Hi Andy,
I'm a veteran racer / team mechanic / wheel builder from that era. I whole-heatedly concur. The only chronic problem back then was rear axles breaking on those Campy hubs... Aside from robust rims and spokes (and good building practice) I think the thing that made those wheels hold up so well was the relatively low dish... I built all of George Hincappie's wheels before he turned pro. His coach always specified the heaviest rims and 36 - 14 gauge spokes. They didn't seem to slow him down... You can't win a race standing in the gutter with a busted wheel...
Regards, Jamie Swan
Jamie Swan Centerport Cycles Inc. 245 Main St. Northport, N.Y., U.S.A. 11768 631-262-0909
http://www.centerportcycles.com (mapped) http://www.cabinfeverauctions.com http://www.cabinfeverexpo.com http://www.limws.org http://www.liatca.org
On Feb 18, 2007, at 10:43 AM, Andrew Bohlmann wrote:
> SSC Rims...
>
> FYI...
>
> During the late '70's to early '80's I was the SRC Raleigh head
> mechanic and equipment manager for the National level team based in
> Ames, Iowa owned by Michael Fatka of Michaels Cyclery. Many USCF
> National Team Members came from this team. This was the USA
> counter part to the TI Raleigh Team.
> I also did several south of the Border trips as a USCF National
> Team Mechanic with Bill Woodul as well as becoming the first USCF
> mechanics instructor.
>
> Mavi SSC rims, and to just a slightly lesser extent the GP4 rim
> were the rim of choice for real racing (crits don't count). We
> built them with 36 or 32 holes only on Campy small flange (nobody
> in their right mind ever used anything but Campagnolo), DT 14 gauge
> spokes tied and soldered, with Vittoria CX, Clement Paris-Roubouix
> or Champion del Mondo tires.
>
> These wheels/tires were used for stage racing in the winter months
> down south. They never broke
> and got the riders to the finish line. We could sell them to other
> international teams (usually South American) after the race and
> bring home enough cash to build another pair and make a small profit.
>
> When racing, rim weight is ridiculous and a non-factor in all but
> specialty races. You have to get to the finish line intact. True,
> lighter rims do go faster, but they break....often.
>
> While everyone seems to be an expert, until you've got 6 riders in
> a 2 week south of the border stage race with nothing but
> international teams, roads from hell, and hundreds of thousands
> screaming spectators lining a stage in the mountains, you haven't
> been to a bike race. I loved it!
>
> While I have some old Campagnolo left over that Campagolo in the US
> gave me, I wish I hade some SSC's or GP4's.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Andy Bohlmann
> Colorado Springs, CO USA
> http://www.sandcreeksports.com
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Goforth"
> <ewgoforth@earthlink.net>
> To: "CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 7:46 AM
> Subject: Re: [CR]More - Mavic SSC Rims ???
>
>
>> Eric Elman wrote:
>>> Thanks everyone for your replies and information It was mostly
>>> factual and a great start. Now though, I'm really curious to
>>> know if in the day, were these used for training or actually
>>> raced on? Seems that there were plently of other very durable
>>> rims that were lighter and therefore I presume, better for the
>>> serious racer. No?
>>>
>>> Seems to me the SSC rims would have been more of a weight
>>> disadvantage in a race versus the bombproof durability noted in
>>> numerous replies.
>>>
>>> Thoughts on list please.
>>>
>>> Thanks agaain,
>>>
>>> Eric Elman
>>> Somers, CT USA
>>>
>>
>> I remember reading in Winning Magazine in the early eighties that
>> the Renault Gitane team ran Mavic SSC rims on their race bikes. I
>> suppose they may have used lighter rims for some races, but I
>> think the Mavic SSC were widely raced on back then, especially in
>> races where durability was a major concern, like the Tour of
>> Flanders and Paris Roubaix.
>>
>> -Eric
>>
>> --
>> Eric Goforth
>> Raleigh, NC USA