<When I tried to put the GS headset in the Specialissima (due to my Specialissima headset being badly pitted), the lower head cup pressed in too far, so the crown race rubs on the frame lug before the balls contact the races.>
Mark, Have you checked your balls to see if they are the right size? You might want to check with an old Bianchi owner. I'm an old Bianchi owner but I don't have the slightest idea what size balls you have muchless what size I have in my cups.
I have a few old Bianchi's out in the barn. I do not think the upper and lower cups can be removed; they are part of the frame (integrated that would be.)
What do you do if the integrated races wear out? Do you take it to a pipe fitter and have new ones put in?
I received a nice book from my grandson for X-mas--It's called "The Trial" by Franz Kafka. The book ain't to thick, but so far it has me more confused than a John Deere Mechanic tryin' to fix a computer. Last year ma grandson gave me some strange ole book (penned by same fella) wherein some ole boy went to sleep and woke up a cockroach!
Ty Doleman
Vidor, TX
>
> OK you Bianchi experts, help me out if you can.
> Have y'all noticed that
> there are at least two distinct and
> non-interchangeable classic-era
> integrated headset styles out there?
>
> I took the headsets out of my early-60s
> Specialissima and mid-60s Gran
> Sport, to remind myself of the differences. In a
> nutshell, the
> Specialissima is made by Campagnolo, and it's a cup
> and cone design,
> while the Gran Sport is more cheaply made (probably
> not Campy), and a
> V-groove design like many old Stronglight headsets.
> (An identical
> V-shaped groove, both above and below the balls;
> neither one a cup or a
> cone. A bit hard to describe but instantly
> recognizable. See pics, web
> link below))
>
> When I tried to put the GS headset in the
> Specialissima (due to my
> Specialissima headset being badly pitted), the lower
> head cup pressed in
> too far, so the crown race rubs on the frame lug
> before the balls
> contact the races. I think the Specialissima lug
> could be ground down
> until the crown race cleared (about a millimeter),
> then it would be a
> workable fit -- but then going back to the right
> headset later would be
> very difficult, so I'm not inclined to do it.
> Possibly the thinner GS
> lower cup could be shimmed so it doesn't go so
> deeply into the lug, but
> the shim would have to be very precisely made, not a
> trivial project for
> me with no lathe.
>
> My questions are, what other Bianchi models used
> this Campy headset like
> my Specialissima? Did the classic Folgore have a
> Campy, or a V-groove,
> or something else entirely? How about the Campione
> del Mondo,
> Paris-Roubaix, others?
>
> Any Bianchi owners willing to loosen their headset
> enough to be able to
> tell if it is a cup-and-cone design or a V-groove?
> (You don't have to
> take it all the way apart to tell). Or if you just
> want to know if it
> is Campy-branded, just take the top lock nut and any
> washers off, and
> look at the top surface of the screwed race -- it
> will have the
> C-in-a-diamond logo stamped in, if it's Campy.
>
> I made a web page with pictures of both headsets,
> and my observations.
> It's at:
>
http://bulgier.net/
> (Or http://tinyurl.com/
> wraps)
> Any additions/corrections gladly accepted.
>
> Mark Bulgier
> Seattle WA USA
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