Classic & Vintage - My First Campy Equipped Bicycle - Fiorelli

Well, I have finally decided to drink the Kool-Aid. Soon I will no longer be able to say I have never ridden a Campy equipped bicycle because my 1961 Fiorelli tandem has Campy componentry.

I have been quite critical of Campy components up to now, but I am open-minded enough to give it a chance since this bicycle, being an Italian brand, came equipped with Campagnolo.

Here's the Campagnolo componentry about which I speak. I hope it is as reliable as many on the forums claim.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6826969403_81729f9259_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826969403/)
Fiorelli Campagnolo Part - 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826969403/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6826973793_8d9606baa4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826973793/)
Fiorelli Campagnolo Part - 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826973793/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6826977781_c114b5c550_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826977781/)
Fiorelli Campagnolo Part - 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826977781/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

Any other pics of the bike?

Any of the rest of the group Campagnolo as well?

Why would you be critical of Camagnolo if you have never ridden a bike equipped with a Campagnolo group? What do you base your judgement on?

Uh-oh...PG has got that bug up his a** again.... ;)

:popcorn

DD

Any other pics of the bike?

Any of the rest of the group Campagnolo as well?

Why would you be critical of Camagnolo if you have never ridden a bike equipped with a Campagnolo group? What do you base your judgement on?

I've taken other pictures of the bike but haven't had time to post a new thread on the bike yet. It's too late to post another thread this evening, but I will some time tomorrow. Meanwhile here's a thread I started earlier this week (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/795472-Fiorelli-Tandem) when I was considering buying the bike. It has a couple pictures taken by the seller.

BTW, just to be fair, I really don't have any particular dislike of Campy, but I do hate derailleurs as a rule. My experience has included both Shimano and SRAM. Neither experience was encouraging so at this point I'm either ridding my collection of derailleur geared bikes or converting them to IGH.

Uh-oh...PG has got that bug up his a** again.... ;)

:popcorn

DD

Hey DD, I love what you've done with your Campy stuff on the Davidson... I'm just waiting for the day you send me the PM saying you're ready for me to send my cottered cranks for you to do some drillium on them. :D

I see you made it home safely, bikes in tow. Now we need to see before and after shots of the bikes.

I happen to like derailleurs. They are kinda' cool, and generally clever. Without them some of us would never be able to ride the roads we do!

I never paid much attention to Campagnolo either but now I must. :eek: I have been given an ultimatum.

Well, I have finally decided to drink the Kool-Aid. Soon I will no longer be able to say I have never ridden a Campy equipped bicycle because my 1961 Fiorelli tandem has Campy componentry.

I have been quite critical of Campy components up to now, but I am open-minded enough to give it a chance since this bicycle, being an Italian brand, came equipped with Campagnolo.

Here's the Campagnolo componentry about which I speak. I hope it is as reliable as many on the forums claim.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6826969403_81729f9259_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826969403/)
Fiorelli Campagnolo Part - 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826969403/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6826973793_8d9606baa4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826973793/)
Fiorelli Campagnolo Part - 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826973793/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6826977781_c114b5c550_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826977781/)
Fiorelli Campagnolo Part - 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6826977781/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

Trolling again, I see....
Is it April 1st already?

Hey DD, I love what you've done with your Campy stuff on the Davidson... I'm just waiting for the day you send me the PM saying you're ready for me to send my cottered cranks for you to do some drillium on them. :D

What do you get when you drillium steel like that? Taffy?

What do you get when you drillium steel like that? Taffy?

No - a cheese grater, silly :)

DD

Uh oh. You're going to have your first experience riding Campagnolo gear ....on THAT?!

We'll never hear the end of this.

Looks like C-Record..........:innocent:

BTW, just to be fair, I really don't have any particular dislike of Campy, but I do hate derailleurs as a rule.
I think your new bike meets that criterium. Doesn't appear to be much left of that derailleur!

