If we are talking about actual Campy clones, then of course it was price. The "best" Campy clone in this respect was perhaps the Sugino Mighty crank. An essentially identical design to Campy NR, extremely well executed, at probably something like half the price in the early 70's. The quality and the price advantage were attractive enough to induce Gitane to use a lot of these on the Tour de France and maybe other models in the early to mid 70's as an alternative to the Stronglight 93.
But there were Campy competitors who some refer to as clones who were actually competing with designs which were better than Campy for some applications. Zeus may be the best example of this. Their 120 mm bolt circle allowed a wider range of chainrings, and their 2000 gruppo made more extensive and better use of titanium than Campy.
And of course the French manufacturers like Stronglight/Simplex/Maillard/Huret/TA made very few components which could accurately be called Campy copies. They catered more to the touring market than did Campy (which wasn't difficult to do), but they did make some racing components which were arguably superior to the Campy competitors, Simplex Retrofriction shifters and SLJ rear derailleurs being notable examples.
The Italian "clones" differed from Campy in more subtle ways, like Ti bits and sealed bearings from OMAS and from Ofmega/Avocet, Ofmega triple cranks, and Galli gruppos available in a variety of anodized colors.
And of course Shimano never really made many Campy clones. The original Dura-Ace gruppo already had the 130 mm bolt circle which would eventually become an industry standard. And the Crane (later Dura-Ace) RD was a horizonal parallelogram which was superior to the conventional drop parallelogram, although not as good as the SunTour slant parallelogram. This gruppo launched Shimano on decades of innovations which at one point nearly drove Campy out of business.
I have a number of all-Campy (or nearly so) bikes, often because they are original complete bikes which were all-Campy and strongly identified as such (including three Paramounts, two Raleigh Pros and a Falcon San Remo). But having in the ealry 70's become bored with the "Campy or nothing" attitude of some segments of the high end US market at the time, I find it interesting to build up Italian bikes with all-Italian (or nearly so) components, but no Campy, just to be different and to show it can be done. Just completed rebuilding my wife's Torpado Italia with Ofmega/Galli/Modolo and am planning a top model Torpado and a couple of Mottas with mostly Galli. I also have a couple of ALANS with mostly Zeus, although each does sport one or two Campy bits. Variety is the spice of life.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Thomas Adams <thomasthomasa@yahoo.com> wrote: Dear Chuck:
When I got started (mid 70's) it was often hard to get Campy, whereas my local shop guys usually had a few sets of Ofmega, Galli or Gipiemme around. My first bespoke bike had a Campy SR reduced group, but the shop ordered a 27.2 post and G. Marinonni used a SP seat tube taking a 27.0 pin. Had to wait a couple of months to get the replacement. So if it's a choice between paying more and waiting, or taking the "almost as good" stuff, I recall a fair number of folks saying "gimme the generic and let me get on the road now".
Of course there were a few makers who claimed to have a better mousetrap, like OMAS with their sealed, light weight hubs and BB's, but usually the motive to using "generic" parts was price and availability.
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
Chuck Schmidt wrote: Call me elitist (i don't mind in the least) but I've never understood why anyone would want to buy a copy of Campagnolo instead of the original? Was it just about price?
Anyone?
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
On Apr 24, 2007, at 3:05 PM, Donald Gillies wrote:
> I have to give my vote for SR as making the BEST campy copies.
> Generally, SR Royal stuff was a direct copy of Nuovo record (or
> Cinelli 1-A) stuff. But then, there was SR Royal SL (super light)
> stuff, which was very close to Campagnolo Super Record. And then
> there was SR Royal ESL (Extra Super Light), which often had NO
> equivalent in the campagnolo line.
>
> For example,
>
> SR Royal Stem == Cinelli 1-A, closest copy available. (SR) in tiny
> circle.
> SR Royal SL Stem == Cinelli 1-A with fluting down both sides
> SR Royal ESL Stem == Cinelli 1-A, fluting down both sides, drilled out
> hollow center, slotted head, all hardware was titanium,
> 220 grams!
>
> SR Royal Seatpost == nuovo record
> SR Royal SL Seatpost == like super record, but flutes were wider
> SR Royal ESL Seatpost == wild & crazy flutes, head of post MAJORLY
> relieved.
>
> SR Royal Crank = Nuovo record, one of the closest copies available
> SR Royal SL Crank = Relieved spider, very drilled
> SR Royal ESL Crank = Super record, all titanium hardware == BB + 7
> bolts.
>
> SP-100BL == superleggera road pedals, made by KKT.
> SP-100L == (aluminum) silver road pedals
> SP-150BL == superleggera track pedals
> SP-150L == (aluminum) silver track pedals
>
> World Custom (SL) Bars = has the SR Royal Eagle on them.
> World Champion (ESL) Bars = the coolest bars on the planet, with
> drillium on the 26.0 sleeves, and very light.
> World Randonneur (SL) Bars = randonneur version of SR Royal with
> eagle.
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA
> _______________________________________________
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