Originally Posted by
muzpuf
you are "sorta" correct hubs, seatposts, shifters, front derailleurs, and even older cinelli stems were never anodized and have held up fine over the years ..... in many cases anodizing is used to hide imperfections in the metal to make parts look nice without that extra step ............if you look real close under the finish on older cranks you can see the metal is rough black marks pock marks shading issues all hidden by anodizing
That's not really correct, true anodizing does not hide surface flaws. I know because I've prepped a lot of parts for anodizing and anything I've missed in prep is glaringly obvious once anodized. When you see older Campy parts with pitting, black spotting, etc. that is oxidation happening under the ano. Usually parts that were used in the wet a lot or from costal climates. Anodizing helps, but is not impervious to wet.
Now some of the later 80's and 90's surface coatings I've removed from parts can really hide some very rough surfaces underneath. Some of this anodizing (if it is even anodizing) is more like paint.
I think Campy did a beautiful job on most of their ano work. You can really appreciate it when you try to have it replicated. It's not easy. I still like polished finishes as well.