What have I bought?

[Lazarus]

Hi again Steds Assuming the spoke count on the rear is either 32 or 36 then it's a 95% chance these are the Centaur LF made around 1989/90. There full title is "Campagnolo Q300-FG, Centaur (High Flange)"

The count of 7 cut-outs / aero holes, the shield, shape of the inner barrel area, screw on block for a 6/7/8? (dunno if screw ons went that high), the shape of the QR lever nuts is a 100% match, the shape of the aero cutouts is a 100% match, the little slope towards the lock nuts / spacers is also a 100% match and very Centaur (see other Centaur hubs and you'll see what I mean). All in all Steds, a very nice set of hubs if the bearings/cones are smooth

Dunno if they would be labelled rare, but certainly "thin on the ground". A lot of mid price range Campy was very well made but never shifted well because everyone wanted C-Record / Croc / Chorus, this therefore makes it hard to come by which I suppose = rare

I bought my Chorus Off Road just last year quite by mistake. They where a poor listing on the bay, going very cheap at £22 and NOS in a box, so had them sent from Switzerland to add to my box of stuff. It was only when I got them they looked wierd, and the Italian title on the box was very hard to make sense of. After a lot of wanting them to be Athena / C Record (Love all things 1st edition Athena) but being forced to accept they weren't I realised they where the Off Road version of early Chorus, made by Campy for the MTB / Cyclo-cross market. In truth they are just a hybrid version of all things Campy at the time. They are apparently very rare because no-one wanted them so small numbers where made. Definately no better made than my existing Chorus.

So Steds, all you need now is the rest of the Centaur groupset, a frame, a wheel builder, Oh. and a lot of money will help, lash them on a bike, and enjoy them Later buddy, yours Laz.

PS: you'll find more info here on Velo

http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=19

 

[stedlocks]

Excellent, detailed reply laz.... Thanks!

What about if they are 28 hole though? :0)

 

[Lazarus]

Hi again Steds "Apparently Campagnolo never released a 28hole version of the rear ?" But, if all the other factors make the rear identical to the front except for the 28 count, then " the hub proves otherwise" My Off Road Chorus are wierd because they look like 2 different types rolled into 1 set. The front & rear are completely different styles of hub shape, but that's how they where sold in the box :roll:

Subtle differences are normal for engineering reasons with the Front & Rear issues arising from hub ID'ing. In the beginning the rear often had more spokes in than the front, (50's-60's 40R-36F was common) then after time, (36R-36F, 32R-32F, 28R-28F, 24R-24F) about the late 80's'ish some bright spark decided that 32 rear 36 front was a good configuration(my Chorus Off Road for example) and many types of Camapgnolo shifted with this ODD spoke count. Now its all back to normal with people wanting the old way of either more rear, less front OR equal.

I'd say that the defining factor of your hubs is "how many aero holes" & "what shape are they". Even Velobase cannot accomodate all the anomoly Campagnolo. Campagnolo are simply going to go down in history as "the" most confusing company since Fiat. Even they don't know why they made so many unnecessary changes to the product line ( I suspect drug abuse within the decision makers myself ) Bottom line for me is, "Campagnolo have probably made the best hubs in the world ever in their Record/Super Record days. It wasn't until the late 90's when they started making Shimano kit look good. Some Campagnolo is so POOR that Campy fans like me hide in shame & cringe. It was god awful stuff, especially their Mirage/Xenon groupset days etc.

So Steds, " if your hubs are 28F-28R " then you have proof that they didn't ONLY make 28F - 32/36R " Later buddy, yours Laz.