List,
As a shop rat in 1981 when the aero-bike thing
started around here, I remember a fancy Aero-Miyata
with fillet aero tubes and the AX group, and araya
V-section rims. Once I got a chance to ride the
AX stuff, I didn't think it was too cool. The brakes
didn't stop, (tiny pads) and the shifting was not
great. The pedals were just wacky. Most people
didn't see the benefits of lowering their saddle
to compensate. The rear derailleur required a top
routed gear cable, just at the time of under bb
cable guides. The only dt shifters I saw required
Japanese dimension braze ons.
>From Frank Berto's article "sunset for suntour":
"Shimano introduced aerodynamic AX components in 1981 to
deafening silence. Coming after Positron, it really
seemed that Shimano had lost their way."
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/
I agree with Frank's assessment, but when 7400 sis came out, all was forgiven! That group was either a sign that the aero thing didn't get rider acceptance, or the cause, you choose.
Grant McLean Toronto.Ca
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