Campagnolo Vintage Components

FWIW. By my reckoning, the brake calipers & seat post are mid-to-late 80s vintage -- c1986-87.

I don't know if the particular single pivot brake calipers preceded the Monoplaner calipers (¿c1988-91?) and/or were contemporary with them ... I think the former.

It seems to me (which means that I apparently didn't pay enough attention) that the difference between Gruppos was often subtle & the differences were sometimes smaller than one might find now -- for example, different color O-rings, different brake pads/holders, etc.!?!

What do the rest of the components look like?

Victory. Mid to Late 1980's as a guess, so agreeing with Alf on the date range.

Quoted post said:

What do the rest of the components look like?

Unfortunately the frameset only had the calipers, seatpost, quill stem and headset. I guess the original owner kept the drivetrain components for himself.

Here are some photos of the headset:
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When did Campy start engraving their logos and used the cursive lettering on their components? My research only took me as far back as 1994 (scanned catalogs and spare parts manuals) where almost all components had engravings.

I've narrowed the stem to a Cinelli due to the styling and the cone expander bolt they use, but am unsure of the model (Oyster maybe?). I know it's not Campy, but any help identifying it would be much appreciated.
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Thanks a lot guys.

Early 90's Athena and that stem is definitely not a Cinelli.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by swampy1970 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

...that stem is definitely not a Cinelli.

Oh well... [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif[/IMG]

Early 90's Athena and that stem is definitely not a Cinelli.

The brakes are different from my Victory calipers, mine are more 'Record looking'. The seatpost is exactly the same as my Victory components, although the OP's seatpost has oxidized a good bit.

Cinelli did manufacture a hinged stem, the Oyster, but it hat a plastic hinge cover, plastic gap spacer and a plastic expander bolt plug.

WAG time...it could be a Modolo or a Zeus. They cloned a lot of Campy and Cinelli designs. It's a Cinelli Oyster clone...right down to the length (110MM) size forged into the expander tube. Your photo seems to show it lacking the traditional Cinelli grip grooves on the inside diameter of the clamp area and the profile of the forged body is a bit different from a genuine Cinelli.

Did Tange or Sakae ever do up a hinged design? I don't know. I doubt Nitto did and I think Pivo was done by that era.

Good luck restoring it! tracking down the parts will be fun!

Victory seatpost (Pinarello pantographed).

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A front shot of the Modolo hinged stem. Yours seems to be machined to accept a hinge cover.

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Definitely NOT a 3T hinged stem...entirely different contours.

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Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by e_guevara [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Oh well... [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif[/IMG]

Does it matter?

Parts come-and-go on a frame and are not a positive indicator of the bike's vintage or quality ...

• beyond the original derailleurs, I had everything from a Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur (c1981) on my mid-80s PEUGEOT PH-501 to an XTR 950 rear derailleur (c2000)
  
• most of the components on my mid-80s OLMO are of a later vintage than the frame
  
• the frame that I have which has the most up-to-date (c2010) components is a "project" bike whose exceedingly modest frame dates to the 90s
  

The rear dropouts were respaced to 130mm on the fore mentioned frames.

FYI. If the vintage of the frame matters to you because you are planning a "restoration" then the frame's rear dropouts may be a better indicator of when the frame was probably made ...

Not definitive by any means:

• a frame with horizontal Campagnolo dropouts whose rear derailleur hanger has essentialy NO drop would probably put the frame as pre-1987 ...
  
• a horizontal Campagnolo dropout whose rear derailleur hanger has some drop would possibly be late 80s, but not necessarily ...
  
• a vertical, or semi-vertical, dropout would probably place the frame in the early-90s (?) ... or, later.
  

SO, I recommend that you choose the components which suit your aesthetic sensibilities, or riding needs.

Quoted post said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by e_guevara [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Oh well... [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif[/IMG]

Originally Posted by alfeng [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Does it matter?

Not really. It's just that I thought I already had an Italian stem to go with my Italian bike project, it would have made the build easier. But hey, part of the fun of having a vintage bike project is looking for the parts, right? [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/IMG] It's all good alfeng, no worries [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]

FWIW, the frame that the components came on was a 1999 Giant TCR aluminum frame. I didn't want to "desecrate" the components so I took them off and put a Shimano group on it. The bike now serves as a training bike.

I decided to make a vintage Italian bike from the parts. I am not after making a "period" bike - one that has all the "right" componentry. I know that vintage parts are hard to come by, let alone be of the same period as the ones you've previously acquired. I just want to build something from the old days, away from all the modern technical road bikes that get boring after some time.

I'm still in the process of hunting down a vintage frame in modest condition - wouldn't want to do a "full blown" restoration as my schedule and resources will not permit it.

Thanks for all the good inputs and replies guys!

Still an unresolved issue though...

When did Campy:
- start engraving the logo on their components?
- start using the cursive "Campagnolo" on the components?
- start putting the gruppo's names on their components?

It seems it's hard to determine the vintage and the group a component belonged to, not unless you have experience with them.

When did Campy:
- start engraving the logo on their components?

Which logo? The winged wheel? The shield? The script? AFAIK, they always have forged, cast or milled their I.D. into most of their pieces parts. The winged wheel appeared in 1943 according to velo-retro. The shield was 1983.

- start using the cursive "Campagnolo" on the components?

No clue, but velo retro dates it to the 1940's and it was registered as a trademark in 1953. A long cruise thru the Campyonly website will detail hundreds of vintage Campy items with date ranges and close up images.

- start putting the gruppo's names on their components?

I have 1972 Record stuff that is so marked and even my inexpensive 1974 Valentino components are identified as such. Not every component in a groupset is marked. Once cheapo laser marking and paint transfer replaced the much more labor intensive engraved forging dies, impression stamping dies and machine engraving...it became easier to mark up every little thing. Record and Super Record rear derailleurs used to be date marked by mechanical impression stamp. Now...a bar code tranfers that get obliterated by solvets. lubricants and waxing is all the rage...

Decalcomania and product branding also became more 'pro' and trendy among the masses also. And Borat's cousin charged less money than Luigi's cousin, so more could be done for less!

It seems it's hard to determine the vintage and the group a component belonged to, not unless you have experience with them.

Yeah. With 40 years on 99% Campy under my hat, I still fubared your caliper I.D.! I was too lazy to walk to the storage area to look at my old Victory calipers on a Gardin racer from the mid-1980's. My Victory seat post is a twin to yours, but never having used Athena-level components, I don't know if they simply adopted the Victory post or if your bike had a mixed bag of components on it.

As Alf stated, many bikes got re-arranged over the years.