tronnyjenkins 

How can I tell C-Record era Campy levers apart? Rec/CdA/Chorus/Athena
Do some have plastic bodies??


What do I look for?


They'll be paired with my new set of Deltas:

italianbiker

Easiest way to tell the C-Record and CDA apart is that the CDA has an exposed back, so you can see the springs and BTW, they stop great.

tronnyjenkins 

My post is too wordy, haha.
I'm wondering about lever ID.

Lascauxcaveman 

According to the collective wisdom of Velobase.com ...

Croce d'Aune levers will have a little slot in the front like in this entry on Velobase.

C-Record won't have a slot, like this entry on Velobase.

Also, on the C d'A as viewed from the side, the barrel that runs through the lever that holds the brake cable end rides in holes that that are elongated to let that barrel slide back and forth a bit (for ease of positioning while running the cable through? I dunno, I haven't recabled these yet.)

The barrel on the C-Record rides in a hole that's round.

If you look at the various pix posted there, you'll see the differences.

italianbiker

Ok, good to know. The C-records quality does look much nicer. I didn't know about the slot in the front.

paulkal

Some C-record levers also had a slot, they came with powergrade, see VeloBase.com - Component: Campagnolo Corsa Record (with 'Power Grade')

Lascauxcaveman 

Ohhh... that's what that little slot is for, there's an adjustment screw inside for "micrometric variation of the ratio between the force applied to the lever and the brake force response." To be honest, I've never given mine a close look in good light, up 'til now. And maybe that also explains the elongated slot on the side of the lever base for the barrel to slide back and forth in when you adjust it? I haven't messed with mine at all yet, but here's an extreme closeup of the adjustment screw (a beefy 2mm!) in the slot on my C'dA levers, which seem to be identical to the C-record with Powergrade (and going back and re-reading the entry for the C'dA levers, it's apparently a matter of two names for the same part):

And the side view with the elongated slot for the barrel thingee:


So, the C-Record (standard) levers, while they look a little slicker and cleaner, are obviously vastly inferior to the Cd'A/Powergrade ones, because they don't have a fiddly, tiny adjustment screw that may or may not make a noticeable difference in your braking power and modulation.

If you're gonna own Campagnolo, you must make an effort to fully appreciate Campagnolo.

miamijim

Delta levers will have built in quick releases.

Side pull Record levers (Cobalto) will NOT have built in QR's because the caliper has them.

tronnyjenkins 

So if I just bought these for my Delta calipers, they'll work ok? I couldn't find any specific date that they added the cable hole, not that it matters. All I care about is sufficient cable pull.
These would be anodized, correct? I might remove and polish if so.

paulkal

They should work fine and they are anodized.

Spaghetti Legs 

I have often wondered about this subject myself. Are Tronny's levers with the round hole above the logo technically Athena?

Lascauxcaveman 

Or Veloce? I was browsing through pics on Velobase again and it seems to match both.

miamijim

Something like that. See the lever bands and how they're satin? Satin bands = NOT Record. Record levers have chrome bands. Once you get away from Record it really doesn't matter the proper name.

Some have metal bodies, some have polymer bodies.
Some have polished lever blades, some don't.

Polymer bodies are very prone to cracking where the cables exit out back.