Hi Mike, all. I once compared the weights of 2 Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs; one w/ a steel shell, the other, alloy. There wasn't a whole lot of difference. Those suckers are heavy! I've got to think the Campy Sport w/ a 3 speed freewheel has got to be a lot more spritely and easier to change a rear wheel. We.ve gotten to the point where even disposable dept. store bikes offer 21 speeds that don't shift all that badly but that no one needs. The Sport was a nice elegant mechanism that as Mike says "was perfectly adequate for the purpose it was intended." Here in the flatlands of Chicago one sees a lot of singlespeeds, fixed or not. But even here it's good to have some choice. Billy [building a fair number of 5-7 speed bikes] Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bicycle Specialties" <mike@bikespecialties.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 10:53:45 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: [CR] Campag. Sport derailleur If it was such a stupid design why did other manufacturers make similar ones? The market for such a derailleur, designed to cover a relatively close range of gears was massive, probably far greater than the American market. Both of the Campag. models, two pulley or one pulley, had just one spring. In the Sport it was an upper one and the GS a lower one. The Sport was cheaper to make, had less friction and was perfectly adequate for the purpose it was intended. After they discontnued the Sport Campagnolo introduced the Nuovo Sport. They obviously must have had a good market for such a deralleur. The Nuovo Sport was a sort-of single roller version of the Valentino- pretty nasty. Of course the Italian "around town" bikes don't have Campag drop-outs they either have the derailleur fitted to a bolt-on hanger or cheap stamped out drop-outs with the necessary hole for the spring. I have a Legnano so equipped in front of me now. Mike Barry. Still messing about with derailleurs in snowy Toronto.