The 1970s were my Zenith in bicycling interest but I never saw nor even heard of dura ACE center pull brakes-where can I see a picture of the calipers and the levers? Thank you.
TomWitkop Rockville, MD
On Sat, 9 Mar 2002 12:46:40 -0800 "Mark A. Perkins"
<bicyclemark@juno.com> writes:
>
>
> --------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Mark A. Perkins <bicyclemark@juno.com>
> To: rchasteen@kc.rr.com
> Cc: classicrendevous@bikelist.org
> Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 18:58:57 -0800
> Subject: Re: [CR]Centerpull brakes
> Message-ID: <20020308.185858.-71749.0.bicyclemark@juno.com>
>
> Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag, I am a Shimano Dura Ace fan.
>
> I've been buying the stuff as my first choice since the first Dura
> Ace
> components were advertised in Bike World and Bicycling magazines. I
> have
> to confess to having strong feelings for the Campagnolo N.R. and
> S.R.
> components though too. I have lots of both brands on my bikes and
> in my
> collection of parts. It was Campy that caught my eye first, with
> their
> somewhat fancier appearance, especially on the NR front and rear
> derailleurs and shifters. I really like the simulated beading
> around the
> edges of the levers, as well as the way they made the area around
> their
> name look rough. And the logos are very appealing to the eye. And
> one
> bike photo that stands out in my memory, and it wasn't even in
> color, was
> in the book "Two Wheel Travel - Bicycle Camping & Touring", was a
> picture
> of a Masi G.C. with full N.R. groupo.
>
> But let me pose a question on this subject. All the time we hear
> (or
> read) about someone's Campy component that broke or cracked, but how
> many
> Dura Ace components can you recall hearing the same stuff about? In
> fact, in 30 years of serious riding, I can't remember ever hearing
> of
> Dura Ace cranks cracking, or axles breaking (that ought to get a few
> comments).
>
> As an example of Dura Ace durability, I would like to tell a true
> story
> about an event that took place in my life 27 years ago. Terry Shaw
> will
> probably remember this one.
>
> Back in late'76, I moved away from the Fresno area for the first of
> three
> times. I was moving to San Jose, and I had a U-Haul trailer behind
> my
> '57 Chevy pickup. I also had 4' tall plywood sides installed around
> all
> four sides of the pickup bed. In the bed I had more stuff, and on
> top of
> that load were a drafting table, a long shelf board which was
> protruding
> forward over the cab of the truck. On top of that was my Bob
> Jackson,
> orange and white w/chrome lugs, stay ends, and fork ends, and a full
> compliment of the very first Dura Ace components. There was plenty
> of
> space above the bike, and I thought it was safe, so I made no effort
> to
> tie everything down. However, I didn't count on heavy winds as I
> was
> driving west across the San Joaquin Valley. Some where out in the
> middle
> of nowhere (I remember the exact spot very well), the wind lifted
> that
> shelf board enough to also lift the drawing table, and once they
> both had
> caught air they lifted themselves and the bike right over the back
> plywood board, fell straight down in front of the trailer... Well,
> I
> felt this jerking through the steering wheel, and the seat of my
> pants.
> When I looked in the rearview mirror, what I saw was my Bob Jackson
> (I
> really loved that bike), tumbling through the air in a cloud of
> dust. It
> had already gone under the trailer's double axles and wheels.
>
> The hardwood drawing table was shattered, but the shelf board
> survived.
> But the bike was a different story. None of the frame's tubes
> survived,
> but were only bent, not cracked or broken. But the frame was still
> mostly in one piece. The rear brake had been yanked so hard that it
> tore
> the brake bridge out from between the stays, and the rear wheel was
> yanked right out of the dropouts. The fork was the only part of the
> frame that survived without harm, and was later sold to be used on
> another bike. The right crank arm was bent, and the front
> derailleur
> was torn apart, and both brakes had at least one bent arm. My
> friend
> Michael and I, using a large bench vise and a long piece of pipe,
> straightened that crank arm. You should have seen me standing on
> the
> edge of the bench, pulling with all my weight, backwards. If the
> arm had
> broken I would have fallen backwards hard. I have since
> straightened the
> brake arms, and intend to use them too someday. But the crank is on
> my
> Klein Team Super, and has been on there since about 1978 when I
> decided
> to take the new 172.5's off and install the old 170's (I'm a spinner
> -
> and at the time was riding on the track a lot). I am now confident
> that
> that crank arm will never break. I have riden the Fresno Uphill
> Climb to
> Kaiser 4 1/2 times on that bike, since straightening that arm, and
> for a
> long time that was my regular bike.
