Michael Angelo 

What's not to like about Campagnolo??

YoKev

After years of Shimano only, I found myself with two all Campagnolo bikes this year. I love my 9-speed Athena bike and am slowly warming up to the 10-speed Centaur with a triple on my other, but, does it shift any better than Shimano? I'd say no, but it looks better at least. My ladys 105 equipped 10-speed is fricken crisp, like..amazing. And, her Sram Rival equipped CX bike is also noteworthy.

rekmeyata

Not sure about that 60,000 mile business, even if true that's about 30,000 more then todays modern stuff! I do know I have over 160,000 miles on Superbe and never had any mechanical failure, I did have a front derailleur band rust and snap so I replaced it with another identical brand new Superbe I had in storage. I've heard for others who also owned Suntour, and even lower levels then mine such as the V series, all claiming to have over 75,000 miles with no issues. In reality most people will never put 60,000 miles on a bike, they'll either buy another bike, or will stop riding being bored or too lazy to continue the hobby. I bought several used bikes and the most miles one of them has is no more then 8,000 miles, the others had less then 250 miles, and were all built in the 80's.

I do know that the 60's to the 70's era components from any manufacture were mostly junk, sure they cost a lot on the high end of the scale but they didn't last long, shifted poorly, constant adjusting, just plain problems. People don't realize that European bike component manufactures were still using metallurgy techniques and production facilities from PRE WW2! Component manufactures just didn't think it was critical thing to do until the Japanese started making superior components in the 70's and onward. It's the same reason American car manufactures fit and finish on body parts was so poor in the 60's and up till about late 90's, because we hadn't modernized our tooling and was still assembling cars using pre WW2 tooling! It wasn't uncommon to see a new car with a trunk gap of 1/2 inch on one side and 1/8th of inch on the other and other such fit issues. That kind of primitive tooling is what made European components so poorly constructed.

JohnDThompson 

I had a '73 Saab 99 when I was at Trek. Lost it by almost running into the back of a manure spreader on my way home from work; dove into the ditch instead and totaled the car. Dude was on the highway at night with NO LIGHTS OR REFLECTORS!

Sixty Fiver

If you are gonna crash, the 99 is not a bad car to do it in.

When they used them is rally racing they used to install fake roll cages since the Saab's frame and integrated roll cage were already more than up to the task.

JohnDThompson 

Yeah, the car was totaled, but I walked away with no injuries at all.

rootboy 

Manure spreader?

Sheeeeet....

hc167

I know maybe this is the wrong location to ask this question. but since you guys already discussing about campagnolo. maybe I should ask here. I have a vintage bianchi and want to upgrade it. do you guy think this is good deal?

https://www.yellowjersey.org/ergokit.html

Is yellowjerey has good reputation? can they be trust? the deal is so good.

gioscinelli 

Wow!!!

redbuda

I had an X19 too! Loved that car. My scooter, moped and a bicycle are Italian. Can't beat quality of design.

Zinger

Some of these guys would know better than me. I just ordered a Sugino compact crankset from them. The only other thing I bought was some retro caged pedal cleats for look hole-pattern shoes. Got those right away. Don't know why they aren't up and running with a credit card purchase system so you'll have to mail in a postal money order for your stuff. They do have some interesting items.

Zinger

I just got my Sugino compact crankset from them today (And it's a beauty for $120). That's the second thing I got from them very promptly after mailing them a postal MO, just like in the old pre-internet days.

buldogge

You can do better than that piecing it together....probably $600 for Centaur level components (used...Ergos, FD, RD, cranks, cassette, wheelset and new chain).

What crank are you running now? I run 10s with 8s cranks without issue (using 10s FD is best) and even have one set-up with a 6s SR crank, but I machined the inside ring to bring it closer to the outside ring for better shifting).

I have some really cheap centaur pieces I de-logo'd (FD, RD), if you don't mind that...I'm sure I have a 12-25 cassette as well. I had a decent set of Veloce Ergos until I threw them on my wife's Legend Ti 2 days ago! There's a set of cranks in the sale section right now. New Veloce Ergos are $110 from the UK (Powershift though).

What wheels are you running now...what hubs??

hc167

Can you pm me will all the information? I maybe interested.

tashi

Meh, I'll still trade it for a Dura-Ace single-bolt version any day. Shinier, easier (and still infinite) to adjust and I'm sure I can keep it from moving on me. All with a tool I already have.

DIMcyclist

I SO get this: I learned to drive stick in an Alpha 850 Spyder! It was my dad's 'work' car: a high-mileage (41 mpg in 1977) two-seater; no frills, no AC. It looked great, but it was such a POS!

