Best Group Set For Vintage Late 80's Road Bike?
 

i am looking for a 7 speed compatible groupset for a late 80s vintage road bike. ive been looking into shimano dura ace 7400 (local seller) but he said that those were only compatible with 6 speeds models. im not too familiar with vintage groupsets so i was wondering if anyone could help me out. thank you.

Shimano DA7400!....:thumb:
I thought they were 7 speed capable...
Otherwise, Campy Chorus is another great group....

Chombi

Yeah, there were a few iterations of 740x, one of which was 7speed. I've never used it but it is a beautiful looking group.

I'd say Campagnolo Super Record or Chorus are great choices.

Cheers,

Joe

Chombi, I'm surprised you didn't say Mavic SSC!

Depending on who you ask, most people will either say Campagnolo C-Record or Dura-Ace 7400 if you prefer indexed. To some extent it depends on the bike (e.g. Campy on a De Rosa, and DA on a Team Miyata).

There are 6- (7400), 7- (7401), and 8-speed (7402) variations of the DA line. There are subtle differences between the various RDs (no b-adjustment screws on the 7400 RD, for example), but you can run 7 speeds on a 7400 RD if you have a 7401-shifter.

Keep in mind the DA 740X drivetrain uses slightly different spacing than other Shimano groups, so may not be compatible with any 7-speed freewheel. Further reading: http://sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html

Suntour Cyclone II derailleurs with Suntour Barcon friction bar-end shifters. I have that on my Super Course with a ramped 7-speed freewheel, and it shifts smooth like butter.

thanks for all the replies!

im looking into all the above (camp chorus/c-record/super record/dura ace 7401) i found a nice set of campagnolo chorus brakeset (70$), but it says one is a dual and one is a single pivot. is this a correct? im guessing the front is the single and the back is dual.

also does the derailleurs matter (8/9speed) if i were to make my bike into a 7 speed? so many i find saying "8-9 speed *** derailleurs", all of them are priced nicely (for me) just dont know whether or not its compatible.

I think it depends on the frame. Is it an Italian or Japanese? CampI would be the obvious choice on a nice Italian frame but Suntour Superbe is always a good group too. You could go Ala carte' and use a Campi drive and Modolo or DiaCompe brakes. Do you want this to be friction or index shifting?

One single pivot and one daul does not a brakeset make. The original Chorus brakes in the Monoplanor design were single pivot and then that was passed to Athena in '93ish and Chorus got DPs.


For shipmano yes the 8-9spd should shift 7spd but DA may be problematic. CampI gets funky and a 8+ may not work well with the Synchro shifters. If you're going friction anything is possible.

Nooo!:eek:....The Mavic SSC group is bad........really bad...... don't bother looking for them in eBay, you are just wasting your time.....An Alvit can outshift an 840 0r 851 RD any day......:rolleyes::D


Seriously though, The Mavic 840 should be pretty good, based on its slant parallelogram design, seven speed capacity (I think it even goes up to 8 speeds) and indexed or friction shifting capability and the OP should check them out. I honestly cannot say the same for the older 851 SSC RD though. Better than other straight parallelogram RDs, because of it's adjustable height jockey wheels and cage, but it will never match a slant parallelogram derailleur's performance. Bonus with the 851 is the cool styling and the very light weight. It's kind of a balance of enough good things so it's my favorite C&V derailleur.

Chombi

The 7400 came in several versions, from 6 speed dt to 8 speed STI. I've got the 6 speed on a Paramount, and the 8 speed on my Tommasini. I really like the 8 speed.

Shimano 600 "tricolor" in 7-sp. Classy, available, dependable, cleans up well.

+1

+1 on Suntour Superbe Pro - great groupset even though I love Campy.

I've got the DA 7400 with 7-speed fw on my late 80's Casati. Had it since new and it just plain works.
:-)

This is the group I use on my Torpado, smooth as silk, very reliable...along with that very nice seatpost Robb sold me. :)

Shimano Sante if you can find it. It was pretty solid, just below Dura ace

Depending on the frame, a c-record/dura ace frankenstein. C-record deltas, levers, seatpost, and headset. DA Derailleurs, cranks, shifters, hubs/cassette.

http://www.cadre.org/bike_stuff/Gipiemme/CCI00000.jpg
Ohhh yeah

Another vote for Shimano 600. Near Dura-Ace without the premium.

I'll throw another into the mix, Shimano 105. I recently mixed the late '80s 1050 indexed downtube shifters into a 105sc (early '90s) mix and came up with a great groupset on my '83 Paramount. Rides like a dream and has a very nice finish.

I love these yet they are almost grail rarity to find.

+2, also they are quite lightweight too. comparable to modern FD and RD

As mentioned, my first choice would be 600 tri-color; however, I did own a mid-80 Faggin with a mix of Suntour Superbe Pro and Sprint components that worked very well and looked the biz.

I rarely see any Sprint stuff, which is too bad - the brakes worked great.

I think I've seen everything I'd suggest but I'll reiterate:

Suntour Superbe

Shimano 600 Tricolor

Shimano 105 1055

It really depends on budget. I think the seven speed RX100 and Shimano 105 are a very nice, at a relatively low price. Heck, I recently came across a set of RSX (one step below RX100), and while the finish is a step down from RX100, it all functions quite well.

Push the budget up, and I like the tricolor 600 and Sante groups, but the cost has moved up quite a bit. Push the budget higher, and then I like the 7400 DA and Superbe Pro.

But for performance for the dollar, RX100 is just fine. I usually let the deal decide. I have built a lot of bikes with RX100 components.