cyclotoine

I didn't know C-record was available as early as 1985.
Check out this ebay auction for a pantographed Binachi rear C-record Mech. 200007943984

cudak888 

You bet it was - first year. Here's an NOS '85 mech:





Nice, eh?

-Kurt

cyclotoine

very nice.

Dave Moulton

C Record was indeed first introduced in 1985; see Velo-Retro’s Campagnolo Time Line a good source for dating Campagnolo stuff.

repechage

C Record did arrive in 1985, but the Delta brakes soon were not avail., they provided Cobalto brakes, modified SR sidepulls with blue plastic "jewels", and albino rubber parts. The early aero levers that came with them were terrible from a mechanical standpoint, the levers could be run either way traditional or aero, don't use the aero.

After reworking the material choice for the linkage inside the Deltas, they came back, but I think that was no earlier than late 1986, at least where I worked.

That may have been some of the reason Super Record was still made through 1987. Love the style of the High Flange C Record hubs though...when I found a pair on ebay with $70. buy it now I was thrilled.

cyclotoine

haha I have a pair of those levers and although I find them to perform adequately I notice that they are reall really annoying to set up in the aero option, the cable always pops out so I need small medical pliers to get it in and pull the cable tight and make sure not to let it go slack before it is safely fastened to the capliper. Whatever you do don't let the tension off or POP! it's out again. Took me a while to get it figured out but I can set them up now.

TheOtherGuy

It was introduced in '85, but first made in '84.... I've got a NOS "take-off" C-Record crankset with the 4 in a circle date code. These came on a Merckx TT (funny) bike, which had Cobalto brakes, the Campagnolo alloy freewheel, and was all C-Record except the hubs for some reason... They were Nuovo/Super type.

cudak888 

Probably an early release. I don't think they were sold seperately as gruppos in '84, were they?

-Kurt

lotek 

TOG,
welcome back (haven't seen you for a while) how's it going.
Cyclotoine do you have the small piece that goes inside the
lever to convert it from normal to aero configuration? It makes
a lot of difference in ease of setting them up.


marty

cyclotoine

Yes I have the piece, I can set them up without much problem not, they were just difficults at first.

ViperZ

Beautiful! Too bad that's only a 6 speed (correct?)


Here is my 1986 crank. It's a perfect match to that deraileur. I'm told they only embossed the crank like this for 1 year on C-Record.

55/Rad

I found that my seatpost and front derailleur are engraved - any idea how long they did that? My understanding is that they are from '89...

roadfix

When I bought my Record groupo back in 1993, most or all components were engraved, including the Ergos and the aero seatpost. I still have most of those components still in use. I don't think the dual pivot calipers were engraved thou......I've got those stashed away somewhere....I need to look.

55/Rad

Yes, the aero brake levers and shift levers are engraved as well. Unfortunately, the crank, rear der, and deltas are not. And the hubs are at Mike Garcias - I don't recall seeing a shield on the hubs....

55/Rad

repechage

There is some blurry line as to when C Record, (Corsa Record) went away, some of the beginnings of the Record as part of the Ergo Brake-shifter assemblies (hate B-rifter as a contraction) came on stream just prior to the sunset of C Record, havoc regarding cassette compatibility.

I would consider casette hubs, ergo, dual pivot brakes, and the slant parallogram rear derailleur beyond the C Record design period. C Record had some false starts and some noticiable changes in its life, single to double sprung rear mechanisms, Colbalto pinch hitter brakes while the Deltas were revised, what I can see the front derailleur also had changes. The identification evolution... I won't even delve into Syncro...while elegant looking parts and I have some, not a great period for Campagnolo as they were assualted by Shimano.

cudak888 

I'm quite sure it'll handle seven, and eight if you want it to. No indexing on the first-gen, but I don't care for indexing.

Sold that derailer a long while ago on eBay. Didn't care for it. I don't like C-Record one bit - I feel that it has too much emphasis on the characterless "aero" look that plauges all styling and architectural designs today. Completely lacking in the antiquarian elegance that is the staple of the GS/Record/NR/SR gruppos.

-Kurt

LittleGinseng 

Please tell me 70 bucks was for USED C Record hubs?!?

ViperZ

Yes I agree, I want C-Record only because it harkens a very important era in my life, although I was not crazy about it's performance back then and in a way I'm not too crazy about using it's performance now.

As for the looks department, we've been through this before C-Record to me is the most elegantly beautiful looking group ever made. It's polished yet satin finish reminds me of so many things, so many bygone memories....

It's too bad that friction shifting is the only option for that era.. I Will never go back from indexing. To me thats like dial tuning a radio rather than pushing the channel button. Not something I'm particularly fond of anymore. Sure if it was for a bike that I rode once a year, but I want to ride this one on the fast group rides too


Rad, I think most times the Seat posts, and all those other bits you have engraved are engraved.

