Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,808
Likes: 1,780
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Wow, that's the first evidence I've seen that Campy ever tried to make a Nuovo-era rear derailer shift with indexing.
From what I have experienced with these derailer's shifting performance, I am certain that they work better in friction mode, no matter how good of a freewheel and chain were used.
True desperation on Campagnolo's part. I've never seen a single bike that had an indexed Nuovo derailer on it, though one used bike I bought had Ergolevers wired to NR derailers, which didn't work at all.
I imagine that with cable and B-tension adjusters on the derailer and using a corn-cob straight-block freewheel with modern cogs/chain, that it could be made to work well.
I would bet that the 980 derailer has the exact same cable pull actuation ratio as the NR. The 980 shifts well enough in friction applications.
Last edited by dddd; 01-15-16 at 05:58 PM.