Schweinhund

So I'm looking over the Centurion LeMans I picked up at the second hand store the other day and the letters BREV caught my eye.
I'm like hmm? Sure enough I also see the letters CAMP...
I stop in complete shock. I have never, ever had a Campagnolo part of any kind. worked on OPB's with campy, but never had any.
In my mind, it's not mine yet, it's a part on a flip.
But as soon as I take it off the bike to fix the headset, it becomes mine. My FIRST Campy part..
I don't know if I want an EA to a Campy part.
What is the Campy virus like? I hear it's insatiable.
It's making my OCD nuts looking at it on a crappy headset...

cudak888 

Super Record headset spacer, IIRC?

-Kurt

daverup 

The spacer might have taken the place of a headset reflector mount.

SJX426 

^^^^ or a center pull cable bracket.
081_PaTrek on Flickr

Schweinhund

It still has the oem sidepull Light Action brakes, so you are probably correct, reflector bracket replacement.

joesch

What other Campy bits does that early Centurion LeMans wear?

Schweinhund

not a thing. cyclone sealed bearing hubs, Vetta seat, centurion bars, Light Action components. galli rims

The Golden Boy 

I think I have a Campagnolo chainring and a bottom bracket guide.

Mad Honk 

The Campy Virus is a very strong infection and is virtually impossible to cure. It can be held at bay for short periods of time, but it will and does come back even stronger than before. Be very careful around the Campy parts they will infect you. Smiles, MH

polymorphself

I've got campy brake levers I pulled off a Schwinn Prelude. You'll all hate me to know that they've lived in my backyard for several years. This post (of all the campy talk I see here) for some reason spurred me to at least bring them inside. I'll clean them up one day.

tiger1964 

You never forget your first

Welcome to the club!

Lattz

To be fair it also depends on what bikes you are into... someone with a French Randonneur or US MTB obsession will unlikely catch the bug and campy parts might be among the first ones to find themselves on a trajectory.
But yeah, there is a strong cult around it although here the "Dura Ace or Die" group is just as strong (not to mention the distunguished aficionados laughing at both and would never use anything else than Suntour ).

sd5782 

I took the first gen campy Gran sport rear derailleur off a 64 Frejus and put on a Suntour. There, I feel better now.

Pompiere

The Cannondale I bought in 2021 had mismatched wheels, as in not only different brands, but also different sizes. The 27 inch front wheel had a Campy hub. I rebuilt the wheels with matching rims and kept the hub.

merziac

@Schweinhund

Many Campy parts set the gold standard when they came out and some still do to this day.

Early on it was functionality, then aesthetics as time went on, all around whole package that endures to this day depending on the bike.

They can set the tone that endures form now on depending on the bike.

They are far and away the only choice for many of the period correct builds that really matter.

They are tough, beautiful and while some are a bit finicky can be be made to work just fine as they always have.

Fear not lad, embrace the slippery slope.

Here's a good example, it came with all Campy, a bit of a mix of NR and SR. It would be fine with anything you put on it but is far more proper, correct, whatever IMO.




Cables still waiting to be trimmed.

georges1

The campy C record from the 90's era is beautiful and highly sought after.My Raleigh was built with the C Record , so I have bought a period correct C Record Synchro III down tube shifters, a 8 record exa drive cassette and a C Record front derailleur which will replace the Miche braze on front derailleur

Campagnerdo 

Scared and confused is expected. Your first Campagnolo part is analogous to your first exposure to heroin. You may find that you have uncontrollable urges for more. A thirst that becomes insatiable. Your hoard grows, as you commit more and more of your budget to this pursuit. Common symptoms include losing track of time dedicated to the chase, n+1 syndrome, and social changes. When you hit rock bottom, and in a moment of clarity, look at the stash that you have accumulated, you may be astonished at how you arrived there. Some attempt to right their collective ship at that point, but few succeed, and for them, relapses are common. Others attempt to just manage the affliction. Still others fully surrender to it. I am pleased that you recognize this moment with the reverence that it demands.

scarlson 

Also much like drugs, Campy parts can often be resold for large sums. You can use this to your advantage - become a Campy dealer, if you will, and make money off the junkies. That's what I do when I come into some. It all fetches decent dough, even in poor condition. Sometimes you can buy a bike, take the Campy off, sell the Campy, and you've got a free frame leftover and enough money to put a nice freehub, XTR rear mech, and a dynamo on it.

Those washers usually fetch $40ish on the 'bay. You know how much French stuff or brazing rod you can buy for that?

3alarmer 

.
....I think you're probably fine with that headset spacer, as long as you don't let it swell your headset. I honestly do not get the Campagnolo thing, even though I have a lot of their components, that I use regularly. They mostly work fine. A lot of components work fine. At this point, the biggest advantage of the old New Record stuff is that there's a lot of it around. So it's not a huge chore to seek out something you might need, in the used parts marketplace.

Someone will be along shortly to tell you how much better Suntour stuff worked in the 70's, and how Shimano worked better in the 80's. Just between you and me, every headset spacer I ever used works equally well.

The one Campagnolo thing you might want to avoid, is those seatpost clamp bolts that snap if you over-torque them. But even those work OK if you are careful.

3alarmer 

...get outta town.

rccardr 

I’ve sold them in excellent condition for $50 or more.

nlerner

Welcome to the world of cracked derailleur pulleys, brinelled headsets, stress risers lurking in the crankarms, easily snapped seat-binder bolts, and RDs with extremely limited capacity!

merziac

Isn't that all part of the fun?

nlerner

Yours maybe; not mine.

79pmooney

I got lucky wit my first brush with Campy. Won a SR chainring. 43t. Only used for maybe two races as any hills and I was going 42 and really flat, the 44 that came with my Fuji Pro worked better. Won a beautiful Campy-like seatpost (that I needed!), a 2-bolt fluted Zeus, but being non-Campy it was addiction free. (And lighter.) Next brush was when I rebuilt my nice Sanshim Pro-Am hubs with Campy cones but since I really couldn't see them I was still safe. The Mooney came with an NR headset that I put too many miles on (maybe 25,000) but the Stronglight roller replacement is in a zone of its own. Camp[y seatpin that struggled to hole a canti hanger in place, broke probably two, then settled on my 1967 UO-8 setpin that served admirably the next 40,000 miles. (After doing 22k on the UO-8.)

Now I have Campy in limited but rather excellent usage - my TiCycles wears Campy 9-speed rear wheels and Mirage RD. Pivots are loosening on the Mirage: I don't think it is forever, but what a nice shifting derailleur for a triple! As secure shifting as any SunTour and so smooth. (SunTour Superbe DTs. DT shifting at its best!)