55/Rad

I too was a bit dismayed that friction was the only viable option but I felt that if I wanted a period bike, re-learning it would be the way to go. And after only a week or so, it became second nature again. Sure, I have different habits than with Ergo or STI, but I don't feel friction as a handicap at all.

If I'm doing the hammer ride with the big boys, I don't really want to be on the 22 pound steelie anyway when there are other good options in the stable for those days. Which means that outside of racing - real or imagined - the C-Record equipped bike is ideal for anything.

Well, big hill days excluded. The 52/42 - 13/23 combo can be rough on those days.

55/Rad

cudak888 

Actually, I must say that I prefer the first-gen's option of friction-shifting.

Anything index has always bugged me as being too difficult to quickly shift from the top of the cluster to the bottom. Some variants of Shimano's STIs particularly bug me in this respect, for they require a seperate in-out hand movement to shift up one cog. Ultimately, you've clicked that shifter 7 times just to get to the top of the cluster. When driving in urban areas with considerable stop-n-go, this can become a royal annoyance.

A sensible design would be an STI that works similar to the old Shimano Accushift Xpress MTB shifters - a single movement of the hand (or thumb, in the case of the Xpress shifters) can shift up through all the click-stops to the other extreme of your freewheel in less then two seconds. (For those reasons, I'd take the '80s Accushift Xpress any day on an MTB over brand new Shimano LX).

Take care,

-Kurt

lotek 

from a purely aesthetic standpoint Corsa Record and Croce d'Aune are my
favourite periods in campy history. The lines of the RDs, Cranksets and delta brakes
are pure italian style and class. In friction only mode they work well enough, it's only
when one ventures into syncroI and syncroII that the performance becomes a bit
muddied.
I'm particularly drawn to Croce for its quirkiness, gotta love the rod actuated
rear derailleur (which was yet another attempt to improve early campy indexing).

I find it interesting that with all the negative thoughts on Corsa and Croce in
terms of performance that they are both highly sought after gruppo's with prices
climbing on an almost daily basis.

Marty

roadfix

Upon "closer" inspection last night, my 1993 Record road cranks were not engraved...
Aero seat post, front derailleur, and ergo levers were the only components that were engraved in this groupo.

ViperZ

Maybe you are right Rad...... This is suppose to be my "Period Bike". A ride that represents something important from my past, however flawed it maybe, it's the period of the moment. However to be precise it was Dura Ace 7400 8speed Indexed I suppose that's why I bought the Trek 5000 in 1988 instead of that C-Record Colnago, Performance was more important at the time.


Cuda, I'm not sure I follow your comment on Index not being able to cover the the whole cassette in one Swipe. My Indexed Dura Ace Down tube system was as simple as pulling the lever the full range, and you didn't have to spend time fiddling back and forth, snap, it was in gear, no fuss no muss, that would be more important to me . On my 2006 Record it nearly shifts the entire range in one stroke , either way. I suppose what ever you like, but Index is the only way to go for pure performance in my mind. I suppose I'll fool around with friction for this build for now, it's always good to look back

So Which Syncros Lever am I looking for? Syncros, Syncros 2? I would like to try and squeeze an 7 or 8 speed system.

cudak888 

Interesting. Does Dura-Ace have the same click-stop mechanisim in it that Shimano 600 or RX-100 has, or is it slightly softer? I have a pair of machines with those two models of Shimano D-T shifters, and I must tell you, I nearly rip the skin off of my hand if I try to pull (or push) from one end of the block to another.

I gather that Record STI works the same way as Suntour Express - one movement gets it up into the top (or bottom). That's the way I like it. Have yet to try any of the current Campy STI stuff, but it sounds like I should...

P.S.: If anything, go with Syncros 2 - lesser of two evils. I can get you NOS click-stop inserts too, various "colors".

-Kurt

ViperZ

Thanks Kurt, there is some NOS Syncros 2 that I can get, so I'll go with those. They are said to have 6 speed inserts, so I may have to get in touch with you.

The Dura Ace Down tube shifters are slightly positive in detent, but it is easy to push the shift through the entire range.

OK, so I'm getting a bit giddy about having an old school shifting system, not sure why.... Which Syncros lever was it that had the secondary lever that locked to the main shifter, Syncros 1?

Would you happen to have a line on another C-Record Derailleur like the 85-86 you sold? I know that is the one I want to find, as that was the one I always loved the look of.

Howabout Hubsets? Are there specific C-Records I will require to use a 7-8 speed freewheel? Or will they all work? It is a free wheel I'm dealing with right?

Thanks for all the help