CampyGuy

I have a pair of Triomphe brake levers on my Trek 510. The hoods are old and cracked, but also they look like they just don't fit right on the levers. So my question is, are the SR/NR hoods a different shape then the ones for Triomphe or has age just deformed my hoods?

cudak888 

Record, Nuovo Record, Super Record, Victory and Triomphe all utlize the same hood design, and all are interchangable.

Older hoods are also known to sit loosly on the lever bodies. I've seen some used that were all very loose, some were a tad loose, and finally, NOS examples that would require tire levers to remove.

-Kurt

CampyGuy

So you're saying that the reason they are loose is because they are so old?

cudak888 

Essentially. They stretch a tad over time.

I remember trying to fit an NOS gum hood once, it was extremely tight. Combine this with the fact that both the lever and hood are as NOS as they come (you can see the lever body through the gum hood with no haze whatsoever), and you can imagine my anxiety and fear of tearing it when mounting it. Went smoothly though, I'm glad to say.

-Kurt

CampyGuy

Wow, thanks for all the help. I'll order new hoods promptly.

cudak888 

Be prepared to shell out a couple of bucks for them - Campag hoods aren't cheap. Ended up having to go with a worn set of white hoods for my '86 Raleigh USA Grand Prix. That pair of levers have split partially on the sides in the meantime, yet, I'm not changing them - costs too much.

It drives me nuts that a beat-up Cinelli Super Corsa is sitting at one of the LBS's right now - with Suntour Aero Grand Compe levers with a pair of brand new, white Campag hoods shoved over them. Any child can tell you that the Campags don't remotely fit the AGCs...yet, that's exactly what was done. It is sorely tempting to rip those hoods right off and put them on some Campag non-aero levers - where they belong.

Take care,

-Kurt