Don,
Campy hoods were not junk. They lasted a good long time if kept out of sunlight when in storage, and away from ozone and heat. They always seemed to me to have just the right grippiness, didn't move around on the levers, and were attractively styled. I never liked the Modolo anatomic hoods--they just never fit my hands all that well. I really wouldn't mind putting generic hoods on the levers on my riders, but I do wish I could have gum hoods on my classic bikes. They just don't look right to me with white or grey hoods. I really don't like the looks of those Asian hoods. They look glossy and I understand they are some kind of plastic. They would be my last choice.
Baron has some Gipieme hoods that he says look just like Campys, but without any logos. I'd use those, but I wouldn't argue with someone who thought it worth $70 for a pair of original hoods from the rapidly dwindling supply. We've already talked about it on this list, and it doesn't look like Campy will ever reproduce hoods for NR/SR levers. They certainly have not marketed them for years (I don't think they ever really did), and Campy doesn't profit when someone sells a set on eBay. I always thought that the high price for Campy hoods when they were in production was more American distributor markup than Campy's .
Steve Barner, who found an NOS pair of Campy levers with mint World Logo hoods in a box in his basement, but can't use them because then they won't be NOS, Bolton, Vermont
> Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 09:25:08 -0700 (PDT)
\r?\n> From: Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca>
\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> Subject: [CR]victims of campy marketing
\r?\n> Message-ID: <200305201625.JAA08125@cascade.cs.ubc.ca>
\r?\n> Precedence: list
\r?\n> Message: 2
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Some on this list seem overly influenced by the "spell" of campagnolo
\r?\n> marketing nimrods. Does it really affect the performance or
\r?\n> race-worthiness of a bicycle to have inferior hoods that crack
\r?\n> quickly, cost a fortune, and say "Campagnolo" with the world logo on
\r?\n> them ?? Would asian or period swiss or generic no-name or newer-campy
\r?\n> hoods really harm the mojo all that much ?? this is the sort of thing
\r?\n> that gives campy a reputation for snob appeal ...
\r?\n>
\r?\n> as my dad used to say, "a man on a galloping horse wouldn't know the
\r?\n> difference!"
\r?\n>
\r?\n> why is it that when simplex puts out a piece of junk (prestige
\r?\n> derailleurs) people scream and rip them off the bike and throw them in
\r?\n> the trash bin. when campy puts out a piece of junk (world logo hoods)
\r?\n> there is a severe shortage and the items sell for $72 on ebay (most
\r?\n> recent price paid) ???
\r?\n>
\r?\n> - Don Gillies
\r?\n> San Diego, CA
\r?\n> ------------------------------