a 39T ring for a 144 BCD (84.6mm) chainset, which was used in conjunction with a modded low profile Regina chain.
I dont know if you are aware, but there was a great deal of R&D by component manufacturers carried out by professionals, and there is still a rare seam of Service des Courses modified parts knocking about, if you know where to find 'em ;-)
All the best R
submitted FYI with no idea of what really transpired. (auction ended early cause item no longer for sale)
Ken Sanford
Kensington, MD
> Well this may be dead but I put a Campy 39 tooth ring up against an older NR
\r?\n> ring and I can not find a spot ware the ring would not be cut in a few
\r?\n> places. The ring on the page looks pretty close to what we sell now as in
\r?\n> Chorus.
\r?\n> Steven Willis
\r?\n> 1778 East Second Street
\r?\n> Scotch Plains NJ 07076
\r?\n> 908-322-3330
\r?\n> http://www.thebikestand.com
\r?\n> ----- Original Message -----
\r?\n> From: "R Bulis"
\r?\n> To:
\r?\n> Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2004 7:04 PM
\r?\n> Subject: [CR]WAS Re: Campagnolo SR 39T chainring? Now something bigger maybe
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > The possibility of 39t chainring for Campy NR/SR? I also used to own one
\r?\n> > of the legendary Campy 41t rings and it bounced a bit on the spider arm
\r?\n> > bolts. I am no math major but if the ratio of the circumference to
\r?\n> diameter
\r?\n> > of a circle is, what 3.14? and we reduce the circumference by 1" (for two
\r?\n> > teeth at 1/2" pitch, that's close enough) the diameter is now reduced by
\r?\n> > 1/3.14 or .318 inches. Further dividing by 2 to get the radius yields
\r?\n> .159"
\r?\n> > or about 5/32" closer in. Hmmm, hard to believe there's that much room.
\r?\n> > Besides, somebody hereabouts would have seen one as well. Kudos, Dale for
\r?\n> > trying to reign in this guy, but as others told me, complaining to Ebay
\r?\n> gets
\r?\n> > you.... nowhere.
\r?\n> > Sometimes I fantasize about a CR seal of approval, a real, legal
\r?\n> trademark
\r?\n> > if you will, that could be used with license by reputable sellers ( ahem,
\r?\n> I
\r?\n> > hope to qualify ) and sanctioned by...Dale? I dunno, but maybe it could
\r?\n> come
\r?\n> > to mean something if sellers were allowed to place said logo in their
\r?\n> > adverts and auctions.
\r?\n> > Like the old "Good Housekeeping seal of approval". Only now it the "Good
\r?\n> > Cycle Merchant seal" or something far more clever. I would even PAY a
\r?\n> small
\r?\n> > annual fee, and I know Dale could put the money to use.
\r?\n> > Thanks,
\r?\n> > Richard Bulissimo, Verdi, Nevada.
\r?\n> > and next May...(perhaps)
\r?\n> > Riccione? Matteo want come over and ride?