That thing is not mounted to a Lawn mower, is it?

I see you made it home safely, bikes in tow. Now we need to see before and after shots of the bikes.

I happen to like derailleurs. They are kinda' cool, and generally clever. Without them some of us would never be able to ride the roads we do!

I never paid much attention to Campagnolo either but now I must. :eek: I have been given an ultimatum.

Hey Jim, indeed I made it back without any issues. I hope your gig went well. :)

I definitely like having variable gearing, but derailleurs not so much. There are many applications for riders where an IGH will suit perfectly, but people have derailleurs foisted upon them by LBS salespeople that don't understand the advantages of the technology.

Now about that Masi... I do think that anything but Campy is a bit blasphemous. ;) Granted, I'm largely a non-conformist and will usually put whatever I please on whatever I have out of the desire to be practical.

Uh oh. You're going to have your first experience riding Campagnolo gear ....on THAT?!

We'll never hear the end of this.

Nor does it look like I will either, based on the direction this thread is heading! :crash:

Looks like C-Record..........:innocent:

Your guess is far better than mine, I can assure you! I guess I really need to do some research on Campagnolo gear.


I think your new bike meets that criterium. Doesn't appear to be much left of that derailleur!

Robbie, you must have looked at my previous posts from before I purchased the bicycle. As far as not much being left of the derailleur, you'd be sort of correct since it is merely a tensioner. Currently it is not working but, to be fair, the little cage around the wheel is slightly bent and the bushing needs to be greased. In addition, I think the tensioner was improperly installed at some point, but once I get a chance to address those issues, I'm certain it will prove to be worthy of the Campagnolo name.

So, you're ready for the reveal... Soon... Soon...

That thing is not mounted to a Lawn mower, is it?

It's not too far from being a lawn mower, though with two seats and two wheels. Ok, I'll stop teasing. Here it is:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6827052297_726907a127_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6827052297/)
Fiorelli Tandem - 16 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/6827052297/) by Sallad Rialb (http://www.flickr.com/people/threefamilyalbum/), on Flickr

That is one bad mambo jambo...I like it!

Cool bike! So, is that thing called a chain tensioner, or what? I'm not being snarky here, honest. Just don't know.

when campy breaks in others break down!

That is one bad mambo jambo...I like it!

It is quite cool though, admittedly, it is not as cool as your triplet. :( It is in pretty good shape overall with the biggest area of concern being the wheels which have considerable rust. I'll probably rebuild then with a set of Rhyno Lite rims and possibly put a drum hub on the front to augment the anticipated weak braking of the stock steel brakes.

Cool bike! So, is that thing called a chain tensioner, or what? I'm not being snarky here, honest. Just don't know.

Yes, at least I have always called it a tensioner. Nobody's corrected me yet, so I guess I'm on target... Now about being snarky, I don't really expect that out of you. I've got enough snark to cover at least 2 or 3 people. :rolleyes:

It is quite cool though, admittedly, it is not as cool as your triplet. :( It is in pretty good shape overall with the biggest area of concern being the wheels which have considerable rust. I'll probably rebuild then with a set of Rhyno Lite rims and possibly put a drum hub on the front to augment the anticipated weak braking of the stock steel brakes.

Not less cool, different cool. I love the drum hubs on the triplet...they really stop it adequately. Yeah, they're heavy, but it's a flat terrain cruiser. I have no hesitation rec'ing that direction...if they can stop a triplet, they'll stop a tandem. I'd go drum brake on both. Getting a rear drum/igh is tricky, but they do exist. I was thinking about one for the triplet, but we've found it's OK ungeared for how and where we ride it.

That front lamp is BEGGING for an LED make over.

I think the tensioners are usually pushing the chain out (down). If it were mine, I would have it plushing up. like it is. Cool bike.

I like the Campy chain tensioner! That's got to be a pretty rare part.

