Campagnolo Nuovo Record with Rally cage
This 1976 Campagnolo Nuovo Record long cage derailleur is a freak, a mutation, a grotesque monstrosity that shifts better than any other long cage I've ever owned. Purists beware...this post may offend.
No, Campagnolo didn't offer this in their line, but a great mechanic named Spence Wolf at the Cupertino Bike shop in Northern CA did a lot of these mods back in the 70s (see pic below).
Spence Wolf mod
Mine is simply a Campagnolo Rally cage bolted onto a Nuovo Record derailleur. It came mounted in my old Klein touring bicycle and, capably, nearly silently, pushes the chain along the six speed, 13-30 range.
Here's a couple more mods:
[Community member quote] "I am running NR and SR derailleurs with Rally cages on two bikes, and an old steel Record with copy of last gen Rally cage which is longer, and they all shift great. Faster than Rally and I think it covers a greater range since the upper pulley can't pull itself into the large cog. The longer cage on the steel Record allows me to use 28-44-48 and 13-31, a range of 38 teeth, with ease. The longer cages are being reproduced now and will be available before too long. In versions to fit all of the above derailleurs. Pics show the steel Record and the cage I copied on a last gen Rally."
Campagnolo Super Record with a Lepree cage
Have any photos of other derailleur mods? Send them on in and I'll post them. VintageRacingBicycles [at] gmail.com Thanks!
not skip spence- that guy was a rocker.
ReplyDeleteSpence Wolf.
and other people did it as well, he is just known for it as he imported a lot of- what are now coveted- bicycles.
he also added stiffeners to Mafac center pull brakes and other bits and bobs.
my coworker has a modified Nuovo Record on his Jack Taylor that he rode down to Cirque on this year, with me.
These are not Spence Wolf cages. Spence had special cages made to do this, before the Rally derailleur existed. They are very distinctive and quite different from Rally cages.
ReplyDeleteThese in the current blog are just Rally cages bolted onto a NR derailleur. I have never quite understood why anyone would do that -- if you have a Rally derailleur, which is a better shifter than this hybrid, why take the cages off it and put them on a NR?