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 post on a worthy, yet sometimes overlooked part.
frank and Oli, part fiction meets fact again. Part of the beauty of this site, keep it coming.
They are truly beautiful things aren't they? the early straight ones had a slight drawback in that they only went tight, the curved ones went slightly past this so they were less likley to undo - not that this was much a of a problem.
With older Record hubs, you do need the tiniest bit of free play in the bearings, as the QR is so powerful it slightly compresses the bearings. The freeplay (and it is a tiny amount) allows for this. Many Campag hubs were ruined (or so the owners thought) by getting the freeplay right, then having it over-tightened thanks to the QR. The good bit is that with the right tool, you can remove and replace the cups. I've 'saved' many pairs of large and small flange hubs thanks to this.
The other thing worth noting with Record hubs is that they don't use the same size bearings in the front hub as either any other Campag front hubs, or any other manufacturers for that matter! It's a tiny amount 'un tolerenzia di un millisima' as the box says, but if you put the wrong 'uns in, you'll ruin them eventually.
Anyway, if it worked, here's my Mercian Strada, with nice 28 spoke S/F's, with a delta groupset since the brakes just had a mention.
The sharp eyed, and many of you are very sharp eyed, will notice the pedals, which aren't part of the groupo, but as I like to ride it, I'd taken off the proper C-record ones with toeclips, and also that it's got a two bolt record seatpin. As it's made of 753t, it takes a 27.0 pin and the only one I had was this nice fluted one, which looks ok with the paintjob! Sorry to go off topic by the way.
@frank
I'd just finished reading "It's all about the Bike" and it jumped out straight away when I read your piece. Right time right place.
Great article, thanks. My knowledge of these thing is poor and I'm really enjoying reading up on the history.
Interesting that Cammpy chose to put "closed" on them in English. Has that always been the way or do they produce an Italian version?
@fermapiedi
I love your Mercian! And you're right about the Campag ball bearings, but it was only the C-Record hubs wasn't it, not Record in general? They used 7/32 balls instead of the more common 3/16 size...
Here's an interesting bit of Campy kit falling from a bit later on
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1940s-campagnolo-cambio-corsa-legnano-super-rare-/120738618643?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c1c951d13#ht_4325wt_1139
@Chris
Ooh, I've got a picture somewhere of one of those that was on a bike for sale in Rome about 20 years ago. Was very tempted to buy it then but didn't.
I'll see if I can dig it up.
Cursed hindsight.
Was it 1978? A regulation (USA?) went into place. The quick release arm was bent. The quick release nut added a roundish tip. The brake caliper release lever took on a spoon shape. The front rerailer added a spoon shape to the leading edge. The brake pad holders got a plastic coating on the down bit. All in the name of safety.