Re: [CR]On ebay now a CAMPAGNOLO 1950 GRAN SPORT REAR DERAILLEUR USED Artikelnummer: 170166030612

(Example: Framebuilding:Norris Lockley)

In-Reply-To: <110520070325.24008.472E8D38000357D300005DC82206998499020E000A9C9D0A08@comcast.net>
References: <110520070325.24008.472E8D38000357D300005DC82206998499020E000A9C9D0A08@com cast.net>
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 07:36:54 -0800
To: hersefan@comcast.net, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Jan Heine" <heine94@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]On ebay now a CAMPAGNOLO 1950 GRAN SPORT REAR DERAILLEUR USED Artikelnummer: 170166030612


At 3:25 AM +0000 11/5/07, hersefan@comcast.net wrote:
>Nope,
>
>This is a garden variety 1953 plus model that in nice used shape
>rarely goes over $150ish - and a number of them are in great shape
>from this era.
>
>The 6K example was from the first production year, 1951, and was the
>first and rarest of the version of that year's production. The 1951
>units are much more hand-worked and have numerous unique features.
>The 6K example was I dare say a fair price for perhaps the rarest
>Campagnolo item ever sold on ebay. The current example in question
>is extremely common by comparison.

All the castings on the earliest types were different - in fact they differed even between the different pre-1953 models - see the article in Vintage Bicycle Quarterly Vol. 2, No. 2. Campagnolo invested a lot of effort into getting these derailleurs "right" through trial and error before releasing the final production model.

I doubt Campagnolo used investment casting, as the molds would have been very expensive. I suspect the parts were cast in brass using a lost-wax or similar technique. This may explain the rarity of these early derailleurs - the technique does not lend itself very well to mass production, as you make a new mold for each piece you cast. Which makes it easy to change the design...

Does anybody have any idea of the production numbers of the early Gran Sport derailleurs? I know of two of the very first version, but I am sure there are more. Did they make dozens, hundreds or thousands?

Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.bikequarterly.com