[CR]Colnago DUALL and KOF builds

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PX-10LE)

Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:24:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <6grf06$4q9c0j@rrcs-agw-02b.hrndva.rr.com>
Subject: [CR]Colnago DUALL and KOF builds

Received the Colnago DUALL I posted about recently. This is one that the Supreme Listmeister rather generously declared KOF, perhaps because he has photos of a near identical frame on the CR site. Clearly build by ALAN, but this is not just a rebadged ALAN frame, but one designed by and built for Colnago. It features the dual downtube which Conago would later sell with carbon tubes (also built by ALAN I'm told) and with titanium construction presumably built by Conago themselves. It appears the aluminum version was only sold by Colnago, never branded ALAN, Guerciotti, or any of the other companies that sold ALAN frames.

This one does vary a bit from the one on the CR site in that it has one small Saronni decal on the toptube just in front of the seatlug. Rather odd, as there is no reference to Saronni anywhere else on the frame. Hardly seems worth bothering with a Saronni "version" consisting of one small decal, unless perhaps the bike was originally built with some pantagraphed Saronni components. I don't pretend to be an expert on Colnagos, let alone Saronnis. Did steel Colnago/Saronnis ever have Saronni pantagraphed components?

It's always a bit hard to decide how to build a KOF frame. This one came with circa 1990 Dura Ace with indexed DT shifters. Works well, but just not classic enough for my taste. Besides, Japanese components just don't seem right on a Colnago, even if some teams in today's peleton do use that combination. So I'm going with C-Record, officially Off Topic, but I've always considered it classic since at least the original C-Record was not indexed. May mix in a bit of Croce D'Aune as well.

If someone has a spare cover plate for some Delta calipers I just bought, I may use those, but otherwise I intend to use Colbaltos, thus last night's posting seeking jewels. This may be the hardest Campy component to classify as On Topic or not, since I believe the levers were identical to C-Record, but the calipers are essentially Super Record. Does anyone know if there was any difference between Cobalto and SR calipers, aside from the acorn nut and the "jewel"? Also, did these or other SR variation ever appear with jewels of a color other than blue? A CR member reports having red ones but doesn't know if they are original Campy. The story I've heard is that there were problems with the first generation Deltas and that the Cobaltos were substituted in the C-Record gruppo until the second generation Deltas came out. I don't know if this is accurate or if the Colbaltos were just a very late, and maybe the final, SR variation that was used on C-Record bikes a lot because the owners didn't like the Deltas. How did the 50th Anniversary calipers campare to SR/Cobalto? I think that's OK to discuss here since I believe 50th Anniversary is considered On Topic. I don't have any 50th Anniversary stuff, but I think I've heard they had a different cross-section, sort of trianlgular - my Cobaltos seem to have the regular SR cross-section.

This build has already brought up another issue that relates O(n) T stuff to O(ff) T stuff. On the 50th Anniversary Paramount I discussed recently I had received the bike with C-Record wheels, including a 130mm rear jammed into 126mm DO's. Replaced those on the Paramount, and decided to use them now for the DUALL, but it is also 126mm. So I had to change the hub axle, but then, as I expected, the wheel was off-center and needed to be redished. But the rear wheel has a deep section aero carbon Mavic rim. Not the sort of thing I would intentionally build up, but not so out of place on a circa 1990 KOF frame that I was going to cut it out and rebuild the wheel. Problem was, on the deep section aero rim, the nipples do not protrude through the rim, so one has to actually turn the nipple heads inside the rim after removing the tire. But there is not a lot of room to get a tool onto the nipple head. Were any On Topic aero wheels built like this? The aero thing started in the very late 70's or very early 80's, just within the CR timeline. I usually see aero wheels from that period built with long nipples that do protrude from the rim, but maybe some wheels at the time were built like the newer deep section aeros.

I thought I was going to be stuck on this project, but then I remembered that I recently acquired a Hi-E spoke wrench, used for the special Hi-E nipple heads that did not protrude from the rim, although conventional spokes and nipples can be used on Hi-E rims as well. In complete defiance of Murphy's law, the Hi-E tool actually fit the nipple heads on the C-Record wheel and I was able to complete the redishing. This means there may be an alternative to the Hi-E tool I had ben guarding with my life, assuming nothing else would work with Hi-E nipples on Hi-E rims. Does anyone know what sort of tool is used for truing deep section aero rims where the nipples do not protrude from the rim, and where one can buy such a tool? I figure if the Hi-E tool works on those wheels, then such a tool should work on Hi-E wheels.

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA