Originally Posted by
luker
^^^the kind of posts that keep me reading.
" A few of my club mates in the early 70's with similar bikes swapped to Nuovo Record mechs as soon as they could afford them. They cost a whole week's wages in those days!"
A good grey market price for a new 11 speed super record derailleur is about $500. Sounds like an awful lot to me, but not a week's wages! Campy is actually getting cheaper?
Also nice to know about the derailleur adapter. We also threw away the boxes, and depending on the box these can cost more than $20, now...
Hi Luker,
Food for thought, eh? ....If only Campy boxes had been as long lasting as the parts they contained! But then again, how many of us keep our Shimano boxes or blister packs now?
I have been looking through old 1935 to 1939 facsimile catalogues of bikes on the net looking for detail & inspiration for a forthcoming restoration. Some of the higher quality road bikes were then priced at around £17 - 17s -6d in pre-decimal Sterling - post decimal £17.75 - not sure what the current dollar exchange is now the rates have gone crazy, but that could be around $25.
I thought that didn't sound like much - until I found out that a working man in those days earned an average £1.52 per week (just over a dollar?) On this basis, that lightweight sports bike would have cost him a whole three months' earnings. Translate that back into modern wages and it's about £5,000 (maybe $7,000?). No wonder they were built to last! How many of us would really commit that much cash to a new bike purchase today? (Maybe that's why I like C&V - I'm a bit of a cheapskate!)
Just some ramblings of an insomniac - it might make more sense in daylight....