FW: [CR]shimano crane?

(Example: Framebuilders:Mario Confente)

From: Edward Brooks <ebrooks@eriwine.com>
To: "'classicrendezvous'" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: FW: [CR]shimano crane?
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 15:43:29 -0500
Organization: Edward Roberts International
Thread-Index: AcXQ/k4RkKtTS3uZT5iNW8iLHzcPxwAAJPwg


If memory serves, at the time the Crane was introduced Campy's Gran Tourismo had been used by many touring cyclists who needed a derailleur capable of handling a wide range and many of them quickly switched to the Crane as it shifted far better and was a good deal lighter than the steel GT which some unkindly although accurately referred to as a steel behemoth. In response Campy subsequently introduced their Rally derailleur which bears a striking resemblance to the Crane. Previously Japanese firms had been accused of copying Campy components and this was the first instance that I am aware of where Campy seemingly copied a Japanese design...

Edward Robert Brooks Managing Director Edward Roberts International Auctioneers of the Fine and Rare 1262 West Winwood Drive Lake Forest, Illinois 60045 Phone- 847.295.8696 Facsimile- 847.295.8697 Email- ebrooks@eriwine.com Website- http://www.eriwine.com

-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of John Thompson Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 3:31 PM To: LDD Cc: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]shimano crane?

LDD wrote:
> I have checked the archives and have found little to no info so i'll
> ask. How do Shimano Crane rear derailleurs rank relative to the
> Suntour cyclone/superbe models, the Simplex Super lj and the Campy
> sr/nr models? I get from the archives that the purists swear by the
> campy stuff for what would have been traditional campy bikes. I also
> get that pure performance oriented folks seems to agree that the
> Simplex stuff and the Suntour stuff actuallly performed better. I am
> not trying to reignite that debate. The cranes that I have seen
> appear to look quite similar to the universally acclaimed Simplex
> SLJ-6600 ---do they perform similarly? I can not tell whether the
> top pivot is 'sprung' or not? Thanks all...

The Crane was a fine derailleur; shifted a treat and was available in short and long cage versions. The next model down was the Titlist; identical except for steel pulley cage vs alloy on the Crane. Both were dual spring mechs.

--

-John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA