Gipiemme headsets

On this page: Crono Sprint alloy headset

Component maker Gipiemme began in Milan as a machine shop in 1964. They soon became a sub-contractor for other parts makers, including, yes, Campagnolo.

The firm's name? It is a common practice in Italy to make a pronounceable company name from they way one would say a set of letters in Italian. GPM would be pronounced roughly Gee-pee-emm'-ay, then spelled Gipiemme. GPM in Italian cycling stands for "Gran Premio della Montagna", points or a prize for a climbing competition in a race like the Giro d'Italia.

The owners of Gipiemme had high ambitions and by the early 1980s the firm was making its own parts, cranksets, brakes, pedals and even bicycle dropouts. Gipiemme sold complete groups under its own name, though their derailleurs were made by Simplex and re-branded GPM. Like other bike parts makers, they eventually developed several quality levels. Sprint was the entry level, followed by Special, which for while was the company's best, until Cronospecial was introduced.

Unsurprisingly, there is a high degree of interchangeability between GPM and Campagnolo parts.

Gipiemme couldn't withstand the flood of technically superior Asian components flooding the market in the late 1980s. The firm decided to concentrate on areas where it could be competitive and now makes fine wheels, hubs and rims.

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Gipiemme Crono Sprint alloy headset. Used, $75.00/each

• Excellent condition, but the bearing retainers should be replaced with loose pack.
• Production of the Crono Sprint headset began in 1984, but we don't know when Gipiemme ceased producing this fine headset.
• Crono Sprint was the the top-of-the line of Gipiemme's production in the mid-1980s.
• The headset is aluminum with pressed in steel races, just like its equivalent in Campagnolo, Super Record.

Made in Bella Italia

Here's what's inside.