Campagnolo quick-release lever evolution
 

I decided to snap a couple pics and throw this out there after receiving a nice little package from Ebay today. I'd BIN'd a non-matching pair of SR/NR quick release skewers (needed both an early flat lever and later curved model). When I got them, the curved one struck me as odd. It's the second-from-left in the below photo:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7...3ff23d86_b.jpg

And the second one down from the top in this photo:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7...9535ecd7_b.jpg

What I know:

The bottom one is the second (or third?) generation of the flat type (non-open-C), the next one up from the bottom is the 1967/68 curved lever from the one-year-only quick-release Pista hubset and the topmost one is the later-model Super/Nuovo Record lever that went all the way to the end of the model line (IIRC, C-Record used the same lever, but the end nuts on the driveside changed in shape).

What's up with the second one in from the left/down from the top? When did this transitional lever come into being? I like weird little details like this (for example, Superleggeri/Nuovo Record pedal cages have a couple of distinctive differences over the years) and would be interested in knowing a little more about this particular Campy short-run.

Anybody? And does anyone happen to have an orphan available? I'd like to find a match so I can put together a complete set on my newest pair of wheels :)

DD

nice set, nice enough to frame.

May have just been bent by a previous owner. That was a thing to do at a time.

No it has the LOCKED stamp on it which indicates it is post CPSC which should mean it came from the factory bent.

Oh, I was talking about the second from the bottom. Never mind.

Second from the bottom is the front QR of the 67/68 catalog Pista hubset. The drawings in that catalog show the front having a slight curve while the rear is quite extreme:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4074/4...edd6ba80_b.jpg

My question regarding the one I got today is that it's a later version, curved like the more later versions, but instead of having a cross-hatched background and the "Campagnolo" script, it has the pebbled background and "Campagnolo" in block letters. It's almost a conglomeration of the old and new styles. I have no idea when this came into the lineup, but it must have been a pretty short run; this is the only one I myself have ever seen.

DD

HiCampy has a bent open C version he thinks was factory built. Although, atmo, his evidence is a bit weak.

http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~campa/newpage8.htm

http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~campa/RIMG120811.jpg

Great point (although the Pista QRs did come from the factory bent for just the one-year run); I'm sure the one I got today is a transitional lever between the flat one and Campagnolo script ones that replaced the flat ones. I'm thinking this might have happened around 1978 or so, but that's a wild guess.

Anyone have Campagnolo catalogs from about this time period that may show a photo/drawing with this particular lever?

DD

And since we're on the subject of small detail changes that don't seem to be common knowledge, here's what I was referring to concerning the pedal cage differences.

Note the differences in the quill ends (earlier version on the left):

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5117/7...005d2ed6_b.jpg

Slightly different shapes to the kick-tabs (earlier version is the lower pedal):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7...6f059d8e_b.jpg

Virtual six-pack to whomever spots the difference (not already called out above) in this photo (earlier version is again the lower pedal):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7232/7...732f01f0_b.jpg

Like I said, I like to notice little nuances like this in Campy's production runs; I'm weird that way :)

** Surely somebody has some info on the QR lever that started this query? And maybe even has an orphan they'd like to pass along for either cash, trade or drillium work?

DD

A. Slight font difference in "PATENT" and "MADE IN ITALY" due to replacement dies in the tooling
B. Later pedal is marked "BREV. CAMP" on the pedal flats; earlier version has "D" (Denti) on the flat, and "Brev. Camp" on the rounded area. (I dare say this is the answer you had in mind all along with this picture quiz, DD)
C. The two cutouts on this side of the pedal show slight differences in their edge treatment due to the revised dies - later pedal has noticably crisper edges.
D. Strap retainer tab on the later pedal sticks inboard more than its earlier cousin - again, due to die revision.

Don't forget the earlier Superleggeri pedals that carry a different font entirely, and the ones marked on the top of the pedal body with "1037 <C>":

http://www.kurtkaminer.com/campagnolo_pedal_early.jpg

-Kurt

I thought the "D" stood for Destra (Right), "S" for Sinistra (Left).

Well, you went quite overboard on the various tiny details - but did manage to miss the one glaring (in comparison!) difference. It specifically has to do with the cage, and I'll say you're close with regard to the toestrap tab - look above it :)

And you are of course correct about the completely different fonts used in the earliest versions (and of course the model number stamped onto the barrel).

Any idea about the QR lever? You've had a lot of Campy pass through your hands!

DD

This is correct. BTW, do you know the origin of the word "Sinistra"?

