Ray,
While these cages may have been a little heavy, they were standard racing equipment since well before I started riding (c 1979) until almost 1990. The added weight was offset by the fact that they held the bottle very securely, even on very rough roads. They also didn't crack like the alloy cages of the era. Look back at some photos of pro races in the 1970s and 1980s and you will see that virtually everyone used this cage. Even riders who were supposed to be using someone else's cage used this cage. The TI Raliegh Panasonic team bikes of 1984 were supposed to have Cobra (alloy) cages, but many, if not most, were switched to TA steel.
One benefit that I enjoyed with these cages, which would not be a concern for the above referenced pro racers, is that they did not leave that grey film on your bottles the way the alloy cages do.
As for the price, beyond the fact that these are the "correct" cage for vintage race bikes, reflects the reality that many of these are now very rusty (I have a couple super rusty ones holding the soap dispensers in by home workshop), or have lost their plastic top. The loose top was one of the probelms with these. I used hot glue to prevent loss of this piece, and some team mechanincs were said to insert small screws through the plastic.
Finally, the example on the left is the typical TA logo that I'm familar with. The example on the right is probably the scarce older version, which I think has the TA chainring logo on the back side of the plastic piece. I suspect that a seller looking for the old one would recognize it in this photo. The alternative is that the one on the right is a generic knockoff, but the knockoffs, or which there were many, never looked as similar in other respects. I think the old version may also be cross-collectible (using the term ironically here) into the constructeur market.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, where steel was king, PA USA
Ray wrote:
OK, so I exaggerate, but still, these cages were pretty but way too heavy for me to take seriously back when I started cycling in the mid 80's:
After seeing this auction I went through my parts bin to see if I still have any, but no. The last one I had is on my Masi. And of course I put it on the Masi because weight be damned, those chrome cages really are beautiful.
Ray Dobbins Miami FL USA
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