1970's Olmo Gran Sport

 This is the latest and probably the last revision of this bike.

Originally it was constructed as a Cross Bike for fire roads; and a chance to show off some Campagnolo Nuovo Gran Sport (GS) components. For the longest while I did not identify the maker until I could be sure. I am now sure it is an Italian Olmo Mexico like this one Vintage Olmo Frame . This frame appears to have the same combination of lugs and lug cut outs, seat clamp seat stay ends and fork, so there is enough similarity to ID my bike; the only difference is the dropouts. My bike has Campagnolo short dropouts will the Mexico has Gipiemme dropouts. Either that it could be a Competition sans any identifying marks identifying it as an Olmo.

When I first put this bike together I was going for a Gran Sport grouppo but I was foiled by not being able to find Grand Sport brake calipers with standard length arms, so I ended up with Triomphe  levers and calipers with some generic gum looking hoods, until I could find the appropriate Gran Sport brakes.I first bid on a set of GS levers, which I got for a very good price. I then bought some "OEM" gum brake hoods. The hoods are likely replicas, but they look so good, no one has found a way to tell the difference. Then bought a set of Campy standard NOS GS arms from Boulder Bicycle/aka Rene Herse and used them to replace the arms from the Triomphe calipers I already had.(Boulder Bicycle is a great resource BTW). But the OCD in me would not allow this to continue, so I found some of under the cap slotted washers and flat nuts that came on the GS and Nuovo Record brake calipers (also from Bouolder Bicycle). This process has been very frustrating process. Originally I bought a set of GS calipers but the arms were too short. I sold these calipers and bought the set of Triomphe I had been using. Had I just waited a little longer, I could have simply switched the arms on the original GS calipers, or bought a NOS set of GS standard brakes and levers (with hoods) that Boulder Bicycle recently added to their store for $200; either way I would have spent less and done a lot less piecing together, but as they say hindsight is always 20:20. I finally found some OEM dome nuts and they do look good.

So here it is;
  

Front GS Bake caliper with the OEM shiny dome cap

  

The GS levers with Globe World logo gum hoods.

A GS rear derailleur with a Regina Corsa 14-27 freewheel and stainless rear housing.

A GS crankset; the large chainring is an Ofmega 51t and the arms have been filed down to meet with the crank arms.

GS rod actuated front derailleur.

The GS downtube brase- on levers were the same as Nuovo Record, however the clamp on were sometimes different. I modified these with a short threaded stud so I could use the GS clamp-on tensioners. 

I put together this wheelset with Nuovo Tipo hubs (used with most Gran Sport equipped bikes) and some Velo Orange PBP 700c box section rims.

and of course no bike of this kind would be complete without a Selle Italia Turbo saddle.

I still have a Mavic Shimano 105 wheelset with some Kenda 32mm cross tires, and this is the only 700c off road bike I have; so simple wheel change (and a little rear derailleur tweaking) allows me to jump back and forth between road and off-road.

Making New Components Work as Vintage

I really like vintage Campy components. I scour the ebay and other sources (craigslist is a non-sequitur in this area). Saying that, there are some components that are either too scarce and/or expensive to use on a regular basis. One of these are chainrings for my Nuovo Gran Sport (NGS) crankset; NGS chainrings in 144BCD often cost more than Nuovo Record. While I have some OEM chainrings,



I ride the bike a lot and don't want to wear them out. Origin8 have some since retro rings that come in 42T and 52T (they have a much larger selection of retro track (1/8) rings, but only these two in 3/32). I like the dull finish that is similar to NGS, the 42T is a standard 10 hole, but the 52T is also a 10 hole, which looks awful.


So I bought a set and went to work with a Dremel tool to turn the 10 hole into a 5 hole. Below is my new set with a Origin8 52T converted to a 5 hole.

Reloading a Vintage Campagnolo Brake Carrier

Currently I have a set of Campy Gran Sport brakes. I bought them for a bike project and it turned out 1) the reach was too short for the rear and 2) they had recessed pivot bolts and my frame needed standard pivot bolts. The recessed pivot bolt problem could have been dealt with, but the reach issue was a deal breaker; I needed another brake-set with longer arms. I am now left with a brake-set I can not use, which is prime ebay material.

The brakes-set sat on ebay for 2 weeks and nothing, not even a question. The brake-set was in very good condition with one glaring exception; the pads were shot. A set (4) of Campy pads cost about $35, which will eat away a good part of my profit (actually increase my loss), but it appeared it will be necessary to sell the brakes. Old style Campy pads are usually pretty easy to replace. First you need to pull out the old pads, this can usually be accomplished with a pair of pliers.

Once the pad is out, you simply slip the new brakes in from the open side (Campy carries hold on the pads from three sides or retainer walls. The rear is left open, which is not an issue as long as the open part of the carrier faces the rear or opposite tire rotation, so the rotation of the tire doesn't pull the pad out.

As I'm sure you noticed, I said "Old style Campy pads are usually pretty easy to replace." This is not true for Gran Sport carriers. The reason is, at the time Gran Sport was bottom of the line race components. Campy reduced the manufacturing costs of the Gran Sport brakes by less polish, a linkage vs cam brake release, the carriers are galvanized steel (not chromed), the lack of a wheel guide, and the retainer walls are on all four sides, meaning the pads are not meant to be removed and re-installed. Perhaps this was not a big deal from 1974 to 1984, but today these filled carriers are no where to be found. But even back in the old days, the less expensive option of replacing just the pads led to bending the rear pad retainer so a new pad could be inserted. Due to the poor grade of metal used to make the Gran Sport carriers, this retainer wall usually broke off when you tried to bend it back into place. Since the Nuovo Record brakes were already make without a rear retainer, it simply made sense to cut/grind it off.

I decided to grind the rear retainer off prior to removing the old pads; this gave me additional access to the pad when removing it. I pulled out the pads, primarily with pliers, but in a few cases the pad split is half, or started to, so I used a screwdriver to help remove the pad. Once the pad was out I was able to clean up the area where I cut/ground off the the rear retainer wall.After that it was an easy job to rub the pads with alcohol and slide them in; if you are doing this, make sure you remember to reinstall the brake retainer bolt before sliding in the pad. Also, some pads have different wiring on the them. The older pads have "CAMPAGNOLO"" on one side and "BREV. INTER." The pads brakes are usually positioned so CAMPGNOLO is on the top, meaning the pads will have to be installed, 2 with the open end facing forward and two facing back. If you need to remove a pad that you plan on reusing, best to pry it out with a screwdriver than pull it out with pliers. While a newly installed pad will usually pull right put, the pliers will leave jaw marks and their always the possibility that you may unknowingly split part of the pad, causing it to tear off at a later time.

After that I simply reinstalled the brake retainers and put them up on ebay for another try. Since there's really nothing else I can do, the brakes will now remain on ebay until they sell.

Edit: Well they finally sold a short time afterwards and I lost about $35 on the deal; but it was still money in my pocket vs nothing.