Recently picked this up and trying to learn more about it. Part of what attracted me to it was the obscurity and it being a little unusual (made in Japan for a Canadian company), and it's nice and tall which fits me great.
What I know about it: I purchased from the original buyer who bought it in 1975. He said it originally had stem shifters but apparently the cool thing at the time was to change to down tube shifters.
- Huret Jubilee friction stem shifters
- Campagnolo rear derailleur
- Suntour Compe V front derailleur
- Dia compe centerpull brakes and levers
Would love to learn more about the make and model and anything else about it. No serial number on the BB but a very short letter/number on the seat tube near the top. This is my first ever road bike so still getting comfortable riding it. There's no way those brake levers are in the correct spot right?
I bought this with the intention of having a project and converting to single-speed or fixed gear, but it's in such great condition I think I'm just going to enjoy riding it as is for a while. Anything you can tell me about my new ride would be much appreciated!
by No_Passage3381
1 Comment
Yes, ride it as it is, very unusual, would be a shame to take it apart.
That rear derailleur looks awesome, the perfection of simplicity. However it seems operation was an entirely different affair:
“Campagnolo expanded their focus to include touring derailleurs. At the 1970 Paris show, they introduced the Gran Turismo touring rear derailleur. The Gran Turismo had bad cage geometry and it shifted terribly, but it was so strong that when the chain jammed, it bent the bike rather than the derailleur. It was arguably the worst rear derailleur to carry Campagnolo’s logo”
“it only changed to an approximation of the gear you had selected and only did so when it could be bothered – which was not often. After a few hundred miles of wrestling with this petulant piece of garbage, we ripped it off.”