[CR] another Osgear/Super Champion question.

(Example: Humor:John Pergolizzi)

Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2010 07:42:34 -0700
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Jan Heine" <heine94@earthlink.net>
Subject: [CR] another Osgear/Super Champion question.


>I'm sure this is a stupid question but humor me if you would: What
>happens if one tries to shift across a 4 speed block or God forbid 3
>speed with a 5 speed derailleur of this sort? And why not simply
>limit the motion's travel (obviously no mean feat to accomplish) to
>suit whatever is required on the day rather than making multiple
>incompatible pieces?

Many of these early derailleurs don't have limit screws, so using a 5-speed derailleur on a 4-speed freewheel risks shifting into the spokes or jam the chain between dropout and smallest cog.

Beyond that, I think it's a case of marketing. You could charge more for a 4-speed than for a 3-speed, but only if you still offered the 3-speed. You needed the 3-speed to compete with other makers on price, plus the 4- and 5-speed for those who wanted the best.

Campagnolo took a Nuovo Record crankset, gave the chainrings a slightly different shape and called the whole thing Super Record. The two were functionally identical, and manufacturing cost was the same as Nuovo Record, unless the blue boxes cost more than beige ones... but the price for Super Record was distinctly higher.

Once you ask these questions, you begin to wonder how much it can have cost to blacken the arms of the Super Record front derailleurs... and why anybody bothered.

Sacrilege, I know, and I admit gladly that I thought the black arms cool enough that I paid my hard-earned cash for a set of Super Record derailleurs to replace the functionally identical Victory ones on my first racing bike. I even was convinced that the Super Record shifted better! (In any case, those old Campagnolo components were jewels to behold, and they lasted and lasted and lasted, so I never regretted the money I spent.)

Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
2116 Western Ave.
Seattle WA 98121
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com