Lack of spare parts................I would say this is the fault of the distributor or distributors! And Shimano is at fault as well for not having these suppliers stock these spares. Here in Holland, everybody here that rides a regular user bike most likely will have a race bike as well, the bicycle culture and life here is very different from the rest of the world. Every single main roadway will have bicycle paths. Hell! you can ride from the far North of the country to the Southern tip solely on bike paths! While Holland does have it's fair share of cars they also have their fair share of bicycles. Purchasing bicycle insurance is easy as pie when buying a new bike, the bike shops will sign you up right there on the spot. But you need to have a registered lock as well. Not only do we have bike lanes but we also have traffic lights for bikes as well. Sport cyclist here will not let a little bad weather keep them from getting on the bike! With the use of the bike as it is here, the support has to be good. Therefore not only the distributors were well stocked with Shimano spares but the shops as well, they were stocked very well with Shimano spares as like Campagnolo and even Suntour!! I know this all to well because everytime I drop in on a few bicycle shops I always end up with bags and bags of early Shimano spares along with some Campagnolo and Suntour!......It's like this, we sit down for a cup of coffee, shoot the breeze a little and soon after I hear! Oh! BTW, we have this for you!...I look into the bags like a kids looking for that special piece of candy!......OH!...S&%*, it's only more Shimano spares. This just happened a few days ago............4 bags of spares and we are not talking 2nd hand we are talking ''NEW!'' Also, early Dura Ace headsets and BBs were offered in French thread as well. We got them both! Hubsets, well we got them in 28s, 32s and 36s.
OK!.............Don't everybody in need come looking because it's not sorted out as of yet! It has been months and years coming for the day we truly can put some effort into getting these spare together. We don't have everything but I'm sure it's quite a bit..........When all said and done, we should have a good selection of Shimano spares along with Suntour and MAVIC to be added to our listings as like Campagnolo and Zeus.
Goes to show you how big Shimano was and is still is here in Holland! The guys from Shimano did a tour of some of the ''TOP!'' Shimano Dutch dealers and we are talking about bike shops not distributors. They were amazed as to the extent of not only the old stocks but the support that these shops provided with spares.
DURA ACE 10!................Was and is found or seen on a regular basis overhere. To bad, I found out to late about an old shop that was closing it's doors, Brans of Amsterdam. Last time I was there up in the attic there was no less than 3 complete DURA ACE 10 track groups and 2 missing the cogs.
BC
Baron C...............And the gang!!
Renaissance cycles
Eindhoven Holland!
Of Shimano & resistance: View from a bike shop 30 years ago.
Shimano was interesting to watch, working their way up the quality & price point ladder. The bike shops first saw Larks & such from dept. store bikes. By the time Dura-Ace was not just vaporware, it was rarely (can¹t recall ever) specified by the OEM¹s. Teledyne was the first to endorse it with the equipment featured in display ads on a built ³pro² bike. Shimano for its part did make special bits for Teledyne, such as the oversize top tube cable clips and seatpost binder bolt.
The problem with Shimano was lack of spare parts availability & support. A shop could not depend on getting small replacement bits, this was later addressed by an order direct scheme, a shop could order from Shimano to be billed through a distributor of one¹s choice. Also, threading was easily available in British, sometimes Italian, if one wanted other than 36 hole hubs...well, Chain rings were a problem as well, Shimano had an idea for 52/39 rings, as their spider allowed but it was an idea whose time was not yet. Alternate ring sizes were not easily avail. as they were with the others.
The basic verdict for 1st generation Dura-Ace, good brake calipers once toed in. Brake levers on a par with Weinmann. Nice hubs, (had chromed oil clips and outer nuts) smooth but durability then suspect. Crank arms nice, BB variable, Headset, good but heavy & only British treading. Rear derailleur, nice but Suntour shifted better, Front was harder to keep in adjustment than Campagnolo. Everything worked better with Campagnolo cables & housing. Dura-Ace ten for the track was neat but expensive and very unobtainable. Recall that Shimano¹s first attempt at index shifting was Positron, with the front freewheel system!
As Shimano progressed, the shop¹s saw a pattern of reinvention and abandonment, a shop would be reluctant to inventory after quickly learning that they could be quickly orphaned stock.
John Jorgensen
Palos Verdes, Ca.