Tom,
This is another interesting shimano quirk.
The 1980 AX group indeed had aero brake levers, and yet when 7400 dura ace was introduced, 4 years later, it has conventional cable routing option only!
Further evolutions of 7400/1 groups are actually pictured in the catalog with AX levers in an inset photograph beside the group!! (5 year old levers!) until the time when the first widespread aero dura-ace brake lever appeared as the 7401 in 1986.
Even further "oddness" is that 7400 was also only available originally as 6 speed, even though 7 speed freewheels were widely in use at this time.
So for 7400, generally a group that is remembered as being so innovative for SIS, actually had rather "old school" features, beyond the fact that the right hand dt lever tended to go "click" when it moved.
I've said this before, I believe this was the case because dura ace AX was a total and utter failure at retail. Shimano had to "regroup", (bad pun) and their next major design push needed to be in a less radical direction to assure the world that they had not completely lost their minds.
http://dura-ace.shimano.com/
Grant McLean Toronto.Ca
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Tom Sanders wrote: As one who had and liked a Crane derailleur on a PX-10 I have been = following this discussion of early Dura Ace with some interest. Racers = seemed to embrace at least the aero brake levers of the Shimano AX = grouppo rather quickly. How does this tie into the Dura Ace line, was = it a competitor and was it of similar quality? I sure liked the AX = levers I had on a vintage bike recently. It was the Chris Pauly that = Larry Black has now.