Not less cool, different cool. I love the drum hubs on the triplet...they really stop it adequately. Yeah, they're heavy, but it's a flat terrain cruiser. I have no hesitation rec'ing that direction...if they can stop a triplet, they'll stop a tandem. I'd go drum brake on both. Getting a rear drum/igh is tricky, but they do exist. I was thinking about one for the triplet, but we've found it's OK ungeared for how and where we ride it.

That front lamp is BEGGING for an LED make over.

Thanks for the positive feedback Aaron. I really like the drum brakes on my Peugeot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/sets/72157627745147882/) and you can get brake levers that will pull two brakes at once pretty cheaply these days, so it is possible I'll set up both a drum and the caliper with one lever pulling both or just remove the calipers entirely. I like the clean lines of a bike that doesn't have a calipers hanging off them.

That front lamp is begging to be tossed! It is REALLY rusty. If I can get the rust cleaned up sufficiently, I may paint it black or maybe just replace it. At this point, I don't even know if it works.

I think the tensioners are usually pushing the chain out (down). If it were mine, I would have it plushing up. like it is. Cool bike.

I agree with you that it should be pushing up. I would not want the chain pushed closer to the ground where sticks, roots and dirt are more likely to damage the tensioner and/or the chain.


I like the Campy chain tensioner! That's got to be a pretty rare part.

Indeed it is pretty cool. I've never seen one before. I think you are right about the rarity of the part. I did a google search and there is a picture on Velobase of a catalog page (http://www.velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=A4468EA8-2C66-4564-8043-5E600050479B&Enum=103&AbsPos=3684) with the tensioner and there is query here on the forums back in 2008 (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/399475-Strange-Campagnolo-chain-tensioner)about one, but no actual pictures that I was able to find. Maybe I should sell it and put a cheapy on it to help offset the cost of the bike, or maybe not.

Nah, don't sell that Campy chain thingee. It's the best part of the bike! ;););)

Well, given it has a Sturmey-Archer AW hub, I'd have to disagree. As they say, there's no accounting for taste and I'm not going to indicate wherein I believe the deficiency in taste lies! :D

Ouch :> heh heh..

Well, given it has a Sturmen-Archer AW hub, I'd have to disagree. As they say, there's no accounting for taste and I'm not going to indicate wherein I believe the deficiency in taste lies! :D

I definitely agree...SA hubs are superior to Campagnolo derailleurs, tensioners etc. so long as you're talking about using vintage parts as paper weights ;)

Other things a SA hub would do better than a Campagnolo derailleur:

They would also be far better tied to a staff and used as a weapon...since they're bulbous and heavy.

Weigh down bodies for Ocean disposal.

Use as boat anchor for small craft.

Firing from a 1700s cannon.

April fools tricks...set it correctly up and people will think it's a pencil sharpener.

Add some boric acid and you have a luxury cockroach motel!

Shot put substitute at Olympics.

Ballast for historic Mayflower recreation.

Target practice at a firing range.

Good for threatening children...if you don't eat all of your peas, you have to ride a bike with a SA IGH!

Decorative and stylish necklace charm for a Cyclops.

Medieval torture device. If particularly heinous crime, prisoner might be forced to ride a bike with one.

Pillow for two foot tall robot.

Demo for Ginsu knife sharpness.

Can be used as a landmine in student film about Vietnam.

Bonus...no one wants to steal your SA hub from the office (or from a bike)!

^ Aaron, that is classic. Did you know that I also like banjo - not the bolt, but the instrument? ;)

Glad you enjoyed :)

I picture you going to a Halloween party dressed as a SA hub.

A SA spoke flange might work well as the tone ring for a banjo.

I know a guy who left a SA hub on the back seat of his car when he went into a store. When he came back a few minutes later he found the back window smashed and two SA hubs in the back seat.

Ka-boom-boom!

A spoke flange would probably sound better than most Stellings I've heard over the years. :p

Now that joke... I think you one-upped Aaron with that one! Very funny that!