As a little aside Simplex offered 4spd and 5spd 3/32in cassettes in conjunction with their octagonal fitting freehub from 1935. I would add that if you do not have the original freewheel Shimano Uniglide freewheels with twisted teeth work well in Cambio Corsa/Paris-Roubaix systems. Their twisted teeth are not too dissimilar to some of the original freewheels.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
The Maaslands wrote:
> Martin wrote:
>
> "i recently aquired a cambio corsa bike. now i wonder what might be the
> best chain to use with it? I tried a standard inexpensive 1-1/8" chain
> since i figured that was the best match to the standard chain in 1940
> (right?). On a testride i found the performance left to be desired, it
> basically teft me with only one gear of 4 to use.
> Would a 3/32" be a better fit?"
>
> Firstly, the bike is most definitely not from 1940, but rather from the
> end of the 40's or perhaps even more likely from the early 50's. Check
> the hub locknuts and perhaps the BB axle and headset for date codes.
> Secondly, most cambio corsa bikes with 4 block freewheels work best with
> 1/8" chains as they are stiffer and make the shifts more precise. You
> must however be aware that many 'newer' freewheels don't like the wider
> chains much, so the problem may lie here. As Aldo correctly pointed out
> it could also be a problem with the height of the shifter 'cage'.
>
> In a subsequent post, Martin added:
>
>
> "Side question: was a 4-speed cluster customary in 1940? Sheldon says
> they started to be around not before the 50ies?"
>
> Sheldon is all wet on this as 4 blocks were commonly available in Italy
> in the late 30's and five blocks in the late 40's. The cambio corsa
> dropouts were however not very amenable to use with a 5 block. Have you
> verified that you do indeed have the 17 or 19 tooth dropouts?
>
> It is furthermore my experience that many of the problems that occur
> with cambio corsa and Paris-Roubaix derailleurs are linked to incorrect
> gap between the top and bottom sides of the drop-outs. Over the years
> many have been spread open which makes shifting almost impossible. The
> same can also happen if the gap is not constant. You must also check out
> Aldo's incredible video clips showing how the gear 'can' shift when used
> by somebody with dexterity and a properly set up bike.
>
> Steven Maasland
> Moorestown, NJ
> USA