DD

If you re-read D, you'll notice I was referring to the tab above the strap retainer, not the retainer itself. In short, I didn't miss it :)

I did screw up on the translation of destra though.

Never made a study of the levers. You're pretty much stuck trying to date Q/R levers based on hub locknuts - if you're reasonably certain that the Q/R and the hub are a set. Too obscure (or rather, too few good examples) to bother with it.

-Kurt

Sure. Frank Sinistra, Sammy Destra Jr., Dean Marin, Peter Lawford Weigle, Richard Confente.

Collectively known as the Tubular Flat-Pack.

-Kurt

^ I'm no expert, but I remember having read about how in ancient times the right side was associated with good, correct, and the left with wrong or bad. Hence "sinistra" in Italian means "left" and also "sinister". In Spanish "siniestro" means roughly the same as in Italian and also an accident or damage.

:roflmao2:

From what I've been told, it has to do with left-handed people. Back in the day, they were considered suspect, or even "sinister". Sorta like one of the ways our early settlers determined who was and was not a witch :)

DD

I get you - when I read "strap retainer tab" I thought you meant the actual tab itself. But you're right: the cage portion above the tab is a little longer than the later cage stamping.

I hope to find another lever like this one, if only to make a complete set. I like the fact it's different and not too common, but also not an obscurity that a lot of collectors are either looking for or aware of.

DD

All I know is we used to curve them before Campagnolo started; if you have a curved one that should be straight, someone probably did it themselves.

I think something is being lost in translation here.

The lever in question is obviously intended to be curved, and was done so at the factory. The difference between the earlier flat lever and later curved lever is in the lettering/background. It's curved and shorter and has a pebbled background with block lettering vice a cross-hatched background with script lettering. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea around which year this short-run of transitional lever would have been produced. I'm hoping it shows up in somebody's Campagnolo catalog (I don't have any of my own).

DD

Interesting - how did you go about curving them without breaking them?

DD

Hey MODS:

Any idea how the start of this thread ended up here?

http://www.cyclebetting.com/05/2012/...ver-evolution/

I was doing a Google search using the phrase "Campagnolo quick release lever" and my Flickr photos showed up. I clicked on the photo and it took me to the cyclebetting.com site.

Anybody ever have this happen to them? Weird...

DD

haha, yes http://www.cyclebetting.com/05/2011/...sa-chain-ring/


i forget how i came across it after the fact, but if you google "derosa chain ring", then click on 'images', two of my pics show up in the first section of pics. clicking on either one of them takes you to cyclebetting.com, which has a "copy" of my post from BF.

so it's late but i thought i'd check all my loose skewers and in-use Record wheel sets and low and behold...


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/7...86a3ab9f_b.jpg


i bought a high flange Record hub set from a BF member over a year ago and built them up, never noticed the odd lever on the rear hub. unfortunately the front is the regular old script type you would expect to see. if i remember correctly the cones were stamped 1973 (i could double check, just not at 3:46am). assuming this odd skewer is original, this might indicate a transitional design as previously speculated by DD, ~1974 being the CPSC updates to all affected components. worth noting is the nut which holds the lever to the skewer, mine uses a locking nut while DD's has an acorn nut, i'm assuming the original has been replaced at some point.



this next one may not qualify 100%, but it's a weird one as well...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/7...8b8eb6c6_b.jpg


Campagnolo Record S-U hub. the hub uses 9 7/32" balls, just like a regular Record hub. axle is steel just like a regular Record hub. only difference i see between the S-U and a regular hub are the outside/lock nuts which are much thinner and the area immediately around the dust shield has a flat lip, whereas the regular hub has a smooth transition from hub to dust shield.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7...689a597d_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5470/7...69150bee_b.jpg





the outside/lock nuts are not date stamped unfortunately.

also, the S-U hub doesn't have the world logo behind Campagnolo.

i believe DD has an S-U hub as well (or had an opportunity to buy a wheel set with a rear S-U hub), there was speculation that the world logo may have been polished out and the Campagnolo re-engraved. this hub has never been built up and appears to have not been polished and the Campagnolo is still very shallow in comparison to the standard Record hubs.


some more levers for fun, first up, some custom curved levers i got from miamijim:


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/7...54a609f9_b.jpg

still need a cleaning.


then this lever seems to have been slightly off in the die:


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7...98e6c043_b.jpg



oh dbakl, and like DD, i'd like to know how flat levers were curved by DIYers back in the day.