HUBSET:
Campagnolo Record (modified) - quick release hubs - large flange design with lube port - non-anodized aluminum alloy barrels and flanges - loose ball bearings - 36h model 1035/A front hub (100 mm spacing) - 36h model 1035/P rear hub (126 mm spacing) - 1.370" x 24 TPI English freewheel thread - hub lock nuts marked "74" for 1974 in front / "CAM 74" for 1974 in back - model 1035 : custom machined titanium front and rear axles - 6Al-4V Grade 5 alloyed titanium composition ... [While this component grouping is based upon the very same Record hubset which would have been correct as original for a 1975 Crescent Pepita model 320, once again there are several notable exceptions in the form of modifications to be found. First of all, the standard Campagnolo model 19 (...front) and 29/R (...rear) hollow steel axles have been replaced with a lightweight pair custom machined from 6Al-4V Grade 5 alloyed titanium (...6% aluminum and 4% vanadium with the remaining 90% being titanium - roughly three times stronger than Commercially Pure or CP titanium). Secondly, I changed the rear hub spacing from its standard 122 mm measurement to a slightly wider 126 mm OLD sizing in order to properly accommodate either a standard 6 speed, or as seen in use on this particular bicycle, a narrow 7 speed freewheel.]
RIMS:
MAVIC MA 2 (purposefully mis-labeled) - double wall construction - Clear anodized aluminum alloy with stainless steel double eyelets - 20.5 mm section - hooked bead rim profile - smooth / non-milled braking surfaces - 700c clincher - drilled for Presta valves - 36h front / 36h rear - original MAVIC MA 2 rim labels removed and reproduction labels apropos first edition Module E rims applied - primary rectangular foil rim label consisting of a stylized diamond shaped "MAVIC" logo in Red and Gold above the words "MADE IN FRANCE" located at the seam - secondary rim decal having a Gold background with Black letters reading "MODULE "E" 700 C" above "Utiliser impérativement une mêche fond de jante coton adhésif largeur 17 m / m" - model MA 2 re-labeled as Module E ... [Whereas Crescent Pepita model 320 bicycles produced during this era would have originally come with AVA Competition alloy tubular rims as standard equippe, I have opted to mount a set of clincher rims onto this bike primarily because I find these to be more suitable for my current riding circumstance. To that end, I took a set of MAVIC MA 2 rims without the UB Control braking surface found on later examples, removed their proper rim labels, and then replaced those with MAVIC labels as found on the earliest examples of their ever so slightly more narrow (...19.8 mm section compared to 20.5 mm) Module E predecessors which could be found here stateside in late 1975 even though they formally debuted at the February 1976 New York Bicycle Show. Other than being a mere 0.7 mm wider, utilizing internal double eyelets instead of singles, and having a slightly flatter crown, the two rims are remarkably similar in appearance - so much so that in built up form it is difficult for the average person to discern one from the other (...most especially when they have been rather purposefully misrepresented). Of course, the MA 2 (...which debuted in 1986) has a well deserved reputation for being one of the finest classic clincher rims ever produced - remarkably rugged and durable while being able to accommodate tire widths ranging from 19 mm to 25 mm.]
SPOKES:
DT Swiss - CFT butted X12 CrNi 18/10 stainless steel - double cold forged - 14 / 15 gauge or 2.0 / 1.8 / 2.0 mm - rolled threads - model DT Competition : DT nickel plated brass nipples - 2.0 x 14 mm - model DT Pro Head ... [Decidedly modern and unoriginal components, and I am afraid that I do not know what would have been authentically original for a factory stock Crescent Pepita Professional De Luxe 320 of this year. If anyone out there happens to have a definitive answer to this mystery, I invite your input.]
TIRES:
Veloflex Pave - 700c x 22 mm - 300 TPI core spun cotton casing - Black with Gum sidewalls - open tubular (i.e. clincher) design - natural rubber compound - dual tread pattern (diamond figured center section with herringbone flanks to optimize cornering traction) - Kevlar anti puncture belt - Kevlar folding bead - model Pave ... [While these may be rather nice, lightweight, handmade Italian tires, they are obviously modern replacements for those which would have been originally fitted from new, which is to say French made 700c Canetti Paris-Nice silk tubulars.]