I have a few more observations on Stronglight as a result of a change I did today to the 1978 Mondia Super I bought from Jack Gabus before Christmas.
The bike came with Campy NR cranks, but I always think of Swiss bikes as being equiped with a mix of Italian and French components, usually Stronglight cranks and Campy derailleurs. So I picked up a Stronglight 105 right arm earlier this week on eBay and was amazed to receive it already today. Didn't have a left arm, so I had to rob one. I discovered that the left arm of a later more rounded mod 99 I had was a perfect match. Worth remembering if you are in search of a left arm for either 105 or later 99.
Another interesting point is that while the mod 99 left arm was the later rounded style matching the 105 right, both arms still have the old unique Stronglight 23.35 mm extractor thread. This answers a question I had as to which came first, the change in mod 99 arm profile, or the change in extractor thread. Today's experience suggests that the change to rounded arms was earlier than the circa 1982 change to 22.0 extractor thread. So while one may see the rounded mod 99 with either extractor thread, I now suspect that all of the earlier squarer mod 99's will have the older 23.35 Stronglight thread. Of course it is French, so anything is still possible.
Although I had mod Stronglight 106 and 107 cranks already, I bought the 105 on eBay because it offered a 38T small ring, while the 106 and 107 use the Campy 144 circle, with a minimum 42 or 41 if you can find one. I set up the 105 with a 50-38, which the Campy NR handles OK. 52-38 would have been asking too much of the NR RD.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
big Spring, Texas, USA