Well, Dale, it's your list, and I respect your opinion and the right to call the shots here. But there are other perspectives.
Take that post-NR/SR Campy era, for example: It's worthy of consideration.
People rag all over Campy Victory components. I used to think it was to be avoided, too. But I bought a sweet Davidson Impulse earlier this year that had a full Victory group on it, and other than the unusual chain ring bcd size, I have to say that's it's a well made group. It certainly works as well as any of the Nuovo/Super Record stuff that I've owned. The hubs, headset, seatpost, bottom bracket and all the other components are smooth, well finished, and durable, just as any of better Campy components. Much of it is still available NOS, and it's very affordable right now.
And, with a nice set of C-Record retro-friction shifters and a D.I.D. Supershift chain the Victory derailleur gear changes are better than many of the other friction drivetrains I've used.
Normally, the CR cutoff restricts this kind of information, but I'll use this opportunity to share it with folks who haven't experienced it yet.
Personally, I think the '83 cutoff is a couple of years too early. There's a lot a interesting componentry from the twilight years of the friction shifting era that are getting short-shifted here. What would it hurt to open up this list to include these orphan bikes and components? There is no greater body of knowledge, or group of individuals who are more appropriate for this dialog. Where else can people go to chat about this stuff?
I say, expand the CR cutoff, make it friction shifting and classic bikes to 1986.
Ed Braley
Falmouth, ME
>
> I hope all those wondering about time line cut offs and such have
wandered around in the CR archives and gotten a feel for it...
> The bottom line is that no particular date would work for everyone and in
the end, I just decided it would remain 1983... Tullio Campagnolo's death is
a big part of that. The growth/wider use & development in mountain bikes,
welded frames vs brazed, aluminum & other materials, oversized tubing,
clipless pedals, cyclo-computers, click shifting, cassette hubs, lycra,?
etc., etc., etc.? Sure, there were some of these things before that date...
Sure, some vintagesque stuff continued after (that's why we use the Keeper
of the Flame designation). But in the end, the final cut, 1983 is not bad to
use, and either way, that is the decision. Period.
>
> Now, what about so called "C-Record"?
>
> Unlike a few of my buddies out there, I do not think much of
> C-Record.? I believe C-Record is sort of
> aesthetically "pretty" in a heavy handed and clunky way but I feel it is a
denigration
> of what the old man stood for and it demonstrates Valentino's immature and
> unwise leap into "doing his own thing"... an effort which came off rather
> badly.?
>
>
>
> To wit:
>
> - Delta brakes that rusted internally, had inadequate tire clearance,
> were heavy and hard to work on, and even when
> properly breathed on, didn't work all that well ....
>
> - Rear derailleurs that had sprung upper & lower pivots but worked only
marginally better that GS/NR/SR but with shorter range and were over weight
too.
>
> - Shift levers that worked OK when friction or ratcheting, but then along
came Syncro 1
> and 2? that was so bad it set Campy back millions of dollars and years
> of acceptance.
>
> - Brake levers that didn't fit the hand, were awkward & fat, had poor
overall engineering & mechanical advantage.
>
> - Hubs that had goofy dust caps that are easily damaged and hard to work
on... plus high flanges that broke off easily!
>
> - Cranks with goofy crank puller reverse threaded caps that you needed a
unique puller for.
> - Need I mention SGR pedals? Gag!
>
>
>
> In the C-Record, Triomph, Victory Chorus era, Campy was struck such a
> huge blow in prestige and such a loss of users that it almost knocked them
out
> of the bike business!? And we won't mention the equally stupid mountain
> bike stuff Valentino's crew came up with! Tullio had to have been
> rolling over and over in his grave!!!
>
> So phooey to C-Record (even though I have a number of bikes with it and
they are pretty cool.. Ha ha!)
>
>
>
>
>
> Dale Brown
> Greensboro, North Carolina USA
> http://www.classicrendezvous.com