Re: [CR] stronlight headset

(Example: Production Builders)

Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 08:52:12 -0600
From: "John Thompson" <johndthompson@gmail.com>
Organization: The Crimson Permanent Assurance
To: classic <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <BAY121-W3768DC27ACA0B82EBE2D12AC550@phx.gbl>
In-Reply-To:
Subject: Re: [CR] stronlight headset


Mike Rathwell wrote:
> Picked up a stronglight "Delta" headset at a church sale. All of
> 1.00. Still in the box. Very light, and I'm wondering where this
> headset ranks in quality? Also, what year what it was produced? What
> ever happened to the Spidel company?

The "Delta" headset was Stronglight's top of the line headset when it came on the market in the mid-1980s. It used the same roller-bearing design as the popular A9 and B10 headsets, but added O-ring seals to the cups and locknut.

"Spidel" wasn't a company, but rather a marketing consortium of French manufacturers (Stronglight, MAFAC, Maillard, Simplex) intended to compete more effectively with the Japanese Shimano juggernaut. Italians formed a similar consortium ("Ultima," comprised of Campagnolo, Regina, and Cinelli, IIRC) for a similar purpose.

--

-John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA