Well, Joe, you're right that the hard guys of the era would ride something like a 49-52. As a no-longer-if-ever hard guy from that era, I use a 44-48 on my 151 BCD Campy set on a 65 Paramount. If I ever feel I'm going to run out of gear, the new-fangled "steel" Record RD will handle a 13, so a 13-28 would give me a whopping 100" gear...
Send me your old, your tired, but not your NOS. I just can't see having stuff that "shouldn't" be ridden.
harvey sachs mcLean va.
This auction is a bit surprising to me because I don't think this ring is that rare. Of course it is new and that is rare and I guess I won't get the NOS thing when these sell for $5000 either. I have had a few and I think I have two now. Plus the options of 151 BCD 44T rings from Williams, Sugino and Merz at least. Also the question arises of what bikes it would be correct for. Most racing bikes using this crank have a 52T large ring and a 2-4 tooth smaller inner ring to give a half step. A 52-44 can give a lot of overlaps with typical period freewheels and a 47-44 is not very authentic. That being said, I like to use a 44T on these cranks but I tend to build and fuss with the freewheels and use something like a 49T outer ring.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Great Notch, NJ