November 5, 2006--One of the nagging problems common to older Campagnolo derailleurs is the slow death of the jockey pulleys.  Good as they are, Campagnolo's pulleys are destined to fail at some point--either the bushings that the pulleys turn on start failing an squeaking or the pulleys themselves crack.

What to do?  Soma Fabrications offers a very good (if non-Campy) alternative to tracking down less used or NOS pulleys on eBay.  Their "Nuovo Retro" pulleys ($32.99) of are a bolt-on replacement for the stock pulleys, faithful down to the same internal bushing bearings.  We recently put a pair on our restored Cinelli and took these photos.  As you would expect, they work just like stock, and our shifting performance has improved.  Time will tell if they last some 30+ years like the originals did ...

More info on the pulleys at Soma's web site: http://www.somafab.com/pullies.html

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Soma's Nuovo Retro pulleys. End cap on the bearings is machined from alloy. No "Campagnolo" name on the pulleys. Comparison--our 30+ year old Campy pulleys are at the top. This shot shows the difference between the stock and the Soma caps. Everything is else is pretty much the same. Both are 10-tooth size. Installing is easy. Shift to a small/small combination to put slack in the chain. Pulleys unbolt from the side facing you. Tighten up after reinstalling the bolts and you're done. Final result looks clean and nice again.

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