J T CUNNINGHAM

"Could you be more specific, J.T. ?"
rootboy

Most definitely.

Do take note that there are no punctuation points, aka periods, after each capitalised letter; there being however, a space between the two.


Regards,
J T

justin10054

I've got one of those Campy 3.5mm Allen wrenches. I found it at a swap meet with a few other Campy tools. The seller looked like he had just cleaned out an old bike shop, but knew nothing about what he was selling. His booth was mostly picked through when I got there, but I saw a guy walking away with an armful of 531 forks having just paid $5 for the lot.

JohnDThompson 

To be fair, those scalloped nuts could also be adjusted with a standard headset wrench; it's just that the scalloped wrenches were less likely to mar the soft aluminum pieces.

JohnDThompson 

IIRC, Zeus' thin-wall remover pre-dates Phil's and also fits Atom and Regina splined bodies.



Zeus was actually quite clever with their freewheel: not only does it accommodate that nice, thin-wall splined remover, but it also has slots that will work with the then-ubiquitous Regina two-prong remover. So if your mechanic wasn't quite up to speed with a new-fangled splined remover, you could still remove the freewheel with the traditional two-prong tool.

miamijim

Normal 2 prongs are more prone to slippage which in turn chews up the alloy bodies. That's a why a majority of Campy freewheels on Ebay are chewed up.....people use a normal 2 prong.

And that why Suntour uses a 6 prong for their alloy freewheels.

BentLink

Hah! Try finding tools for a MAVIC headset!
https://www.cadre.org/bike_stuff/Mavi...s/DSC_8518.JPG

miamijim

Campy's first gen cartridge BB's...goofy tool
Campy's later square taper cartridge BB's...goofy tool
Campy pedal dust caps...goofy tool
Campy 2 bolt seat post bolts...goofy tool
Campy left hand threaded crank arms...goofy tool

gugie 

Don't need them. A standard headset wrench, used carefully, will work just fine.

It makes it harder to steal your seapost with a Brooks saddle on it. Happens a lot in Berkeley, Portland, and other cities. At least one good use for them.

JohnDThompson 

Sure, but since they were designing their freewheel from scratch, they could have adopted the same splined pattern that Atom, Regina, and Zeus adopted and avoided that risk.

The "not invented here" syndrome, I suspect.

ramzilla

That's exactly why I gave up on French & Italian bikes. Now it's only Japanese please.

CliffordK

Is the spacing of the prongs the same as on Park tools?

If the spacing is right, then one could make quick work of modifying a Park freewheel tool to fit using a file. Only need to worry about the gripping side.

CliffordK

As far as dust caps... I never remove them unless they fall out when I'm working on the wheel.

I usually just shove a rag into the hole and clean it out with the dust cap in place. I never had the proper dust cap tool, and there is too much risk damaging them when removing with a screwdriver.

justin10054

With C-Record hubs you can't even remove the locknuts and cones without first removing the dustcaps.

flyfisherbob

Thanks everyone for the advice and the entertainment. I don't normally vent in forums like these, but had spent my lunch hours for three straight days trying to get the headset loose so I can service it, remove the freewheel, and learn how to get to the bearing cones. The result was, success on the headset, a lesson on the dust caps (a very cool tool, by the way) and nothing on the freewheel. This consisted in visits to multiple bike shops, with the best luck at the last one.

As for why I bought a bike such as this without understanding the need for campy specific tools, I'll plead guilty. While pretty new at this, and way less experienced than most who frequent here, I have rebuilt several bikes over the last couple of years, and am used to a project requiring an addition to the tool chest. In the case of the Scafin, this is the first Campy equipped bike I have bought. I got it for a very good price, with the idea that I could rebuild and sell, or possibly keep it as it is a good fit for me. There are some parts on it that I am sure are highly sought after, so I could sell some of the bike's parts and recoup the cost of the bike and replace the pieces I sold off.

Some things will need to be changed. I was not the one who radial spoked the sheriff star hubs, which I understand is a disaster waiting to happen. I will also need shifters, as someone in the past removed the downtube shifters are replaced with some really junky grip shifters.

Spaghetti Legs 

I've always worked under the assumption that since pretty much all racing bikes in the 70's and early '80's were Campy it was all the other manufacturers who were being goofy and not following suit.

Modern bikes can be just as frustrating with External bottom brackets, BB30 system, whatever sizes headsets are now, what chain I can use with what bike, and so on.

CliffordK

Most of my stuff isn't that new

CliffordK

There is a campy freewheel tool on E-Bay for the next half hour.

Campagnolo Freewheel Removal Tool for Handle Vintage Racing Bicycle Vintage | eBay

With 25% off the initial price

No flats for a wrench is strange

72Paramount

If you update your fleet to campy only, you won't have any problems as you will gather all the correct tools for what you are doing. I know it can be frustrating not having the right stuff for the job,but this is C&V. Lesson one: quit going to bike shops to work on your classic. The shops don't want to deal with your "classic". They want to sell you a new cf something. It's cheaper to get on eBay and gather what you need and be happy

OldsCOOL

When we all get over the proprietary quirks of "campagnono", I will speak as a late entry to the Campy camp, here is the English rendering for Campagnolo:

Seductive.

In the Club, baby.

JohnDThompson 

It's to fit the Campagnolo handle (not included):

rootboy 

Sometimes even the correct Campy tool is not right. As Miami Jim included in his list, the two bolt saddle tool. Pretty, but a real PIA.

Bianchigirll 

Any Campagnolo parts you wish to discard because of the need for special tools simply mail them to me for proper disposal.

flyfisherbob

My main error, and it was mine, was assuming that most of my current tools would work. I have built up ten bikes over the last couple of years, and am used to having to pick up the occasional tool, mostly freewheel tools, and in one case a bottom bracket tool. What took me by surprise was the sheer number of tools possibly required to work on this bike. In general I agree that taking a "classic" to the lbs is less than optimal. I had taken it to a couple that are better with older technology, one of which saved me quite a bit of money by steering me correctly on some parts. The second, mentioned in my earlier post was recommended by that shop as having a mechanic they send people to as a local "campy guy". He was a lot of help, getting the headset loose and showing me how to get the dust cap off the hubs and at least accessing the bearing cones. He seemed a bit non-plussed that his freewheel tool was not around, because "I used to have one around here". He did show me in a catalog what one looks like.

I'm sure I will never convert the fleet to campy, but surprisingly the local CL has recently had a run (relatively speaking) of Italian bikes noting campy components. I am currently watching one that seems very well priced, that would be a build and sell project. I'm thinking a trip to the local coop is in order.

CliffordK

Ahh, thanks.

I was thinking for a bar (sawed off screwdriver). But, I always like to clamp the QR down on my freewheel tool, and that seemed problematic.

A handle with a replacable socket makes a lot more sense.

Fahrenheit531 

Early on I decided the word that actually carries that translation is "Bicycle Manufacturer." But as jobs arise that require a funny tool, I acquire the funny tool.
And my tool box is funnier every day.