PURE TRIVIA FOR ZEUS FANS--
ZEUS CRANKARM DATING RULE (1970 to 1982): The "bikeward" side of each Zeus crankarm is stamped with a lower-case letter which I believe indicates the year it was made. My theory is that "a" is 1970, "b" is 1971, and so on.
I find this interesting because unlike certain other manufacturers, Zeus was fairly casual about indicating dates or serial numbers on anything else they made (in fact this is the ONLY evidence of such behavior I've gleened). Of course the bike frames themselves come with no serial numbers, but apparently this is not uncommon for the era.
If anyone can corroborate this theory, let me know. Also, sing out if you have a crank that you know the date of (be sure to mention its letter!). I wouldn't exactly be shocked if "a" turned out to be '69 or '71 instead of '70.
RAW DATA: The data from which I draw this hypothesis is listed below. Each line has the model of crank, the year I originally thought it was made, the information stamped on the back, and the vintage according to the "a is 1970" rule. If the two arms have different letters, I've included both.
Competition, 71, BSC 170 b, 71 2000 version 2, 76, BSC 170 g, 76 2000 version 3, 77, BSC 172.5 h, 77 Criterium, 78, BSC 172.5 d/e, 73/74 2000 version 5, 80, BSC 175 k, 80 2000 version 5, 80, BSC 170 k, 80 Criterium, 80, BSC 170 m, 82 New Racer, 84, BSC 170 c./b ?
TEDIOUS ADDITIONAL DETAILS: The Competition crank came on my "Competition" bike, which I purchased used in '78. I was informed that it was probably made in 71 by a guy named Ivan Yelusich who worked for the importer in New York.
The Criterium d/e crank came on a bike I bought last year, which has a decal that says "Criterium 78" on the left chainstay, thus I assumed it was a '78 even though the bike had a circa'74 2000 rear derailleur on it -- but the vintage implied by the letter is consistent with the rest of the bike.
The only crank of which I am the original owner is the 175mm 2000 version 5, and I bought it mail-order from the importer in late '80, thus it's reasonably likely to have been manufactured in '79 or '80.
The Criterium "m" crank came in a big Grupo box with a poster-sized picture of Julian Gorospe on the cover, and I should have known it was newer than 1980 because the small print brags about his racing achievements during '80 so it would be likely to have been printed after that season; Also by 1983 he was riding for another team, so '82 seems reasonable.
ENOUGH ALREADY! Knowing that the Zeus bike frames, freewheels, derailleurs, pedals, headsets, seatposts, hubs, bottom brackets and brakes show no date indications, it becomes a curiosity that they went the extra distance on the crankarms.
Brad Stockwell
Zeus Fan but working on a Masi
saw a shooting star last night
Palo Alto