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I’ve been looking at Gnutti or FB hubs and wondering how early their (under license from Campag) QRs appeared over here.
I had some early Campagnolo branded FB hubs with QR. These were a bit of an oddball because they were ~1952 shape FB low-flange hubs but engraved with Campagnolo, not FB. Memory is a bit hazy on this but there were some distinct differences in the shape of the barrels and caps which gave away the year and whether it had been made by FB or Campagnolo. They were drilled 32/40 so (as I understand it) they were from the British market, not the continent. I didn’t have the skewers unfortunately; they’re mega rare but I would have liked to have seen them.
Jonny69-
1952 shape FB low-flange hubs but engraved with Campagnolo, not FB. Memory is a bit hazy on this but there were some distinct differences in the shape of the barrels and caps which gave away the year
That’s exactly the kind of obscure difference I like to know about.
Especially as my frame is 1952, there were a lot of changes those few years in the early 50s.
I knew FB made the early Gran Sport hubs, I’ve just done a bit of reading
https://www.flying-scot.com/miscellaneous/bicycle/components/pages/fb_hubs.htmlThis suggests FB made all the hubs for Campag until ‘58 when they started the one piece Record hubs.
I’m guessing that Gnutti and Airlite and all the other 3 piece hubs were influenced by/ripped off from FB if not actually made by them.I’d like the low flange Gnutti with QRs - cool logo and the typography on the levers is great.
absurdbird
Agree it could have been assembled at any point over the last 70 years - it sort of feels right though somehow. If it’s been living out in Italy for decades it would have been primo exotic.
‘What is this Chater Lea?’
😂
Didn’t know those Dugast tyres were being made still/again (FMB?) they’re pretty cool.
Now you mention it, I remember hearing that about retrofitting QRs in Airlites, I wonder if Brits started doing that before BHC started making them.
I’ve been looking at Gnutti or FB hubs and wondering how early their (under license from Campag) QRs appeared over here.
Having been out of the buying/selling old bike toot game for some years I’ve noticed there seems to have been a big L’Eroica effect in Italy - certainly in the optimistic pricing on eBay anyway.