Nuovo Record brake levers

Here we are again with the ultimate comparison list of all the Campagnolo Nuovo Record brake levers from 1968 until their very end in 1987.

First generation ’68-’72

Note that the left lever has been polished and does not have the original finish any more

  • typical round cable entry at the bottom
  • non anodised lever body (photos show corrosion, also first generation Gran Sport levers will not have an anodised body, there are 2 versions as far as we know: with and without anodised body)
  • looooong reach
  • zinc plated bar clamps (idem to Gran Sport)
  • the only period correct levers for the rare “no logo” record brakes from 1968
  • flatter “tip” (see 6th photo)
  • logo stamped extremely close near the top of the lever
  • not rare but very desirable
  • brown globe logo hoods

Second gen ’73-mid ’78

This set has been panto graphed, this is not how they came out of the factory

  • same long reach as first gen.
  • anodised body (sweat from rider’s hands affected the lever bodies).
  • Slightly different anodisation technique.
  • U-shaped cable entry.
  • Chromed bar clamp.
  • Logo stamped high on the lever.
  • Brown globe logo hoods.

Fun fact: there was a short reach version for people with small hands. There aren’t many of these around, I’ve only seen one set on the internet. Take a look at this. Scroll a bit, and you will find them in his awesome collection https://hicampy.bizmw.com/profile1041.html

Third gen ’78-’85

  • short reach (for the ‘piccolo’ brakes).
  • logo stamped a bit lower than before.
  • hard anodised body.
  • ’78-’81 brown globe logo hoods, starting from 1982 all Campagnolo levers got the ‘shield logo’ lever hoods.

Fourth gen ’85-’87?

Might be ’86, nobody exactly knows when Campagnolo exactly ceased production of Nuovo Record. Super Record production ended in 1987.

  • Rare
  • shield logo bar clamp  (new design like C-Record with hex key)
  • no brev. camp stamped in the cable bushing
  • short reach
  • brown shield logo hoods

 

Comparison of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th

exceptions

Motobecane profil aero brake levers

Thanks to Dan Abramson for the pictures.

These are a bit of an extraordinary piece of kit.

They feature no Campagnolo brand markings on the levers themselves and perhaps weirdest of all they had Shimano hoods mounted on them. Apparently this is with all ‘Motobecane profil’ bikes?

For those who know the Modolo pro levers they might notice that it follow the same sort of routing as those levers when converted to aero (which was a special feature of those levers)

Modolo Master Pro brake lever with aero/ non-aero conversion kit

Perhaps they were not so confident in the development of this product and wanted to leave their own name being stamped on the part in case of a brake failure.

With that said these are rather rare as these were only made for Gitan (or perhaps made in the Gitane workshop?).

The proper conversion

As you can see these last generation nuovo and super record levers are perfectly fit for aero conversions, the lever body had an extra notch in the casting for a cable to run through, almost like they knew what people were going to do with them right?

Or perhaps because bicycle manufacturers were asking for it (see the Gitane)

Anyway if you are a bit handy with a lathe (aka can turn a taper on a part) you should be able to make these with little effort

Pictures came also from Dan this time, I do have a single lever lying around somewhere that looks exactly like this aero conversion.

The not so proper DIY conversion

Just… please don’t do this

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5 Comments

  1. March 30, 2023
    Reply

    Hello! I LOVE your website, and use it often to determine generation of Campy parts. I’m looking at your 4th gen Nuovo Record levers, you state it has a shield logo but the photos show the standard NR long crest logo. I’ve seen a lot of the 84-87 NR/SR parts, but a brake lever with the shield logo is not among them. Could you clarify?

    Thanks!

    Zella Rayne
    Bike Recyclery
    http://www.BikeRecyclery.com

    • Bart Suykerbuyk
      January 20, 2024
      Reply

      Hi, I with shield logo I mean the hoods that ‘should’ be fitted on that particular generation of brake levers, not the logo’s on the levers themselves.

  2. Patrick Keating
    June 7, 2018
    Reply

    How did you determine the early version years? Velo-Pages posts a different year for the two…

    http://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g2_itemId=24353

    I am looking for a 1968-72 pair, but I can’t find them. Do you have a pair for sale?

    Thank you.

    • Bart Suykerbuyk
      June 13, 2018
      Reply

      Unfortunately I don’t sell campagnolo record levers, they are a pain in the ass to find in good condition (especially the early ones) I’ve been lucky finding a couple of old beglian bikes with complete nuovo record groupsets, I try to match the years and components as good as I can when found (most of them have shimano exage levers which makes dating levers a lot harder). But nothing is 100% sure ofcourse, only a few people can tell exactly when they rolled out of the factory…

  3. Rocky
    October 11, 2017
    Reply

    It’s a pocket museum here
    awesome!
    I often have to go take look..

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