At 06:35 AM 6/12/01 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi CR group,
>
>I'm restoring a Centurion 'Dave Scott Ironman' with a nice lugged steel
>frame and a decent ride. It has a full Shimano 600 group in excellent shape
>except that the brake hoods are shot. The Shimano 600 brake levers are an
>early version that the guys at the local bike shop are unfamiliar with. Any
>idea where I might find new hoods for these? I would settle for compatible
>hoods if I can't find the right vintage Shimano 600 variety (the original
>hoods were black). Here is a link to three pictures of the left lever:
>
>http://members5.clubphoto.com/chuck329663/Shimano_600_brake_lever/
>
>I'm having a heck of a time finding these. I've searched all over the web
>and have contacted a bunch of bike shops. No luck. I know this may be
>borderline on-topic, but I ran it by Dale and he said "....go for it!"
>
>Thanks for any help you can provide.
>
>Chuck Clark
Chuck
Having whiled away part of a really boring winter day last February, playing with various brake levers and hoods, (hey, I just had a snootfull of shovelling snow off the roof, and the stuff was too deep to ride in.) I think you will find that the generic Euro-Asia Campy NR/SR clone hoods from Loose Screws will fit well enough for a non-concours solution. You might want to go to a shorter cable stop button. The hoods are available in black, but I believe LS is closed until September. Bicycle Classics? Rivendell? CdeO? Your LBS may also be able to get them thru Quality Bike Parts or another distributor. They fit most of the other better quality brake levers from the period; Superbe, Gran Compe, etc. The bodies on these were dimensionally "similar" to the NR/SR levers. Or maybe it was all just a cabin fever hallucination, or a symptom of SAD. Parts compatibility/interchangeability. What a concept! It must have been a delusion.
Otherwise, welcome to the terrors and traumas of ebay. Most of the non-aero 600 levers I've seen on ebay or at swaps were missing the hoods. Be patient. Bid high. I may be right behind you.
Larry "yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, close enough" Osborn