Tullio Campagnolo, an amateur racing cyclist, was racing on a classic Rule #9 day in Italy. The weather was cold, and I believe he was racing in the mountains. Riding with the leaders, I can almost feel in the pit of my stomach the dread that must have crept over him as he realized he wouldn’t be able to change gear. At the time, wheels used a flip gear to allow for changing of gear, and were fixed in place with wing-nuts which made it easy to remove the rear wheel – assuming everything was well greased, nothing was dirty or frozen, and the rider had just taken a refreshing shower. Which happened to not be the case on this particular day, as he had the misfortune of actually riding his bike.
It almost goes without saying that his frozen fingers were unable to loosen the frozen wing-nuts. And here is where Tullio distinguishes himself from people like me; whereas I would have chucked a Millarcopter you could see from the International Space Station, Tullio made the slightly more productive move of inventing perhaps the most sensible component on our bicycles: the quick-release.
There is no component a Velominatus can own that speaks more clearly to the history of our sport than a Campagnlogo Quick-Release. Bearing that in mind, it’s a shameful thing that I, a self-proclaimed Velominatus, have never owned one. Until a few months ago, that is, shortly after procuring my Record hubs, when I finally got my hands on a set.
And I have to say, they don’t disappoint. They’re not the lightest skewers in existence, but they do have a beautifully solid feeling when opening and closing them, and they grip amazingly true to the Campagnolo dropouts on my steel frame. The arc of the lever defies description; on the front it hugs the fork and tucks neatly behind it while on the back it bisects the angle of the chain and seat stays in perfect Rule #41 compliance. It is a sight to behold. In fact, it’s a little bit dangerous because I should spend less time staring at them when I’m riding and more time starting at the road.
Grazie, Signore Campagnolo.
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Great article and photos everyone, great as always.
My bike #2 doesn't have QR wheels, and its one of those things that you don't even think about until you're fucked. Having to ride with extra tools and praying that you don't get a flat isn't the most fun. I keep meaning to buy new wheels for it, but somehow that money keeps being spent on bike #1 instead...
I have to change the QR on the rear wheel when I put the bike on the Kurt trainer so I guess I should pick up a Campy QR to use instead of the generic one that comes with the Kurt. That should be good for 10 watts at least.
@Cyclops
Watts? Uh oh........Let the flaming begin!
@scaler911
I'm a 50 year old, overweight, Cat 5 - I was speaking of "virtual watts".
@Cyclops
Just joking around.........Ha!
LOVE that photo of Merckx! Casually Deliberate, even on a bench.
The #1 on his bike, the drilled chainrings...awesomeness.
And, the dude knew how to wear a cycling cap!
@Ron
I think it's a look that mere mortals find very hard to pull off, Merckx does it pretty easily.
I must say I prefer the look and operation of the curved quick releases to the original ones. When you see the old Cambio Corsa or Paris-Roubaix mechs it makes you realise how easy we have it now days..
This seems to be a good place to leave this story...
So today I was doing a laboratory test at a university as part of a research study - the third in a series of VO2 and CP tests. I walk into the lab and the researchers are there along with a chap I haven't met before - older guy in his 60s/70 but very trim and fit.
The researcher introduces me to him - his name is Geoff Wiles - and says he's been helping her set up some of the equipment as he was a very experienced cyclist.
Geoff sets up my bike on the lab machine. He's just changed the cassette and we get chatting about gear and bikes, as you do. I'm running Campagnolo Record/Super Record 11sp. He mentions he's been using Campagnolo for a long time... this is where it gets interesting.
Apparently he was riding the Tour de l'Avenir with the British National Team in 1967, the year Tom Simpson died. The Brits are all self-funded amateurs. They're at the start and Tullio Campagnolo arrives with his people, wanders around looking at the bikes and eyes the Simplex groupset which Geoff had saved up for. He waves someone over and tells them to replace it on the spot, which they do, removing the offending item as if it was a dog-turd at a flower show.
So that, says Geoff, is how I got my first set of Campagnolo.
He went on to ride professionally with Holdsworth-Campagnolo in the 70s, run a bike shop and does Masters racing. He came second in the World Masters last year in his age group, road and track. I was too polite to ask but it turns out he's 71. I wouldn't bet against him being able to kick my ass despite the 20 year difference.
@ChrisO
A very cool story. Sounds like the perfect subject of a guest article.
Awesome. Geoff Wiles was a class rider; my 70s Cycling Weekly magazines are filled with his results.