Hi Morgan,
Personally I think the 1st generation Dura-Ace gear is top quality. I'm very fond of it. The hubs, especially the large flange version, is to this day one of my all-time favorite hubs -- beautiful to look at (much nicer than the comparable era Campy , IMO), smooth and durable. I've got a set of wheels I built with these hubs in 1974 and still use today. The brakes are equally nice. Also nicer than the Campy Record brakes. The hubs and brakes have a wonderful "pearl" finish. Just sweet.
The Crane rear and Dura Ace front derailleur used in the 1st gen were functionally excellent, but, to my eye at least, aethetically not quite as nice as the comparable Campy Nuovo Record. But still fine.
IMO, the headset and cranks were comparable to Campy- no better,no worse -- both aesthetically and functionally.
Having said all that, I've recently decided to restore the 1973 Colin Laing I recently mentioned on the list using 1st gen Dura Ace.
Fellow list member Wayne Bingham has a superb red Martin frame (I think it's a Martin) restored with 1st gen Dura Ace. You should ask him to email photos. It's stunning.
I recently heard from list memebr Steve Barner that he too is gathering parts to build up an era-correct frame with 1st generation Dura Ace.
Overall, my opinion is that the 1st gen Dura Ace was by far the best version Shimano created until perhaps their 7400 series and newer 9spd and 10spd. All the in between stuff was pedestrian. Ah, but that 1st generation...!
So, I say -- go for it!
Best Regards,
David
David G. White
Burlington, VT
>
> From: Morgan Fletcher <morgan@hahaha.org>
> Date: 2004/09/16 Thu PM 01:59:19 EDT
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Early Dura-Ace, "HC" an importer?
>
> Thinking about running early Dura-Ace on a 1975-ish Pogliaghi. The bike was
> originally built with first-gen Dura-Ace, and I kinda like the idea of an
> iconoclastic marque running what was then new and different.
>
> How would you rate first-gen Dura-Ace against 1975 Campagnolo Record, for
> function and form? Am I nuts?
>
> Ed Litton showed me a Pogliaghi with the BB stamped "EAI" for Euro-Asia
> Imports. Mine is stamped "HC". Was there an importer or agent with those
> initials in the mid-seventies?
>
> Morgan Fletcher
> Oakland, CA