Re: [CR]Campagnolo Huret and the Bronze Age

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Chater-Lea)

Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 22:01:16 -0700
From: "Chuck Schmidt" <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Campagnolo Huret and the Bronze Age
References: <20020621162509.72112.qmail@web13702.mail.yahoo.com>


Scott Davis wrote:
>
> What's the time-line on Campy's use of Bronze in the
> old GS derailleurs and the matching GS shift levers?
> Was bronze discontinued from both simaltaneously? Or
> did the derls use bronze later?
>
> And why would Huret continue using the bronze shifters
> all the way into the 70's only to abandon them about
> the time that they introduced the lightest derl set of
> its time--Jubilee??

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, please?

All the various versions of the Gran Sport (1951) and the succeeding Record (1963) rear derailleurs were chrome plated bronze. The Nuovo Record rear derailleur (1967) was the first aluminum derailleur for Campagnolo.

My quess is that the chrome plated bronze downtube shifter was only made the very first year. The bar end shifter that preceeded the downtube shifter was only made in aluminum from my understanding. Also the twin clamp configuration for the down tube shifter went away very soon after its introduction.

The Record front derailleur (1960) first came out with the parallelogram arms made from chrome plated bronze. It was probably only a year before these too were made from aluminum.

Most of this is noted in the Timeline at http://www.velo-retro.com

I think Huret was just being conservative in not going to aluminum shifters before the 70s.

Chuck Schmidt
SoPas, SoCal