BertoBerg 

Hello All-

I just picked up a set of Gipiemme Cronosprint 870 shifters and I’m trying to figure out what type of shifter braze-on and/or shifter clamp they mount on. The interior of the shifter is round just like a normal braze-on retrofriction shifter but the mounting plate is different. It looks like they might fit on a Simplex/Huret style clamp.

Does anyone have experience with these shifters?

Thanks!
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Simplex clamp with round mounts.

BertoBerg 

Turns out they fit on my Masi perfectly!
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ehcoplex 

Very cool..... in that classic coke spoon way!

BertoBerg 

Not something you see (or should do) everyday!

Chombi1 

From the looks of it, these Gipiemme shifters are basically Simplex Retrofrictions. Gippiemme had sourced a lot of its components from Simplex back then, so it woupd not be surprising if they made very si.ilar products to Simplex. These might have been made right when the patent for Retrofrictions expired, which would make it simpler for them to design their own shifters, based on the Simplex Retrofrictions.

jdawginsc 

I love their plastic scoops. These are awesome!

Kontact

My understanding was that these were Simplex produced, not copies.

I have a pair of Syncro II Campagnolo shifters marked Gippiemme.

BertoBerg 

I’m having a heck of a time getting these things to not slip. If order to keep them from slipping I have to really crank down on the screw which makes moving the shifter forward very difficult. This is my third set of Retrofrictions and I’ve never had this problem before. Argh!

Kontact

Some discussion here that might help you service them:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...e-feeding.html

Chombi1 

Did you get the shifter used or NOS?. If used, the clutch spring and/or the internal barrel that it grips on to, might be worn out.
I also Do not lubricate the internals of my retrofrictions to give tye clutch spring a good grip on the internal barrel. Just clean them out with WD40 periodically to clean them out. Retrofrictions do not depend on the mounting bolts for its friction action. It gets its function one way action with just the clutch spring and internal barrel.. That is why they are not supplied with D rings or wing nuts. Just plain screws that can strip easily if overtightened.

BertoBerg 

Used. I’m going to take them apart and see what I find. Thanks!

jdawginsc 

Interesting. Good to know.

Chombi1 

You can tell if the internal barrels are worn out if you see grooves on them. Many don't believe that the mounting screws do not provide the friction on these shifters, You are getting good evidence though though that they don't as you noted that you tightened the mounting screws as much as you can and the shifters still did not function correctly. Remember, the shifters should only provide friction on the push forward direction to resist the springs on the derailleurs. There should be no friction when pulling back on the levers. You can check this before you install the cables from the shifter to the derailleurs.

BertoBerg 

Typical Retrofriction layout on the inside.







However, these shifters don’t have a groove for the arm of the spring like every other Retrofriction I’ve seen. This makes me wonder how the spring is installed in the first place.





Anyway…I cleaned the hard and tacky grease that covered the washers and internals of the shifter. I sprayed the spring with WD40 as best as I could as suggested by Chombi1.

Chombi1 

If it can be done, you might try switching the spring clutches from one side to the other. On the Simplex you cannot do that as the springs are handed left and right, but if the ones on the Gippieme are symmetrical it might work. The switching of springs might put the coils in a slightly different position on the inner barrel and away from the wear grooves.

BertoBerg 

Thanks! I’ll see if the cleaning improved anything and then go from there.

ehcoplex 

Weird/interesting.... without the slot in the lever barrel and the angled little bit at the end of the spring who does the 'clutching' work...?

Kontact

I'm willing to bet that if you push that inner bushing out to the inside, the step on the inside of that bushing will reveal a shallow slot and a rather short spring leg sticking up into it. And unlike the Simplex version, you remove that spring toward the inside.

BertoBerg 

Deep cleaning the right shifter seemed to do the trick! Working as expected now.

Chombi1