[Classicrendezvous] Now: Fausto & Hugo '51 TdF Was: Early 1950s Campy Gran Sport

(Example: Books:Ron Kitching)

Date: Sun, 08 Oct 2000 23:21:13 -0800
From: "Chuck Schmidt" <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
To: Classic Bike List <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <000701c02d55$a7e44940$5b09ffd2@pcgxrgseries> <39DFA537.5390@earthlink.net>
Subject: [Classicrendezvous] Now: Fausto & Hugo '51 TdF Was: Early 1950s Campy Gran Sport

Here's the photo mentioned below: Fausto Coppi and Hugo Koblet (13th stage Tarbes-Luchon of Tour de France 1951).

Click on: http://www.velo-retro.com/51TdF.jpg

Monday Morning Classic Rendezvous Quiz: ID the equipment of these two Giants of the Road.

Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, California http://www.velo-retro.com (list of reprints and Campy Timeline)

Chuck Schmidt wrote:
>
> Takao Noda wrote:
> >
> > I have noticed the GS front derailleur on Coppi's bike in TdF
> > 1951 had different guide plates from ones I see. The outer plate
> > was shorter than inner plate and had the wheel and wing logo ,
> > not the earth logo. ( D. Rebour's book " World of D. Rebour" p.
> > 117) And I know the sfift lever band then was 2 stripes type.
> > On the Campagnolo catalog No.12 ( Reprint of Velo Retro, p. 13)
> > I see complete GS front derailleur had the earth logo but the
> > guide plates (cage) drawn just below it had the wheel and wing
> > logo and the outer plate was longer. And the shift lever band was
> > the ordinary one.
> > I would like to know whether the GS derailleurs on the 1951 bike
> > came into the market or not. Were they supplied only to racers ?
> > Many thanks in advance.
> > Takao Noda
> > Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
>
> I believe the original, first generation Campagnolo Gran Sport front
> derailleur (short nose on cage), rear derailleur (holes in pulleys and
> long nose on pulley cage), and downtube shift lever (twin band) were
> only used for the first year (mid 1951 to mid 1952) and were only
> supplied to professional racers.
>
> In Les Woodland's excellent book _The Unknown Tour de France_ he writes
> about the first Gran Sport derailleur in the 1951 TdF, "Coppi had it and
> so did his two Bianchi team-mates in the national team; Bartali and two
> other Italians on Bartali bikes had it; and Switzerland's Hugo Koblet
> had one. The total -- seven." Nearly all the rest of the peloton rode
> Simplex derailleurs.
>
> A photo I have shows Fausto Coppi (Bianchi) and Hugo Koblet (La Perle)
> in the 1951 TdF, Stage 13 Tarbes-Luchon, climbing side by side, both
> using bar end shift levers (no rubber covers). Hugo Koblet went on to
> win the Tour that year.
>
> Interestingly, Campagnolo Gran Sport was introduced with bar-end shift
> levers and the down tube levers only came later in the year.
>
> The 1952 La Perle Série Course Spéciale bike (SCCR 10 Course type Koblet
> TdF 1951) I recently acquired has the second generation Gran Sport
> deraileurs with bar-end shifters stamped "Gran Sport" as shown in The
> 1983 Data Book, page 160. I've never come across these early style
> bar-end shifters before (no lock nut and stamped "Gran Sport"), and
> don't know how long they were made this way.
>
> Does anyone else have any additional information on early Gran Sport?
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> South Pasadena, California
> http://www.velo-retro.com (Campy Timeline and list of reprints)