 |  | | | |  | |  |  | CL TDF post below got me thinking about common TDF equipment |  | |  |  | |
 Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:25 pm |
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| gmany |
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| Joined: 20 Aug 2009 |
| Posts: 47 |
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The CL TDF below has campy shifters, front derailleur and the rear is the campy (simplex mount) touring model that, I believe, was only made for a couple years.
What's interesting is that this seems to be common. I think there is another identically equiped TDF a little further down the page. Also the TDF I picked up in the sumer was identical except for the brakes, which were replaced with early 80's Japanese. Also the rear cassette on mine was slightly larger than spec, which makes sense in combination with the Campy touring rD.
Why are there so many equiped in this way? Was this done at the import level to make an upscale TDF since SC's were not readily available? Or was this the logical step-up commonly done at various LBS's across the coutry to make upscale TDF's? |
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Garrett Miles
Saint Louis, Missouri |
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| | | | | | | | | Re: CL TDF post below got me thinking about common TDF equip | | | | | |
| Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:41 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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| gmany wrote: |
| The CL TDF below has campy shifters, front derailleur and the rear is the campy (simplex mount) touring model that, I believe, was only made for a couple years. |
One of the first things that new TdF owners did back in the early 70s was get a good leather saddle, usually a Brooks Pro or B17; less frequently an Ideale.
The next upgrade was to switch the derailleurs from Simplex Criterium to SunTour or if they could afford it Campy. Sometimes this occurred piecemeal as the Simplex parts failed.
The TdF like the PX-10 and others were built as mid range racing bikes. The idea was to get a bike with a Reynolds 531 frame and decent wheels. You could upgrade components as you went along.
Performance oriented riders switched to short arm SunTour rear derailleurs or Campy Nuovo Record derailleurs if they could afford them.
People wanting lower gears for hills usually went to one of the SunTour long arm "touring" derailleurs with a 14-32T or 14-34T freewheel.
The Campy Gran Turismo long arm derailleur on the CL bike was a real POS! 
They were one of the worst shifting derailleurs made in modern times plus they weighed 2.1 Lbs. I have one sitting on my desk as a conversation piece. Fortunately they were only made for 2-3 years.
After Shimano introduced the Crane and Crain GT derailleurs in 1974 they were popular replacements for Simplex gears.
the last upgrade was usually the brakes as centerpulls became passé. By 1974 Shimano DuraAce brakes were frequent transplants on TdFs.
| gmany wrote: |
What's interesting is that this seems to be common. I think there is another identically equiped TDF a little further down the page. Also the TDF I picked up in the sumer was identical except for the brakes, which were replaced with early 80's Japanese. Also the rear cassette on mine was slightly larger than spec, which makes sense in combination with the Campy touring RD.
Why are there so many equiped in this way? Was this done at the import level to make an upscale TDF since SC's were not readily available? Or was this the logical step-up commonly done at various LBS's across the coutry to make upscale TDF's? |
As I mentioned above, TdFs were designed as performance bikes. By the mid 70s bicycle touring started becoming popular. Because TdFs had longer wheel bases and smoother rides than the Italian styled racing bikes that were the rage after 1975, they made excellent touring bikes when equipped with lower gears.
Aside from Stronglight/Sugino cranks, Normandy Luxe Competition/Campy Nuovo Tipo hubs plus stems with recessed bolts at the end of the run there were very few TdF component spec changes between the late 60s and 1974.
If you are seeing a lot of Campy Gran Turismo RDs it's a fluke because they were never popular. Maybe some sharpies at LBSs pulled one over on unsuspecting TdF owners - "Hey! Look! It's Campy and I'll sell it to you for only $100!"  |
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Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
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1984 Criterium
1969 TdF
1971 TdF
1974 TdF
1984 TdF x 2 Bikes
1970 SC
1971 SC
1972 SC
1984 SC
1984 Team Pro
1985 Professional
1990s Team Replica |
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