Alfredo,
I put Dura-Ace brakes and hubs with matching Shimano Crane rear derailleur on my Jack Taylor frame when I built it up while I worked at Art's Cycle in Chicago during the summer of 1974. Beautiful equipment! Personally, I think you've made a mistake to take it off the bike.
Cheers!
David
David G. White Burlington, VT
Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
> Check Sheldon's timeline again. He actually says Dura-Ace goes back to at least 1973, so the brakes could quite easliy be 1975. In fact I remember changing out the Mafac brakes on my Lejeune F-70 to Dura-Ace SP's when I bought it new in 1973 or 1974. As a matter of fact, these weren't even the original Dura-Ace brakes, as the original ones were actually centerpulls which were I believe the first component to be marked Dura-Ace.
>
> I don't believe Shimano made Dura-Ace pedals, and maybe no pedals at all, until at least the late 70's. "All Dura-Ace" bikes usually came KKT (Kyokuto) pedals. KKT was closely aligned with Shimano in the same way MKS was with Sun Tour.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, TX
>
>
>
>
> Alfredo Marcantonio <alfredo.marcantonio@btinternet.com> wrote:
> I must admit to being in awe of people with period correct bicycles.
> But having spent the weekend, stripping an early Dura Ace groupset
> from a French 70's road bike, I don't feel quite so inferior.
>
> The bike is like new and I was assured by the old guy who sold it to
> me that it was just as he had bought it. I am a Campag man and intend
> to sell the groupset, so with the aim of giving
>
> would-be buyers an accurate description I consulted Mr Sheldon
> Brown's excellent Dura Ace timeline.
>
> The Crankset is marked AH so is the bottom bracket shaft, and that
> signifies, August 76. The rear hub is AI, so is one month younger.
> The front hub is BC which is February 1977, six months younger.
>
> The headset is marked BI which is September 1977. Interestingly ,
> the brakes are both ZJ which I assume means they are October 1975,
> and pre date the 1976 Dura Ace launch date.
>
> I can't find a mark on the front changer, but the rear changer has CB
> on the inside of the cage. Which presumably dates it at February 1978.
>
> It all adds up to the fact that bikes aren't always 'born' with
> contemporary components and whilst this does nothing to detract from
> the sheer wonderfulness of having 'same year' equipment on a bike,
>
> I now feel a lot better about the rag-tag dating of a lot of my
> bikes' componentry.
>
> Oddly, the pedals are the one thing that aren't Dura Ace, they are
> Kyokuto, a very nicely made Campag clone.
>
> Did Shimano launch pedals at the outset? Sheldon Brown' catalogue
> pics don't seem to show any.
>
> Alfredo Marcantonio
> Twickemham, Middlesex