The Campy Synt pads were introduced in approximately 1988. Campy had a brochure that explained the new product, but I don't know what their spin was on the matter. My impression is that they were a special replacement pad that was intended for wet conditions. None of the Campy brakesets came with these pads stock. In the early-mid 80's, an apprecaible number of riders using Modolo synterized pads as replacements on their Campy brakes. Other guys were using Modolo brakes on otherwise all-Campy bikes, and given how similar the brakes were in other respects, I always suspected that it was really the different shoes that these guys liked. As with the Modolo anatomic hoods, the Modolo synt pads were viewed by some as a performance upgrade to stock Campy. Certainly the Modolo stuff was different which is a plus to some people. The top end brake, the Master Pro was actually more expensive than Campy, so it became a "better than SR" upgrade in botique bikes. The Master Pros were also the brakes of LeMond, who sued Modolo for using his image in an ad without his consent. Greg brought a lot of great American culture to Europe. I also think the Modolo replacement parts were cheaper, and pretty readily available given how small an operation Modolo really was. I recall one LBS that had an elaborate Modolo spare parts kit in a red plastic box.
I never used Campy or Modolo Synterized pas myself, though I have a set of Campys on my shelf. I recall the Modolo synterized shoes being quite noisy in dry conditions, My friend who used Campy Synts never bought a second set. He said they were too touchy and too noisy. I recall a photo of Sean Kelly on his all-Mavic Vitus with the conspicuous presence of Campy alloy holders and normal rubber blocks. I'm not sure why this was done, because Modolo did offer a rubber block to fit their holders (different shape from Campy) and he could have used those if he didn't like the synterized material. The high-end Modolo brakes came with synterized pads stock, as did the Mavics, as far as I know.
The shoes in the auction are for Delta brakes. Those are the earlier Delta holders, with a provision for sidewall angle. Later holders were orbital, so you could adjust toe and sidewall angle. The last version (3rd) had longer threaded shafts to allow use of spacers for the increasingly popular narrow rims. The Campy Synt pads came in a square version for NR/SR type holders and a rounded version for Delta type holders. There may have been two versions of each, because the pads in the auction appear to taper between the holder and the braking surface, and I know that later Campy pads had a bigger braking surface and did not taper. At least this was true with the rubber Delta pads. The later untapered ones were dubbed H.P. and were standard in 1992 and later deltas.
More than enough, eh?
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA
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