[CR]Re: Campagnolo titanium parts

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2004)

Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:21:53 -0800 (PST)
From: "Tom Dalton" <tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Re: Campagnolo titanium parts

Another thing to consider is the competition. This is really grasping at straws, but is it possible that someone somewhere at Campagnolo felt a need to (mis)represent their new group as having more titanium than it actually did because of the introduction of the Zeus 2000 group? That group actually did have titanium rings and pedal cages as well as titanium BB cups and crank bolts, none of which was seen on standard SR parts. Realistically, the Zeus 2000 group was probably a few years off, but it’s certainly an interesting coincidence that the 2000 group actually had the titanium parts that Campagnolo was at least asserting that they would offer.

Could it be the other way around - that Zeus read Rebour's report and figured, they, too, had to make all these ti parts. BTW, are you sure about the ti rings? My sources indicate that the Zeus 2000 rings were aluminum.

Yes, it did cross my mind that the other-way-'round is more likely. Looking at an erroneous report about ti pedal cages and chainrings might have been the inspiration of the Zeus parts. As for the rings, I may be mistaken, I don't recall where I got the notion that they were ti. I do recall seeing black anodized and drilled Zeus rings, which it would be reasonable to assume are aluminum.

As for the 1973 appearance of a NR derailleur with ti bolts, the explanation that Maasland provided seems plausible. However, I think it is very odd that Campagnolo was displaying something other than a standard production SR rear derailleur by 1973, since they were supposedly in production by then.

Were they in production in 1973? Or did they start making them in late 1973/early 1974, using pivot bodies stamped "73"? As Chuck Schmidt once pointed out, medium-sized companies don't have assembly lines for each product, but they make one product/part, then warehouse it and retool the line for the next.

Yes, it could be the case that the parts were date stamped long before they were assembled and sold. Solid refernces aside, however, I've been given to understand that the SR rear ders were appearing in pro's bikes in the 1973 season. It would be pretty easy to confirm this by reviewing a few old magazines... if I had any. Maasland's point about the The 1974 Raleigh catalog showing a standard SR rear does carry some weight here, however. The photo work for that catalog would have been done sometime in 1973, and the based in the photo, the black anodized rear der was available to Raleigh by then.

Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA

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