Man, of course, is used in the human context, not the gender context. :)
I believe most on this list would probably agree that the pinnacle of the vintage lightweight era frame-wise is the hand-crafted, lugged frame (despite the fact that the nuances of that can also be debated, probably forever). So that leaves the components. Of course, in this area, there are probably a lot of opinions that are influenced more by individual bias, preference and taste than other factors. That said, I have to agree with Wes and Tom (sorry Chuck) that the original C-Record components are the pinnacle (described by Webster as the highest point of development or achievement) of the lightweight era, component-wise. I've always wondered why so many discussions end with Super Record. Is it the Campy time-line thing? Or the ethereal 1985 cut-off date (sorry Dale)? C-Record was the evolution of Campy's then-current component development, just prior to what might be described as the RE-development era, which sort of started the process all over again with somewhat new and different directions (indexing et al). Of course, Campy didn't really get serious about indexing until they made the move to the slant-parallelogram derailleur design sometime later. The C-Record "Doppler" shifters were definitely the pinnacle of friction shifter development. The C-Record component group, as a whole, with Cobalto brakes, those great shifters (were they a year later?), that beautiful shield-engraved rear derailleur, aero or non-aero cable routing and integrated crankarm/chainring mounting bolt, was simply the high point - pinnacle - of that development phase. Yes, there were some flaws - I'm talking about the group as a coordinated, functional entity. It was the best all-around group of components (functionally, ergonomically, visually) I had experienced at the time (and I don't think I'm alone). Indeed, I played with Campy's indexing system, as well as Shimano's (theirs worked, Campy's didn't, at least not to my satisfaction), and lots of other bits and pieces (many small gems there too), but I primarily rode that early Campy C-Record stuff through all that. Worked great, looked great, was easy to service and was reliable, at least for me (and a lot of others, it seems). Didn't really make any change until I finally tried Campy's Ergo system (that's right, blasphemy, but I'm never going back, not on what I ride everyday). Anyway, I have to go with the early C-Record-as-pinnacle flow, and I'll try and bring something so-equipped to the Cirque for contemplation.
Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
I guess that's more then two cents worth.....
Wayne Bingham