Kekec1965

Acquired a nice(ish) early 1970s Falcon bike recently incorrectly badged as Rory O'Brien, with 1980s Ishiwata replacement forks, 1990s Shimano DT shifters, but interestengly also 1960's Campagnolo gearing. I have few questions for the knowledgeable people here on the Forum

As you can see from the images, jockey wheels on rear mech are cracked and I'm looking for a replacement if at all available? Should I bother to find replacement or if I move these on leave the predicament to a new owner? Is the front matching in terms on the era? Is the seatpost matching too?

Also would anyone know anything about the dropbars marked Ambrosio Coppi Road Pattern, Made in England, and are these also matching the above bits timewise? (will drop pic in when I find it)

Many thanks in advance as usual

oneclick 

Record rear mech, might have been first gen with bb pulleys as those don't look right (or good).
Record front mech, does it have a slot in the cable stop, if not is also first gen (slot = 2nd).
Someone's milled flutes in a Record post - and long enough that they'll be little wells full of water after any wet ride, beside being a Bad Idea.

juvela

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Record front mech w/housing stop a valuable item

Campag did produce a Record Superlight model saddle pillar during the 1960's which exhibited fluting, rare

this is not it, fluting performed post manufacture and does not enhance value


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randyjawa 

I agree 100%. I would not use that seat post for the reason suggested. Here is a picture of the way the rear derailleur should look. I might add that the bike and derailleur looks to have seen a lot of use. Chances are the derailleur pivot pins are badly worn, as was the case in another one that came my way. It did not shift worth beans. This one works just fine but sports a limited capacity...

Kekec1965

Thanks to all for answers, much obliged
@randyjawa - I can't see any difference, apart from the obvious cosmetic appearance and fact that jockey wheels on your rear derailleur seem not original? Everything moves freely and nicely, not exhibiting any worn pivots either.
@oneclick - yes there is a slot in the cable housing stop.
@juvela - sorry what do you mean by that? Any value indication?

Seat post wise I agree with the comment it looks very much belonging to Sunday, fair weather permitting bike indeed. It is i believe Record, not SR as you can still see World logo?

Kekec1965

Slot showing and added pic of drop bars engraving on one of the tips

repechage

The milled seatpost has the small size Campagnolo type- 1970 at the latest, well before Superleggero - Post mfg milling.
I am not afraid of it, the value is diminished as scratched up from insert and removal. Still plenty of life. And it never rains in California...
a slather of grease below the exposed flutes is the way it was done. I could use a seatpost of this era for a 1968 bike.

the front mech is early, but not first Gen.
there are no backside screw retainers.

the Record rear mech has possible original pulleys but they are wasted. Save the bushings- there is a guy planning a refurbish using the mechanical cores and machining new plastic.

Kekec1965

Thanks @repechage , I like your 'never rains in California' statement, I wished it was true for sunny England too Value wise, I think 200$ would be achievable for all three items, unless I'm mistaken. That would cover the cost of bike purchase, frameset (pictured below) will be practically donated to someone willing to take a project on.

bulgie 

The cracked pulleys are almost certainly original. 9-tooth plastic pulleys were used on late-model Record and the first year or so of the Nuovo, before switching to 10-tooth. 9t pulleys in usable shape are rare, and expensive when you can find them, unless you get really lucky.

Jim Merz has made new (repro) 9t pulleys and has offered to make more if someone sends him the metal "hub" parts so that all he has to make is the plastic bit. They are almost indistinguishable from originals, but rather expensive ($100/pair I believe), so only worth it for an excruciatingly-correct restoration project. Most people will forgive you for putting on newer 10t pulleys, and if anyone gives you grief, stop talking to that person!

Note, I am not complaining about Jim Merz's prices. $100 is not a lot to have something custom-machined by a master like Jim; he's not making much money on the deal actually. It's a hobby for him. All I'm saying is you gotta really want it, to pay such a price for such a tiny detail.

No offense to OP's mech intended, but it's probably not in good enough shape (chrome etc.) to be worth putting Merz pulleys on it.

Speaking of Jim Merz, another wonderful service he offers is unriveting and re-riveting Campy derailer parallelograms. He machines his own bushings and pins with tighter tolerances than the originals, and he's made the punches to make the rivet ends look like original. So if one were crazy enough, you could disassemble all the parts and re-chrome them. You can usually find one with nice chrome for less money than all that would cost though.

But ability to put the parallelogram together from parts opens some interesting possibilities. I've had him graft the top knuckle from a Campy Sport (not Gran Sport), which has a sprung pivot, onto the rest of a Record parallelogram. Making what Campy never made back then (that I know of) but they could have: a mech with sprung pivots top and bottom, like a Simplex Prestige. This is pretty cool for Campaholics who have gotten fat and need low gears. I have it on a bike with a wide-range triple and a 31t large freewheel cog, capacity not maxed out. Without the sprung top pivot, that mech is mostly limited to small differences between the chainrings, like the half-step setups racers liked back then. With a wider span between the chainrings, you can normally only use small corncob freewheels. I also had Jim graft the Sport top to an older Gran Sport (bronze/steel, not the later alloy one), so I have a good derailer choice for lower gears on an older bike where a Record would be too new. And technically period-correct since anyone could have done this BITD, and maybe someone did.

Actually the hybrid mechs are a bit of a PITA; aside from the expense of buying two vintage derailers and paying Merz to graft them, it is also much trickier to install on the bike. I can go into more detail for anyone who's interested but I'll stop now since I'm "derailing" the discussion. Pics of my Record hybrid here. Here are some pics of the Gran Sport hybrid.

Mark B

repechage

When I see that typeface, I think of the Movie title for Boogie Nights.

Mad Honk 

Kekec,
I have some non-split 10 tooth pulleys here if you want to go down that rabbit hole. PM me if needed or wanted, Smiles, MH

bikemig 

I'm skeptical that you have $200 (or the equivalent in pounds sterling) worth of parts in those 3 items particularly given their condition.

Kekec1965

Perhaps you are wright, may put it on the dark side of the Fleabay and see what happens...

Kekec1965

Thanks for suggestion @bulgie and yes you are correct in that this particular rear mech is not worth the cost and bother by replacing jockeys that cost more than the mech itself.