Gdando

Please forgive the newbee question. Although my Olmo still has her original GS groupset I am looking at upgrading the hubs and brake levers to Records. I understand that much of this is aesthetics however is the any performance benifits in this endeavor? The old man at the LBS has advise to not change anything considering how original my bike is.

ColonelJLloyd 

If the hubs are in good condition you wouldn't notice the upgrade. I'd be inclined to follow the advice of the geezer at the LBS.

CV-6 

About the only time you notice the difference between a GS and a Record hub is on the bike stand watching them spin down.

sloar 

my ocd makes me have all the same components no matter what they are. my wallet keeps me from upgrading, so i would stay with whats on there.

Dave Mayer

"Upgrading" the hubs might save you 0.001 watts of power during riding. Hub frictional losses are negligible. May sure they are set up right (bearing preload), and that they are freshly greased. Regrease every few months using the handy grease injection port feature in the dustcaps.

In terms of longevity, I had a set of Campy Tipo hubs I bought in the 70s. Similar quality to Gran Sport. I wore out 4 sets of rims over 30 years and the hubs were still perfectly fine. Proper setup and lubrication will ensure these hubs basically last forever.

BTW: check to make sure the rear axle is not bent (which means broken).

As far as brakes, I would strip out all of the original brake caliper and lever hardware and replace with new dual pivot brakes and aero levers. Far better performance in every respect. A $50 Tektro brake and lever combo will be a major upgrade that will make your bike safer.

And change out all of the original cable housings. The old unlined housing sucked - period.

repechage

Vintage Campagnolo Record hubs just look so nice… I would do it just for the aesthetics. Functional differences are small. Any racer way back felt they HAD to use Record hubs.

As to the brake levers… I am not sure why the desire to change those, Gran Sport brake levers are basically the Record levers with a different color hood and stampings, finish on the lever blade.
There might be something in your initial description missing on that.

Bandera

That's what old men are for, to tell you: "No."
Overhaul the hubs w/ fresh grease and proceed, also stay off the old guy's lawn.

-Bandera

rootboy 

I love Record hubs, but I agree with the old man. Maybe some day you can pick up a used set of nice wheels with Record hubs and swap them as you fancy.

miamijim

Properly adjust G.S. hubs will spin better than poorly adjusted Record hubs. I'd leave them alone.

bikemig 

This could be a Bike Forums' first: agreement on a question. Sounds like the old man at the LBS knows his stuff. I love my tipo hubs and use them on 2 wheel sets that I still ride regularly.

bconneraz

leave it alone; you won't feel the difference. good on the ol' dude at the LBS.

jimmuller 

Well, I'm going to be the dissenting voice. You will definitely feel the difference even if you can't see it. Remove the old hubs immediately. You can send them to me and I'll dispose of them properly.

SJX426 

Record HF, Record, LF, Tipo HF, Mavic 500's, Dura Ace - got them all and they all ride great! Keep what you got and make sure they are adjusted properly which will determine if the parts are good or not. If they are good, you can't really do better.

OTS 

Those old hubs are considered hazardous waste.
Only someone with a hazardous waste container can safely dispose of those hubs.
Since I have such a container, I will gladly ship that container to you.
Carefully wrap hubs in said container and affix the pre-paid shipping label and I will make sure that they are disposed of properly.

RubberLegs

OH NO! Are these toxic too?!? Have not yet decided if I am doing 27s with these and throwing them on my Torpado, or something else...Vintage Campy HAVE a LOOK!

eschlwc

id like to address the non-aero to aero suggestion above with this experience:

yes, new aero levers are easier to use, they streamline the look and the cockpit may be a little more comfortable at first, but you lose a lot of the beauty and novelty of having levers that fit the rest of the bike's composite appeal.

i made this upgrade twice when i started out building bikes, and i regret it. i have aero levers and new dual pivots on my two '70s bikes. yes, the braking is slightly improved over my other two vintage bikes, but the bikes with the non-aero levers (it turns out) are more fun to ride with their old hoods and somewhat more hand pressure required to stop. and they look completely appropriate.

one of these days, i'm going to return both bikes to non-aero and try to find some older, more stylish dual-pivots that don't look as out of place. if the brakes are adjusted well and include kool stop pads, they'll still stop great and be more pleasing to my overall riding and c&v worshiping aesthetic.

3alarmer 

...you are such a romantic.

3alarmer 

.....................

Gdando

Happy New Year from Sicily and thank you all for the wisdom and guidance. I will leave things alone for now however I am still unsure on what brake cables to get. I was leaning toward the braided VO cables however I have read via the search option that the housing is stiff. As a newbee I don't understand what that means in terms of braking efficiency and smoothness.

3alarmer 

...I use both the cables and the housings made and sold in bulk by Jagwire. We buy the bulk shop rolls for the co-op here.
You can also buy Jagwire cable and housing packages in smaller quantities from most online sources like Amazon, AE Bike, Niagara, etc.

I don't know much about what's easily available to you in Sicily.

You definitely want to use cable housings that are lined with plastic, as it significantly reduces resistance.
The cables made by many companies are now die drawn stainless, which makes them somewhat smoother, again reducing resistance.

Road Fan

I don't think I got what calipers Gdando has on his bike, but I would start by fully rebuilding the existing calipers with new Koolstop shoes in the original brake shoe holders, and excellent cables - vintage NOS NR, or Modolo, something with a thick inner cable, a lined outer cable, well-filed ends, and ferrules on the ends. If the brake cables are the correct length, dressed right, calipers tight and lubricated and good shoes, they are as good as new. Old brakes when new stopped bikes well. Yours can, too. Don't bother the levers - too much farting around will result in torn hoods; talk about an overpriced part!

Road Fan, old guy not at the bike shop.

Gary Fountain

The real practical difference between the GS hubs and the Record hubs is the method of producing the bearing surfaces. The Gran Sport hub bearings are 'pressed out' of plate stock where the Record hub bearing surfaces are ground from a solid blank. The Record bearing surfaces are more accurate and will have less friction.

In your situation, with a full GS groupset, I would keep the original hubs and brake levers. I think a full GS equipped bike is rarer than a Record equipped bike these days.

Zieleman

Keep your GS stuff Gdando! It completes the panto'd GS gruppo you got on that beautiful Olmo and originality on a classic ride translates to a major smile whether you ride it, or look at it.

I got a full GS gruppo on my v.Herwerden and it goes just as fast and smooth as the Record stuff on my other bikes. Don't feel like it's second best stuff, just make sure you train enough so you can keep up with or break away from the CF riders when you get the chance.

Gdando

It's funny you said that because I have not touched my CF bike since started riding the Olmo. I don't know if I would consider myself a C&V convert yet but I am enjoying every moment.

rootboy 

Then your hubs hardly matter.