Quoth Harvey Sachs:
>
>At a fairly recent swap meet, a chap walked over and gave me a set
>of NOS Shimano "L422" down-tube shift levers with a rather fine
>ratchet mechanism and much more elegant appearance than my favorite
>SunTour ratcheters. Does anyone know what these are and from when?
>They are pretty good eye-candy, with simple elegance and a slight
>twist to the levers themselves. But, I haven't had a chance to try
>them (no appropriately kitted out bike). I could send pix if there
>is interest in seeing them or knows something about them.
Those sound like "Light Action" levers, probably from 1985, maybe '86. These were briefly sold just before SIS trickled down past the 600EX level. I seem to recall these on Miyata touring bikes at that era.
They were very nice indeed. The matching derailer was not marketed as indexable, but it actually was.
Sheldon "Light Action" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
+---------------------------------------------+
| If your bike has drop handlebars, but you |
| rarely or never ride on the drops, it's a |
| sure sign that your bike is not properly |
| fitted or is not properly adjusted! |
| See: http://sheldonbrown.com/
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com
Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
http://sheldonbrown.com