Jan Heine wrote:
>
> In Le Cycliste 10/1950, an ad by Campy for the "Salon du Cycle",
> where they mention their "famous specialties: gear changers without
> tension on the chain, automatic and instantaneous locking of the
> wheels (quick release), extra-light hubs in steel and aluminum."
>
> The bottom says: "Campagnolo, Vicenza (Italie), Cognin (France)"
>
> Anyhow, when did Campy hubs first become _available_?
As has been pointed out by others innumerable times before, the following is nothing but my personal opinion and as such might be in error:
Tullio Campagnolo invented the quick release in the early 1930s. This required a hollow axle. He didn't make hubs early on. He supplied, sold or licensed his axle / quick release to hub manufacturers (and consumers?) to convert their solid axle / wing nut equipped hubs to QRs.
F.B. (Fratelli Brivio) was one of the Italian hub manufactures that supplied hubs stamped with the bike manufactures names to the center of the hub. I have seen F.B. hubs stamped with Bianchi, Campagnolo, Simplex, Olmo, Maino, Atala, etc. I have also seen a Gnutti hub stamped "Bianchi" and I'm sure Gnutti supplied hubs to other bike companies stamped with their names. All of these hubs were the three-piece style with alloy flanges pressed onto a steel barrel.
As an example, the Campagnolo Paris-Roubaix equipped 1950 Bianchi Folgorissima that I got from Steven Maasland (I'm forever in your debt Steven, thank you) has a front hub that is stamped "FB" on the end of the aluminum flange and "Bianchi" in the steel center, and a rear hub that is stamped "Gnutti" on the end of the aluminum flange and "Bianchi" in the center.
Here's the entry in the Timeline: "1933 - After fabricating parts in the backroom of his father's hardware store, Tullio starts Campagnolo, S.R.L. with the production of the quick release hub. The sliding hub, dual seatstay rod operated, back pedal derailleur (cambio prototype) is patented on May 4th and introduced in August. The pieces of the derailleur are all handmade requiring a massive investment of time and labor. F.B. (Fratelli Brivio) is the subcontractor for the hubs. 1940 - Tullio Campagnolo hires his first fulltime employee, Enrico Piccolo."
Long story short: Campagnolo-branded hubs probably date to 1933. I think that the first actual Campagnolo-made hubs were the Record one-piece alloy, small and large flange hubs (oval holes in flanges and oil hole clip) introduced in 1958.
Chuck Schmidt L.A. http://www.velo-retro.com (Campagnolo Timeline)
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