zeus 2000 components
 

yesterday i acquired a vintage zeus 2000 rear derailleur. can anyone tell me more about zeus 2000 components other than what's available on classic rendezvous? what years did they come out? what kinds of bikes carried them? how much are they worth?

on the back of the derailleur is stamped:

M.I. 81.413 SPAIN
DE 13 A 26 DIENTES

anyone know what this is about? perhaps it's like the patent/year stamp on the back of campagnolo NR derailleurs?

aloha,
matt

Well, that's almost self-explanatory! Manufactured in 1981, teeth capacity 13 - 26. Here's a page from the june 1981 Ron Kitching catalogue.
I'd say the Zeus 2000 is a pretty rare piece of equipment. Hold on to it!

Want to buy a Zeus bike to go on it? I've got one - frame and FD are Zeus... can't recall crankset and brakes at the moment - but I'm sure it'd look terrific with your new derailler! ;)

I'm looking for the all black, and gold/black anodized versions. If that one's either, and you want to sell/trade it, send me a PM.

As far as I know, the first 2000 derailleur was available in '76, and it was an early version that has a big slot cut into the face. These were modified from the Zeus Criterium deraileurs. Around '77 or '78, the more common version came out, and was available 'till about '82, when the Supercronos (sp?) came out.
Zeus 2000 is cool!

I have a late-'70s Zeus Professional with the full complement of Zeus components. Around that time the Zeus 2000 stuff was new and the only 2000 components on my bike are the center pull brakes. We ordered some of the 2000 components to have around the shop. I believe the derrailleur was derived from the Criterium (which I have on my bike - which is a mostly steel Campy copy) and had thinner investment cast steel parts, Ti bolts and a drilled-out pulley cage. The 2000 crank was like my Criterium crank with a bunch of holes drilled in the arms and rings (can you say flexy?) and a nice Ti BB. And there were 2000 freewheels made from Ti that were nice to look at, but I'm not sure how long they would last.

here's a pic of the derailleur. questions on the pic...

matt

My memory may be faulty, but I do believe the bolts indicated in your pic are Ti. And I seem to remember that the other part indicated is actually steel (they claimed that by using investment casting they could create a strong but light part) so it is probably plated. Check the parts with a magnet.

Ti upper bolt & steel lower.
Second generation (nicer) Zeus 2000 derailleur.

First type is this one:

This Zeus 2000 components started appearing in 1972, with the introduction of the freewheel. By 1975 they had added the crankset, pedals, brakeset and rear derailleur.

Jemoryl, the 1st generation 2000 rear derailleur was investment cast steel, as you recall. I'm not sure about the second generation.

What I remember most about these compoents was Zeus' unique approach to lighter weight. The investment cast steel derailleur was notable, but it was the pedals that impressed me the most. Campagnolo SR used a titanium spindle which was subject to breaking and an aluminum cage which was subject to high wear rates. Zeus chose a steel spindle and saved weight by using titanium for the cage. These pedals were reliable, long lasting and markedly lighter than standard pedals.

The other thing that really stood out were the brakes and fork crown. It was the first time I had seen recessed, Allen key fittings for brake bolts.

The early 2000 pedals did have the Ti spindle as well as the Ti cage; later ones were a steel alloy that Zeus called "Titanox". Got a pair or two of each here.

Thxs. Sounds similar to the developments with the 2000 freewheel. In the initial version, all the cogs were reportedly aluminum. By the time I got mine in 1975, the smaller, thread-on cogs were steel, but the large, slip-on cogs were aluminum. These cogs had far better wear than the cogs on the lightweight Maeda and Maillard freewheels. The body itself was also superior, partly due to the all steel construction. The pedals had the steel axles by 1975, so the titanium axles must have been short lived.

The Zeus 2000 components of the mid-1970s struck me as an intelligent approach to weight savings, while not not sacrificing too much in wear/reliability. Very under-rated, or should I say under-accepted? Everbody I know who tried the components really liked them, but it was hard to get cyclists to give them a chance, with Campagnolo so well entrenched. Most cyclists automatically opted for Campagnolo SR.