My understanding is three basic Rally versions:
V.1: Shimano-like design, without reinforcing "web" on the inside of the bend on upper body/knuckle. These cracked regularly enough to lead to version 2. Shifted great, but perhaps somewhat fragile.
V.2: Same as V.1, but with reinforcing "web" to improve upper body strength. Great shifting, improved durability, but many Campy cognescenti wailed and moaned and rented their garments because the Rally looked too different and too Japanese. Which led to version 3...
V.3: Discards the Shimano look in favor of classic NR design. There is apparent cheapening of materials as well. Trad looks, uninspired shifting.
I'm not sure this is accurate, and would be happy to be corrected. Seems more logical that V3 was first out, then V1/V2 were improved later versions. But maybe that's just my logic.
I use V.2 and V.3, and though the V.3 doesn't shift as quickly and smoothly as the V.2, it works OK. I have V.3 on a '72 Holdworth Professional because it looks more in-tune stylistically with the rest of the NR components. Historical accuracy be damned! :^}
Note that the better-shifting Rally versions are not true slant parallelogram designs. They are Shimano clones, using an upper pivot spring and horizontally-moving body/cage to improve cog/guide-pulley clearance consistency. This does improve shifting compared to the classic vertically-moving cage design, but it uses an upper pivot spring and rearward der body movement to follow the contour of the freewheel.
Slant-p, developed/patented by SunTour, slants the body at an approx. 60-deg angle to the cog face so that the cage moves inward and downward without need for an upper pivot spring. The cage follows the contour of the freewheel without the body having to pivot rearward to gain additional cog clearance. This maintains consistent distance between the cogs and guide pulley without the added complication and weight of an additional spring.
Inspired engineering, clean/simple/minimalist design. Shimano incorporated slant-p as soon as patent protection expired. SunTour incorporated upper pivot springs as wide triples and wide freewheels added a lot more chain to wrap.
Cheers,
Paul Brodek Hillsdale, NJ
On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 23:39:53 -0500, "Peter Jon White"
<lists@PeterWhiteCycles.com> wrote:
>That's the cheaper Rally. It's a truly awful derailleur. The other
>distinguishing feature is that the pivot bolts take a 13mm box end wrench,
>rather than a 6mm allen like the good Rally. I don't remember which came
>first. But I became aware of the good one before the bad one. I ordered some
>of the bad ones thinking it was just a slightly cheapened version of the
>good one. Big mistake.
>
>Peter Jon White
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Linda Price" <lindaprice4@comcast.net>
>To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 10:26 PM
>Subject: [CR]Speaking of Campagnolo Rally derailleurs
>
>
>Okay, here's another one I've got a question or two about. I have a
>Campagnolo Rally derailleur - looks somewhat similar to an N. Record but
>with a long cage. Every other Rally I've seen is more along the lines of
>the slant para. body (is that the right terminology - where the body of the
>derailleur is turned 90 degrees, like modern derailleurs) - this one isn't.
>Is this an earlier, rarer, less rare model ? Is it considered a decent one
>? I looked in the Archives but it wasn't clear to me always which model of
>Rally I was reading about.
>
>Thanks,
>
>John "full of shifty questions" Price
Paul C. Brodek
Hillsdale, N.J. U.S.A.
E-mail: pcb@skyweb.net