In four years it went through two convertible roofs, two electric starters, two carburetors, three fuel pumps, and one complete exhaust manifold (the muffler & the manifold were all one piece; if you got a hole in the muffler, you had to replace the whole thing).

He let me drive it around as my own car during the last week he owned it, on the condition that I clean it out and vacuum it the day before he drove it to the junkyard. While I was vacuuming the passenger side, I felt something 'give' under the floor mat. I peeled it back to find that a chunk of the floor, about the size of two hands, had just broken off and fallen on the driveway: the floor had completely rusted through and the only thing holding me up was the mat!

Say what you like, Campy components are a lot more reliable.

DIMcyclist

Those integrated roll cages are awesome.

I drove Saabs for 15 years; I had three 900 Turbos: the first, I drove to the dump with 285,000 miles on the odo; drove the second for less than a year: I wrecked on the freeway (got cut off by a Mack truck on a blind on-ramp, spun out @ 65 mph, four wheels off the ground, slammed into a concrete guard-rail, propelled along the rail for about 50 feet before coming to a stop), car totaled: no personal injury; junked the third one after 310,000 miles, when the transmission finally wore out (a $40 bearing whose installation would have exceeded the car's blue-book value by $400).

I love Saabs.

Michael Angelo 

I've worked on SAAB's, can't stand them. The 900's should all be turned into rebar......

DIMcyclist

I'm not too keen on telling car stories on BF, but I feel compelled to elaborate...

I partially agree with you: To be fair, my '82 really was something of a lemon, and I hope it's rotting in a particularly corrosive part of automotive-hell; it had electrical problems in & out the yin-yag, which often led to more serious mechanical problems; it was a systemic fault to the whole car-- in that particular year. I finally got sick of it and drove it to the dump in 1993.

My subsequent '86 once needed to have the fuel pump relay replaced (my mech didn't even charge me, btw). And that's about it. It did develop a crack in the filler-neck about two weeks before the wreck, which I had repaired almost immediately; no other problems, electrical or mechanical.

And only major problem my '89 ever had- in nine years- was when the transmission finally croaked (no doubt the result of one +90mph trip across Nevada too many. I'm of the opinion that, Burningman & springtime wildflowers aside, Nevada is best seen at night, for as brief a time as possible). That was in 2004. After that I went car-free, initially while I was saving up for a new 9000; then I started tipping to the advantages of not bothering with a car at all, and just sorta stuck with it.

Mine were all hatchbacks, and with the rear seat folded down, they had almost as much cargo space as a Subaru Outback (enough at least for three MTBs, two friends, and all of our gear).
Overall though, all three of my Saabs were comfortable, smooth-riding cars that got reasonable gas mileage and handled well, even in the worst weather. They had excellent heaters, and got me around through 15 Utah winters like little snowplows.

I'd own another one in a heartbeat, if I ever decided I'd want to own a car again.

Michael Angelo 

In the Mid 80's, the dealer I worked in sold SAAB. I can't say enough bad things about the 900. From the backwards facing engine, to the Transmission mounted under the engine. The Ignition key in the Console....
The underpowered engine. The only interesting idea was the emergency brakes were built into the front Calipers, making them "real" emergency brakes. Anything else is just a parking brake. But even that Idea didn't pan out well as you had to replace the cailpers due to the fact they would seize. Such terrible cars.....

rekmeyata

I knew people who had Saab's and none ever wanted another one, even one guy who collected the little Saab Sonnet, unique looking sure, but not even remotely reliable, but I guess since they raced against other poorly built cars mostly from Britain Saab didn't care. I don't know if my friend still has his collection of 6 of those Sonnets or not I haven't been in contact with him for about 15 years, but I do know he had one he bought new, the last year (74?) they were built and never drove it, I guess if that car is still owned by him it could be worth a lot of money.

But new Saabs will now be built in China and I understand will be all electric, I won't buy a car made in China.

DIMcyclist

Or apparently one made in Sweden.

rekmeyata

That is true, but, if I had only two choices, China or Sweden I would buy a Swedish car without even remotely considering the other. Not all Swedish cars were bad (past tense), Volvo use to make a really nice car, but they too are now own by a Chinese company so again I wouldn't even consider one. Sweden makes other cars they just don't get imported to America.

happytramp

I love the stuff but I really dislike the inconsistency of their finishes. Some are polished steel, some chromed, some are alloy and anodized while others aren't. Personally I don't like the look of the high polished, shiny Record FD over the milky anodizing of the Record chainset. The whole thing lacks cohesion in my opinion.

Road Fan

Actually I have had similar things happen to the cable clamp bolt (unique and proprietary, you know!) on Shimano 600 and 1st gen DuraAce calipers.

What happened to that bolt over the previous 30 to 40 years of its life, since it is an NR part? Was it ever overtightened?