Debuting in their 1967 Catalog #15, Campagnolo's Bicycle Assembling Stand held mythical status in the USA bike shops where I worked. A photo of it was right there in their catalogs, but no one had ever seen one or found one for sale.
We mechanics assumed it was only available in Europe, or perhaps reserved for race mechanic use and not meant for everyday shop wrenches like us.
We could buy copies from other companies, such as Cinelli, but even only from the catalog photo, it was obvious that Campy's was a precision, highest quality tool, just like the gorgeous presses, cutters and gauges in their full toolkit.
I mentioned how hard the stands were to find while commenting online about one that turned up back east. And, because of that comment, I finally have a Campy stand (part #1102) in my collection. I'm so happy to have it that I'm telling you a little more about it and sharing some photos here.
Czech Olympic Coach Jaromir Zak's stand
He told me the following somewhat amazing story - this is as he wrote it in his email to me:
"I am glad you interest about story of this stand. I don't know where was this stand purchased. I had it from my neighbor, Mr. Jaromir Zak. This man was the coach of Anton Tkac, Olympic Winner 1976 Montreal and three times the World Champion in sprint. He was too Czechoslovakia state trainer of track representation and at this times he has access to plenty of cycling material. I am cycling enthusiast and I meet very oft this older man as he walking with his dog.
I took it (I didn't know how rare it is) and enjoyed for repairs on my Favorit bike. One year ago I purchased for my fixie the State Bicycle company frame, tubes of this frame are too thick for it and I haven't use for the stand. I decided to offer it someone, who appreciate it. And the next you know.
To learn more, all I had to do was search for Anton Tkac, which brought me to his racing accomplishments and also mention of his coach Jaromir Zak. Now, every time I look at or use the stand I imagine it in service trackside at the Olympics or World Championships. Incredible.
Cleverly designed and built for hard use
Campy designed the stand to come apart quickly into three pieces, the base, the upright and the tool tray. There are thumbscrews for speedy disassembly. Taken apart, the stand lays nearly flat to fit in a small travel case, or easily in the back of a vehicle.
Besides using the stand for working on bicycles, it's an elegant and safe way to support a bike for display, too. It holds it where you can easily see the bike and walk around it. Plus, the stand itself is pleasing to the eye. I sometimes use it this way for my Masi.
There are two swingout arms built in below the clamp that keep the front wheel from swinging side to side. The large tool tray can be positioned at just the right height to clear when you're pedaling for checking adjustments.
At the bottom of the legs are little welded on feet to provide a little more grip. The entire stand is made of steel. As far as I can tell, everything is original - not repainted or repaired in any way. You can see from the chipped paint and corrosion that it was used a lot. I hope you enjoy the stand and history.
I would appreciate learning more about Campagnolo's Bicycle Assembling Stand. Please get in touch if you have anything to share.
In cycling,
Jim
9 comments:
Hi nice story,
But what are they worth these stands?
I have one and get bids between fifty€ till 500 €
What is realistic and how big is the demand?
Many questions from an antique bicycle collector
Best wishes, Martin Hagen.
Hi Martin,
Value depends on the condition of the stand. If all the original parts are there and the stand is in nice condition (no significant rust, no paint chips, everything functions, leather padding is there, etc.), I would put the value at no less than $500 and up to $1,000 (USA dollars). And the owner could ask even more. My stand was about $650.
Vintage Campagnolo tools have held their value and fetch high prices still. This stand is one of their nicest tools in my opinion. If the stand is associated with a famous team or mechanic or racer, to me that would add value.
So, for example, if it was legendary USA mechanic Bill Woodul's Campy stand (I trained under Bill) and it could be identified as his stand, I bet collectors who knew Bill would be willing to pay more money for it. If anyone's interested, here's the facebook page for Bill https://www.facebook.com/groups/61477030188/
It's hard to judge how big the demand is. I can say that less than 20 people have contacted me about Campy stands since I first wrote about them approximately 15 years ago. They find my writing doing a google search and contact me. That could be the tip of the iceberg or that could be the only 20 people out there interested, I don't know for sure.
But I do know that interest in vintage road bikes continues thanks to events like Eroica https://eroica.cc/ that celebrate vintage road bikes and riding them. The Campy stand is a wonderful thing to use to tune your Masi or Cinelli, etc. at these events. It also works as a magnificent display stand for a fine steel road machine at an event and at home. Plus, they still perform as a bicycle repair stand if you want to use them that way (and why not?).
Overall, I think you'll be able to find a buyer who will appreciate your stand and I would expect you can get a fair price for it, too. I hope this is helpful and thank's for the comment. By the way, a good place to post a Campy repair stand for sale is on facebook's vintage road bike group pages, where you reach people who love everything retro.
Jim Langley
Hi Jim,
Thank you so much for your answer, and yes it might be a good idea to see the vintage road bike group pages.
Best wishes and happy cycling,
Martin
Make it 21 - v cool
Does anyone have a campagnolo 1102 stand and would like to sell it? :)
my e-mail: stareszosy@o2.pl
Hey Jim,
Nice to read the article on your Campagnolo assembly stand, very informative. I purchased my stand about seven or eight years ago. My stand has two Campagnolo decals, one is 2” below the clamp and the other is 2” below where the bottom bracket shell is held. I have seen a few stands with these decals in photos but most don’t. Do you believe that the decals came off at some point or were there stands that Campagnolo didn’t use the decals? Just curious.
Thanks , WW
Thanks for commenting, WW, great to hear about your Campagnolo stand. I haven't seen enough of these to be able to determine if stickers/decals were applied to them at the factory or if mechanics did it to them after they bought them. I also haven't see any catalog pictures of the stand showing the stickers. But that could just be how they chose to take the photo or draw the illustration if it was a drawing. Hopefully someone who knows will see your question and tell us and I'll keep trying to find out too.
Thanks again,
Jim Langley
Hey Jim,
Just wanted to thank you for getting back with your response so quickly. Your knowledge is such a valuable service to all of us cycle junkies.
Many happy days of cycling, WW
You're very welcome, WW! You can google Campagnolo catalogs and find complete pdfs. I just did that this morning and found the #1102 bicycle assembly stand in Campy catalogs starting in 1967 up until 1971. Then it's not in their catalogs after that. And it wasn't in their 1950s catalogs. In these catalogs it's a drawing of the stand or a print of a drawing. It's possible the same drawing carried over from year to year. There are no stickers/decals on the stand in any of the catalogs as far as I can see. They could have still been put on the stands I think maybe by Campy even, but maybe as a final step before shipping. Again, I hope someone who has better knowledge of these stands will see this and tell us. Someone who worked at Campy back in the day maybe. Also if we could date the decal/sticker style that might be a useful clue. If the sticker only existed during a certain time frame and the stand came from that era that might indicate they did apply them?
It's a fun mystery! Thanks!
Jim
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