Howdy everyone - just joined and this is my first thread. OK, a little background, I used to race back in my 20's and picked the bike back up after a 20 year hiatus. I still have my 1988 Campy C-Record equipped Paramount that I luckily always took care of and it still rides great - after a thorough going thru. The problem I am faced with is the gearing on the bike is / was a 52/42 up front and a 12-24 cluster. I was able to do stupid climbs with this gearing when I was younger - not so much today (LOL). I was able to make a small concession by finding a new-old stock Campy 39 chain ring up front but only helps so much on the really steep stuff around where I live (Fresno, CA). I know what some of you folks are thinking, "Just get a cluster with 12-28 or 12-32". I would except the C-Record rear derailer I run was mostly designed for racing and it won't accomadate anything lower than a 24. I would like to keep the bike all Campy of the same era (1980's) but my budget is limited and I have a century coming up in Sept. (Tour de Fresno) that has some brutal climbs including a few hills with 15 to 17% gradient!
Can anyone recommend how I can get some hill gearing on a budget? Can you recommend a rear Campy derailer that would let me put a 12-28/30 on the rim? I don't want to change to the small cranks and certainly don't want to set up this old race bike with triple rings up front. Anyone have an old Campy derailer that would mix with these old components they want to sell? Any help would be appreciated - I am loving riding again and look forward to many more miles in the future.
Jeff.S.
Can anyone recommend how I can get some hill gearing on a budget? Can you recommend a rear Campy derailer that would let me put a 12-28/30 on the rim? I don't want to change to the small cranks and certainly don't want to set up this old race bike with triple rings up front. Anyone have an old Campy derailer that would mix with these old components they want to sell? Any help would be appreciated - I am loving riding again and look forward to many more miles in the future.
Jeff.S.