The only practical matter I can think of is that Campy Pistas have a lower stack height than Stradas, so they'd allow a track stem to be placed just a little bit lower. Maybe for a sprint bike it would make a difference?
Ken Freeman Ann Arbor, MI USA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Tom Sanders Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 5:05 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Why were there Pista headsets?
Strada headsets were obviously up to the task of track racing, as witnessed
by the fact that they came as original equipment on Paramount track bikes
and I have never heard of one failing. I believe I know why Schwinn used
Strada headsets, they were able to standardize their steerers more using
only one headset and the "Campagnolo" was plainly visible on the Strada
headsets but not the Pista ones. I think Schwinn wanted all the Mojo they
could muster.
Were the Strada headsets less expensive to put on the Paramounts? The
question in my mind is why two headsets at all? Was it the weight savings
on a shorter steerer with the shorter stack height of the Pista headset that
racers were after? This seems fairly minimal, but it's about all I have
come up with. I have heard that Pista sets were "stronger", but I have to
wonder about this...perhaps it's a myth.
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi USA