Brandon, Again, I'm afraid you are missing my intended points.
Brandon Ives wrote:
>Also I can tell you my classic era Shimano 600 crank works fine with 9- speed if you just change the rings.
Tom Dalton wrote:
>Sure, as long as you also use a classic era BB.
Brandon Ives wrote:
Weird since I bought the BB 6-months ago and it came from QBP or Quintin.
Brandon, that's all fine and good. One can do a bit of searching and order the needed, if he happens to work in a shop or happens have a good LBS. Even if you do have a good LBS, you will pay a fair price for whatever it is that the LBS finds for you. If the big mail order places don't sell it, that is if it's other than current, then it is fair for the LBS to charge a premium price. They are not competing with mail order places since those places only sell current stuff, and the LBS needs to cover the costs of special ordering and buying from expensive vendors and they generally need to make a living.
For my purposes using current stuff makes more sense. For the same price that the LBS will charge for a UN-52 BB, I could order a 7700 from Colorado and have it in a couple of days (though for BBs I prefer Ultegra). The LBS would fuss, and stall and eventually get me the wrong item. Obviously I don't have a good LBS, and I am of the opinion that they are like hen's teeth. I have no remorse about not paying the premium price for the benefit of the shop's service and expertise because they are usually non-exisitent . If you, or Dale, of Sheldon (as examples) were typical of LBS staff, and if I was atypical semi-experienced rider, it would be different, but most shops are staffed by know-nothing kids and I have years of experience, in shops and on the road.
Also bear in mind that I like making crank X work with BB Y on other people's bikes, but for my own stuff I prefer complete groups. So if I need a BB for my SR cranks, a quasi compatible, symmetrical, UN-72 is not adequate, I'd want NR, and no LBS can readily get that.
Tom wrote:
My point was that the propensity of today's riders to buy new equipment sooner may lead to less heavily-used stuff out there
Brandon Ives wrote:
>>>I agree with you that stuff "seems" to be replaced a little more often, but I know quite a few 15,000+ miles a year riders who are riding the same stuff they've been riding for 3-4 years.
And I know that many riders in the DC area buy a complete new bike, new shoes, new helmet, etc for every season. They consider Ksyriums to be training wheels. You are not out of line to highlight "seems" since I have no hard data, but I see very few worn-looking bikes under the local racer types these days. While I have no doubt that people you know actually use up their stuff, I really think that they are the exception. Of course people in California are more likely to log serious mileage.
Brandon Wrote:
Since I occasionally work in a shop that caters to real pros that race for a living. I know the abuse the new stuff takes and it really is shocking. It's shocking to see a 5-6 year old Dura-Ace group geting ready to hit 100,000 including the STI levers. . . though the left one may have been replaced early on. The same group has been on 3 frames, there have been 2 rear cones replaced and a BB, plus tires, rims, cable, etc, but the basic group is still going.
Brandon, I'm not sure where you are going with this. I did say that I suspect that the new stuff is a litle more durable, and to be honest I was trying to be conservative. I truth I think it is far more durable than old SR for example, especially when you consider how much more you are asking it to do. If 9-speed STI could tolerate the slop that 6-speed friction did, a Dura-Ace rears ders would last forever.
Our perspectives may not be as far apart as you seem to think.
Brandon Ives wrote
>If you like friction shifting parts becoming "unserviceable due to incompatibilities" isn't an issue.
>
Tom Wrote
>If I did (and I don't) I would still have trouble getting good BBs to fit my old cranks, for example.
Brandon:
You need to find a better shop that will actually order you things. Shimano UN-72 114mm is still made, though it might be the UN-74 by now.
Tom
Like I said, there is simply no good LBS and no need for one.. When I need something less common, it is usually something vintage for a non-rider, and that stuff I get from the people on the list, Ebay, and swap meets. I use conservative, high-end, boring stuff for actual riding, today's equivalent of SR/Cinelli/etc. It is easy to get, relatively cheap and works unbelieveably well. The only exception is clothing which is hard to find. Most palces only have PI and other stuff that's not really all that great.
Tom Dalton
Bethlehem, PA
Loves the old and the new, as long as it's the good stuff and truly compatible.
Brandon"monkeyman"Ives Loves the old, works on the new, and rides what's he's got in Santa Barbara, CA _______________________________________________
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