How wide chainwheel range can my Campy NR front derailleur handle?

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01-04-15, 10:55 AM

#26

Grand Bois

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Quote:

Originally Posted by davester

Another related issue...I have pre-CPSC cranks and a post-CPSC front derailleur. I'm perfectly happy to source a pre-CPSC front derailleur if necessary, but don't really want to if I don't need to.

The post-CPSC crank has the arm moved out slightly to avoid rubbing the flared end on the post-CPSC front derailleur. You may be able to get it to work, but you run the risk of damaging the crank by cutting a groove in the arm.

I wasn't willing to take the chance of damaging my chromed Record triple so I delayed finishing the build until I could find an earlier version of the derailleur. It works great with the triple, by the way.

01-04-15, 11:06 AM

#27

Road Fan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Grand Bois

The setup is certainly trickier with the lip.

01-06-15, 11:23 AM

#28

JohnDThompson

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Road Fan

interesting to see the effect of a very laid back seat tube.

I think that's an effect of camera angle. My protractor measures the angle as 72.5°.

01-06-15, 01:28 PM

#29

onespeedbiker

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Bianchigirll

I thought I saw a reference to 'touring grouppo' years ago but perhaps I am mistaken. The pic showed a long RD, FD, shifters and cable guide. For some reason I remember thing it was for a triple but maybe it was just a standard FD.

Campy did make a NR triple VeloBase.com - Component: Campagnolo 1049/5, Record (Triple) The size is 52/42/36 (same as the Nuovo Gran Sport; the short flutes show it was OEM). If you go by the OEM specs, the NR rear derailleur has a max cog of 26T and a max chain wrap of 28T; assuming a 26-14 freewheel it will work. I also believe the max ring difference with the NR front derailleur is 16T, which is the difference of the triple, so all in all the NR triple is very doable for light touring.

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10-05-15, 01:12 PM

#30

phicycle

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CA NR Fder range capability

Quote:

Originally Posted by davester

I'm in the midst of regearing my Ron Cooper with triple chainrings to match my ancient knees and the hilly terrain I ride. Here's what I have:

52/42 campy NR crankset, now with a Red Clover 42T triplizer ring
13/28 IRD 7-speed freewheel
SOMA long cage for my campy NR rear derailleur
Campy NR front derailleur

My preference currently would be to put an inner ring of 28T on the crankset to get me down to a comfortable granny gear. I'd love to keep the 52T outer ring on my crankset but I fear that my campy NR front derailleur is not up to the task of shifting that 24T range. Therefore, I'm asking you folks how far I need to reduce my large chainring to make this setup work. Dropping down to 50T would be OK because that would still leave me with a 102 top gear. However, I'm not sure that the 50T is small enough to work with a 28T inner. Can anybody with experience give me guidance on this? Thanks.

Another related issue...I have pre-CPSC cranks and a post-CPSC front derailleur. I'm perfectly happy to source a pre-CPSC front derailleur if necessary, but don't really want to if I don't need to.

So, having not read the complete thread with all the replies, maybe someone else has already discovered and mentioned that with proper chain management and a long cage rear derailleur, a vintage Campy NR or SR front derailleur will handle a 26-39-53, albeit with a bit of "digital indexing" to minimize chain rub. I also found that widening the lower spacing tube/bushing enables a bit more forgiveness when experimenting with smaller cogs. I also have a vintage Tommasini on which I use a modified SR crank drilled for an inner ring giving me a 30-42-53, and with my old 13-23 (7 speed) freewheel, I can now climb all those hills I sued to be able to do with my 42x21. And my Super Record(1978 in this case) Rear Derailleur handles the job extremely well! The only mod was relieving some precious Campy aluminum from the derailleur stop block on the upper body, effectively relaxing the "B" tension, gives a bit more chain capacity and helps keep the upper pulley closer to the cogs for good shifting even with a Syncro II DT shifter.
Cheer,
campy phi-le