[CR]Cambio Corsa Operation

(Example: Humor:John Pergolizzi)

Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:02:33 -0400
From: "Mara & Steven Maasland" <TheMaaslands@comcast.net>
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Cambio Corsa Operation

Jan's note is below with my commenst interspersed:

Cambio Corsa:

Not an original text from the old days, but I doubt they had many instructions back then anyhow...

SM: ACTUALLY CHUCK HAS ALREADY STATED THAT ORIGINAL INSTRUCTIONS ARE AVAILABLE. INSTRUCTIONS WERE GENERALLY AVAILABLE FOR MOST COMPONENTS AND WERE ALSO GENERALLY VERY COMPLETE. THE SOLE DIFFERENCE THAT 'PROGRESS' HAS BROUGHT US IS THAT WE NOW HAVE ALL THE DISCLAIMERS THAT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED TO AVOID LAWSUITS.

Overall, it is cumbersome, requires some concentration, but it is not difficult to use. It does not require years of practice or detailed instructions.

SM: SINCE I HAVE HAD AT LEAST ONE CAMBIO CORSA BIKE FOR OVER A DECADE NOW AND HAVE RIDDEN THEM GREAT DISTANCES, I CAN CONCUR THAT THEY ARE INDEED NOT OVERLY DIFFICULT TO USE. IT DOES HOWEVER REQUIRE THAT YOU PLAN AHEAD AND NOT EXPECT TO EASILY SHIFT WHILE YOU ARE GOING UPHILL.

To your question: the wheel goes backwards on its own, under the weight of the rider, because the dropouts are inclined. So you move the wheel forward by pedaling (softly, otherwise, it'll hit the seat tube), and backwards by coasting. The act of shifting to a bigger cog alone will move the wheel forward, so there is no need to first move the wheel, then lock the QR and shift, then adjust the chain tension (as written in one report on the system). When shifting to a smaller cog, the wheel will go back all the way. The difficult part is to get the chain just a tad slack, after you are done with the shifting itself, so it doesn't bind.

SM: IT IS MY EXPERIENCE THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER PEDAL FORWARDS WITH THE Q/R OPEN. BEYOND THE DECADE-LONG PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT I HAVE, I SHOULD PERHAPS POINT OUT THAT I WAS TAUGHT HOW TO RIDE A CAMBIO CORSA BIKE BY A FELLOW WITH OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE RIDING EXCLUSIVELY SUCH BIKES IN ITALY. THE WHEEL WILL IN FACT ALWAYS SETTLE IN THE CORRECT POSITION AUTOMATICALLY AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE Q/R ADJUSTED CORRECTLY (NOT TOO TIGHT OR TOO LOOSE). THE CHAIN TENSION WILL ALSO SORT ITSELF OUT.

Some reports published 5-10 years ago, before these bikes started coming out of Italy and becoming somewhat commonplace, about shifting the Cambio Corsa simply are wrong, written by people who have never ridden the thing or seen it in action. (As I said above, back then, there was no info available, so the authors may be excused for their errors.)

CAMBIO CORSA GEARED BIKES ARE INDEED NOW SO COMMON IN THE USA THAT THERE ARE PERHAPS ALMOST AS MANY OF THEM AS THERE ARE RENE HERSE BIKES (WE ALL KNOW HOW COMMON THEY ARE.) WITH REGARDS TO AUTHORS COMMENTING ABOUT CAMBIO CORSA BIKES BEING EXCUSED FOR THEIR ERRORS, I TOO FORGIVE JAN FOR TRANSMITTING HIS ERRONEOUS COMMENTS ABOVE.

TO FIND OUT JUST HOW MANY OF THESE BIKES ARE NOW IN THE US, HOW ABOUT IF WE MAKE A CENSUS OF ALL CAMBIO CORSA BIKES IN THE USA. I VOLUNTEER TO MAKE A LISTING OF ALL THE BIKES. SO IF YOU HAVE A RIDABLE CAMBIO CORSA BIKE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. WHEN YOU SEND ME YOUR RESPONSE, PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER THE BIKE HAS THE LONG OR THE SHORT LEVERS. I ALSO VOLUNTEER TO MAKE A LISTING OF ALL THE PARIS-ROUBAIX BIKES.

STEVEN MAASLAND
MOORESTOWN, NJ