Rich Robinson has sprung a new one on me by asking -
>Secondly, what model of Normandy hubs came with no decal and a vertical
>"Normandy"stamping on side of barrel somewhat like Normandy Sport hubs, but with a
>clip covering an oil hole that looks very much
>like a Campagnolo Record hub? The Normandy stamping was certainly done off
>to the side so not to be covered by the
>clip. Except for the clip, oil hole and engraving, they are otherwise
>
I've owned the following Normandy Luxe Competition hubs through the years -
No label, high flange - stamped with the same stamp as the basic Normandy Sport, but with the distinctive, larger machined flanges of the Luxe Compe. Did the label fall off? Did it ever have one?
Gold label, high flange - I've seen them with really thin and fragile dust shields, somewhat thicker aluminum dust shields, and white, plasticky shields very similar to those used on the Maillard "Peugeot Trophee" hubs used on Peugeot PX-10LEs ... someone chime in here, are those rebranded Maillard 700s?
Red label, high flange - either metal or red plastic (Delrin nylon?) shields. I think these were used on the Raleighs that used this hub, the Competition Mk. II and the '70s variant of the Raleigh RRA (not to be confused with P.C. Kohler's beloved '50s version).
Red label, low flange - I forget the dustcap on this one, but I once had one.
It seems to me that the rears are easier to find than the front ones - I had an awful time finding a loose front gold label hub for someon when I was seeking the things.
Sheldon has stated in the past that the Luxe Competition came only as an OEM hub. I used to dispute that, but now I think I was wrong - I later bought the set I based my contention on and discovered they were in a different sort of box. If you troll through the archives, you'll note that several folks have commented on the lack of spare parts, and the dispute over how well they rivaled the admittedly wonderful old Campy Record hubs.
All the PX-10Es I've seen had gold label Luxe Comps. The only LE I owned had the afore-mentioned Maillards. I honestly don't know if Gitane used gold or red labels for their bikes. I'm pretty certain the red ones were used on Raleighs.
Everyone, feel free to correct any errors on my part!
Russ Fitzgerald
Greenwood, SC