>
> Incidentally, I replaced the rear axle (which was only bent), laced
> a new
> set of rims onto those first generation Dura Ace hubs, Installed a
> new
> QR, and they are still going strong, on the Klein. And the rear
> derailleur and shift levers on the Klein are the same ones that
> survived
> the destruction of the Bob Jackson.
>
> But that's not why I like Dura Ace so much. One reason is that Dura
> Ace
> has chrome in a lot of places where Campy has black-oxide coating.
> And
> the anodized finish is at least as good as Campy's. And of course,
> the
> Dura Ace shifts so much better than Campy, with it's double spring
> loaded
> pivots and forward angle of the parallelogram. For a long time I
> wished
> they could incorporate Sun Tour's slant parallelogram, and years
> later it
> happened.
>
> Currently, I am faced with a need for components for my early '70's
> Masi
> G.C. with KAS team colors, and as much as I would like to, I can't
> bring
> myself to use Dura Ace on this bike. I still think of that black &
> white
> photo of the Masi with the cool looking Campagnolo Nuovo Record
> groupo.
>
> Needless to say, since that incident, I never put a bike in the back
> of a
> pickup, or on a rack, without using something to hold it down
> securely.
> You just never know what can happen. End of story.
>
> Cheers everyone, at least it didn't happen to you.
>
> "Bicycle Mark" Perkins
> Fresno Cycling Club - Historian
> Fresno, California, U.S.A.
>
>
> On Thu, 7 Mar 2002 21:52:54 -0600 "Rick Chasteen"
> <rchasteen@kc.rr.com>
> writes:
> > Mark:
> >
> > I think I have a set of levers along with 2 sets of calipers.
> You're
> right,
> > the levers aren't pretty and mine have "Safety levers"!!! But,
> they
> say
> > Dura Ace.
> >
> > I like Dura Ace, also, and think it is way under rated. If I were
> buying a
> > new road bike it would be DA equipped, no question.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > RC
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Mark A. Perkins" <bicyclemark@juno.com>
> > To: <rchasteen@kc.rr.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:12 PM
> > Subject: Re: [CR]Centerpull brakes
> >
> >
> > > Hello Rick:
> > >
> > > I'm afraid I can't help you with the part number at the present
> time,
> but
> > > in the near future I might be able to come up with one. I have
> moved
> > > myself and a minimum of my things to a different town, and
> county,
> over
> > > the past year, and all of the rest of my posessions are
> currently in
> > > storage in that other county. I believe I have magazines or
> brochures
> > > containing that information.
> > >
> > > I can tell you that they were very early in the 1970's, maybe
> '72 or
> '73,
> > > and I believe they pre-dated the first Dura Ace side pulls.
> They
> look
> > > almost exactly like the Tourney center pull brakes of the same
> period.
> > > They aren't very pretty, but they are good quality and with a
> little
> > > sanding and polishing they would look very nice and unique.
> > >
> > > Like I said, I believe I have a pair. I saved them because of
> their
> > > unique and short place in component history. And because
> Shimano
> Dura
> > > Ace components have always been my prefered choice, even over
> Campagnolo
> > > in most cases. Maybe they will be worth something someday. For
> now,
> > > they are also in storage, and I don't intend to part with them
> yet.
> If
> > > they weren't in storage I would try to take some photo's for
> you, but
> > > maybe someone else on the list will be able to help you sooner.
> In
> fact,
> > > just today I received a message from a new member who listed a
> bike
> > > that's equipped with Dura Ace center pulls. If you don't have
> any
> luck
> > > finding any more info. or a set of brakes, in the next month or
> two,
> drop
> > > me another email, and maybe by then I will have moved the rest
> of my
> > > things here to Fresno.
> > >
> > > "Bicycle Mark" Perkins
>
>
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