Jack,
Technically, the MA should rightfully be considered the successor to the Module E (...which was introduced back in late 1975 - having a 19.8 mm width, but everyone I knew rounded that figure up to an even 20 mm in conversation) whereas the MA2 was the successor to the Module E2 to the extent that both the MA and Module E were single eyelet rims while the MA2 and Module E2 incorporated double eyelets (...or tubular eyelets if your prefer).
The MA, MA2, MA2 Argent, and MA40 all debuted in late 1985 for model year 1986 (...each of them having a slightly greater 20.5 mm width) at which point the MA and MA2 had a non-anodized aluminum alloy surface, the MA2 Argent incorporated a clear anodized surface treatment, and the MA40 featured a hard anodized or "anthracite grey" finish derived from the revolutionary "Grise SSC" type Paris-Roubaix rims which MAVIC first made available to pro riders in 1975 and subsequently commercialized for public consumption four years later in 1979. For model years 1986 and 1987 only, the MA, MA2, and MA2 Argent offerings had an integrated rim decal consisting of a traditional Red MAVIC label juxtaposed with a model specific Green tag, while the MA40 had a separate and single Red MAVIC rim label as well as a secondary Yellow with Black lettered "MA40" decal. It was not until model year 1988 that MAVIC adopted those uniform Green rim labels for their MA, MA2, MA2 Argent, and MA40 offerings (...the version where the stylized "M" ends up looking something akin to the output from an electrocardiogram) - a label version which persisted until approximately 1999.
Robert "queue rim shot, please" Broderick ..the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota Sioux Falls, USA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Carb7008@cs.com Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 9:55 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR] Mavic Rim Timeline
Can anyone please tell us an approx timeline for Mavic MA2 (non-anodized), MA2 (silver anodized) and MA40 (bronze anodized) rims? My recollection is these models followed the Module E2 but were simultaneously available for many
years as well.
Thanks in Advance,
Jack Romans
Sacramento, CA