If you aren't concerned with preserving accuracy, why use old style Campy levers at all? Compared to SR/NR, the current Dura Ace 9-speed STI levers are better suited to any human hand that I can imagine and they offer more choices of hand position, PLUS they can be used to change gears! For about the price of four sets of Campy hoods you can get a set of STI levers that include hoods that may well last 4 times longer than SR/NR hoods ever will. Regarding the comment: "The reason I am attracted to vintage bikes is that, for me, they are more fun to ride. I like riding large steel bikes, not these new ones designed to make my butt stick up in the air higher than my shoulders, with two feet of seat post showing." There is nothing about modern frames that prohibits setting your butt or shoulders where you want them. Modern headsets actually make it easier to set your bars high, as long as you buy the frame with an uncut fork, cut it to the desired length and use extra spacers. Yes, the seat tubes tend to be shorter relative to the top tubes, so you'll want to buy a bike based on the top tube length you want. There is really no mechanical problem with setting up a bike with a lot of post showing, though it may be an aesthetic problem for you. Of course you generally suggested that you are not hung up on aesthetics.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA
Gjvinbikes@aol.com wrote: Warren wrote:
>>>
It's a shame that some vintage parts just decompose with time. If you went to look at two identical, all original Masi's and one of them had cracked older hoods and the other had pristine hoods made out of a newer, more resilient material, which one will you buy? I think a re-issued gum hood would still be considered less desireable.
<<<
I don't want to just look at my bikes, I want to ride them. Just as a worn out tire needs replacement, so do cracked and icky brake hoods. I would buy new clean rubber hoods, not old worn out dry cracked hoods. The only real reason for them to say "Campy" on them would be if somehow that made them work better, as brake hoods.
I don't care at all what LOGO is on my brake hoods, as long as they are comfortable, fit well and are cheap !
I guess I am just not a "collector", so perhaps I do not really belong on this mailing list. That said, I LOVE my 1973 Raleigh Pro frame. It is my favorite bike to RIDE, at least under certain circumstances. The reason I am attracted to vintage bikes is that, for me, they are more fun to ride. I like riding large steel bikes, not these new ones designed to make my butt stick up in the air higher than my shoulders, with two feet of seat post showing.
I generally don't use vintage Campy components, even on my vintage bikes, because they do not work well compared to other options (I make an exception here for the excellent Campy hubs, particularly front ones). Would you really rather shift with a Campy NR rear derailer or a SunTour VGT Luxe or even a modern Shimano 105 ?
Ride to live, collect to ride !
Glenn Jordan - Durham, NC
_______________________________________________
---------------------------------
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness