Nominate the most beautiful vintage groupset
06-07-19, 12:24 PM
#76
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Bah humbug to this modern crap.
Crank - FB
FB Cranks 1 by iabisdb, on Flickr
BB - FB
FB 006 by iabisdb, on Flickr
FB BB 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Hubs - FB
FB Hubs 06 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Pedals - Sheffield
Sheffield 658 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Headset - Magistroni
Stem/bars - Ambrosio
Ambrosio 04 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Calipers - Balilla
Balilla Calipers 1 by iabisdb, on Flickr
RD - Campagnolo Gran Sport
Cinelli_Model_B 095 by iabisdb, on Flickr
FD - Cyclo
Cinelli_Model_B 072 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Crank - FB
FB Cranks 1 by iabisdb, on Flickr
BB - FB
FB 006 by iabisdb, on Flickr
FB BB 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Hubs - FB
FB Hubs 06 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Pedals - Sheffield
Sheffield 658 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Headset - Magistroni
Stem/bars - Ambrosio
Ambrosio 04 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Calipers - Balilla
Balilla Calipers 1 by iabisdb, on Flickr
RD - Campagnolo Gran Sport
Cinelli_Model_B 095 by iabisdb, on Flickr
FD - Cyclo
Cinelli_Model_B 072 by iabisdb, on Flickr
06-07-19, 01:05 PM
#77
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I assume this wasn't a random selection. What's it all destined for? Have you posted the Cinelli before?
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06-07-19, 01:06 PM
#78
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Came and went. So it goes.
06-07-19, 02:38 PM
#79
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Resilion Crimson Star. Very much less is more. Can handle both 5/16 + 1/4 chains. I love the all steel simplicity and robustness.
8
06-07-19, 07:29 PM
#80
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Shamano 600 Arabesque 
06-07-19, 08:02 PM
#81
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Unofficially / officially groupset by the late Jon Williams ~ Drillium Revival Campagnolo Super Record.
And another nomination for reworked Campagnolo Super Record of Swiss company ICS (Ital Cicli Systems).
And another nomination for reworked Campagnolo Super Record of Swiss company ICS (Ital Cicli Systems).
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06-07-19, 10:06 PM
#82
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(Photos from Velobase)
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06-09-19, 04:14 PM
#83
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My vote is also for the Shimano 600 ex.
06-10-19, 12:50 PM
#84
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If this is going to be a C&V thread, we should be nominating individual parts rather than groups. The beauty of parts--before Shimano screwed everything up--was that you could mix and match the best parts. I know this thread is about the most "beautiful" parts but for me the most beautiful are the ones that work the best.
So best and most beautiful headset, stronglight A9.
Best derailleurs, suntour.
Best brakes, take your pick, Mafac racers (cheap but great) or campy sidepulls.
Best crank is tough but I'd vote stronglight cranks. The rings were very good on the rockwell hardness test. The cranks were light. And they chainring sizes (or bcd), unlike campy, came in useful sizes. Even the racing crank, the stronglight 93, could go down to 37 teeth. Then stronglight screwed up by copying the campy bcd.
Best hubs, I love campy but the later suntour cartridge bearing ones were great as well.
Best pedals, campys are great but so are the later suntour cartridge bearing pedals (I think they were made by MKS).
If I have to vote for a group worth owning as a group, I like the suntour xc pro stuff/superbe stuff. That was suntour's swan song before it went broke and that stuff is excellent. I have a full xc pro group salted away for a 650b build I plan on doing.
Oh, and shimano gets zero votes which is exactly what it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love shimano click shifting and the shimano 600/dura ace stuff is pretty hot but shimano made a lot of crappy stuff before it finally figured out how to kill off the competition.
There is not a lot of campy stuff on my post but then campy stuff was beautiful, pricey, and overrated. Was there a crappier uber expensive rear derailleur ever made then the first or second gen campy rally? Or a crappier less well thought out triple then the campy triple? Plus campy headsets are overrated. They were a lot easier to "index" than a well made headset like the stronglight A9. The older stronglight headsets are great too.
So best and most beautiful headset, stronglight A9.
Best derailleurs, suntour.
Best brakes, take your pick, Mafac racers (cheap but great) or campy sidepulls.
Best crank is tough but I'd vote stronglight cranks. The rings were very good on the rockwell hardness test. The cranks were light. And they chainring sizes (or bcd), unlike campy, came in useful sizes. Even the racing crank, the stronglight 93, could go down to 37 teeth. Then stronglight screwed up by copying the campy bcd.
Best hubs, I love campy but the later suntour cartridge bearing ones were great as well.
Best pedals, campys are great but so are the later suntour cartridge bearing pedals (I think they were made by MKS).
If I have to vote for a group worth owning as a group, I like the suntour xc pro stuff/superbe stuff. That was suntour's swan song before it went broke and that stuff is excellent. I have a full xc pro group salted away for a 650b build I plan on doing.
Oh, and shimano gets zero votes which is exactly what it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love shimano click shifting and the shimano 600/dura ace stuff is pretty hot but shimano made a lot of crappy stuff before it finally figured out how to kill off the competition.
There is not a lot of campy stuff on my post but then campy stuff was beautiful, pricey, and overrated. Was there a crappier uber expensive rear derailleur ever made then the first or second gen campy rally? Or a crappier less well thought out triple then the campy triple? Plus campy headsets are overrated. They were a lot easier to "index" than a well made headset like the stronglight A9. The older stronglight headsets are great too.
If limited to groups, I say:
- 1970s Campy Record (the classic of classics) and first gen Super Record
- Shimano 600 Arabesque (sorry, it was/is beautiful, mine was reliable for over 30 years, and every maker has a few duds, but this definitely was not one)
- 1st Gen Suntour Cyclone.
- Stronglight 93 crank (49s with the star are acceptable)
- AND Mafac CP brakes (all types).
06-10-19, 01:47 PM
#85
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Another picture of the Spécialités TA Cyclotouriste, this one is with 48 & 34 chainrings
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06-10-19, 02:21 PM
#87
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I've always had a thing for Zeus, because they made their own frames and grupo, an all Zeus 2000 equipped Zeus bike like this one is one of my holy grail's.
I mean, ain't that a pretty thing (from Retrogrouch)?
And their C.P. brakes, muy sabroso!
The catalog is here (courtesy Velopages):https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g2_itemId=58296
I mean, ain't that a pretty thing (from Retrogrouch)?
And their C.P. brakes, muy sabroso!
The catalog is here (courtesy Velopages):https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g2_itemId=58296
06-10-19, 05:11 PM
#89
Senior Member
I like when form follows function in a very direct line: so for me, dura ace 7400 is my favorite if you are talking full groupset. mixing and matching is a different story. I often mix and match with 7400 to get what I really want.
but still. as stock its just clean and visual appeal aligns directly with its function:
but still. as stock its just clean and visual appeal aligns directly with its function:
06-10-19, 07:20 PM
#91
Senior Member
I've never owned Campy gear but two things I have seen that turned my crank (so to speak):
- Campy Delta brakes. Modern multi-pivots work better, but man are Deltas pretty and totally fit the form factor of where they are installed.
- A Campy rear derailleur I saw, can't recall the model, but it was adjustable for the amount of gain ("slope") of a particular cassette. It had a small external pushrod that was part of the assembly. I looked at it and said, "Somebody was thinking." Perhaps unnecessary complexity, but I loved looking at it. EDIT: AH, here it is, the Croce d' Aune:
- Campy Delta brakes. Modern multi-pivots work better, but man are Deltas pretty and totally fit the form factor of where they are installed.
- A Campy rear derailleur I saw, can't recall the model, but it was adjustable for the amount of gain ("slope") of a particular cassette. It had a small external pushrod that was part of the assembly. I looked at it and said, "Somebody was thinking." Perhaps unnecessary complexity, but I loved looking at it. EDIT: AH, here it is, the Croce d' Aune:
The innovative design of the CROCE D'AUNE derailleur is an improvement on the above mentioned systems and achieves its efficiency through Campagnolo's patented" "TWIN-AXLE System". The "TWIN-AXLE System" is an articulation of the geometry of the derailleur which combines two movements to move the jockey cage across the freewheel while keeping it equidistant from all the cogs regardless of how big or how small they are in diameter.
The "TWIN-AXLE System" of this new derailleur works in this way: when the gear cable is pulled the derailleur rotates on its pivot bolt (fig. A) causing the jockey cage to alter itself to suit the increasing diameters of the freewheel cogs. At the same time, a rigid, stainless steel arm on the diagonal of the parallelogram moves the cage plate along the freewheel (fig. B) guiding the chain from one cog to another. The movement of the parallelogram is controlled by a return spring. This spring is not, however, preloaded like on other derailleurs which can cause needless friction. Thanks to the elimination of friction at this point the derailleur's shifting action is much lighter and smoother than other gear changers.
The "TWIN-AXLE System" of the CROCE D'AUNE derailleur is a new break-through in derailleur technology and is destined to set new standards for competition derailleurs. In races like the Giro d'ltalia and Tour de France where steep mountain roads torture both man and machine it is extremely important for the derailleur to perform flawlessly because one missed shift or slipped chain can be the difference between winning and loosing.
The "TWIN-AXLE System" of this new derailleur works in this way: when the gear cable is pulled the derailleur rotates on its pivot bolt (fig. A) causing the jockey cage to alter itself to suit the increasing diameters of the freewheel cogs. At the same time, a rigid, stainless steel arm on the diagonal of the parallelogram moves the cage plate along the freewheel (fig. B) guiding the chain from one cog to another. The movement of the parallelogram is controlled by a return spring. This spring is not, however, preloaded like on other derailleurs which can cause needless friction. Thanks to the elimination of friction at this point the derailleur's shifting action is much lighter and smoother than other gear changers.
The "TWIN-AXLE System" of the CROCE D'AUNE derailleur is a new break-through in derailleur technology and is destined to set new standards for competition derailleurs. In races like the Giro d'ltalia and Tour de France where steep mountain roads torture both man and machine it is extremely important for the derailleur to perform flawlessly because one missed shift or slipped chain can be the difference between winning and loosing.
Last edited by Duragrouch; 06-10-19 at 07:36 PM.
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06-10-19, 08:28 PM
#93
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If one leans towards the look of the Stronglight, I think the SR Royal, from the factory, is a better looking crank.
06-10-19, 09:52 PM
#94
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You may be right, given that it only required a longer rivet at one end and lug plate at the other end of the rod, so would not have required changes to expensive casting or forging tooling for the body parts. I wonder also about the status of patents on the slant designs at the time. Good theory.
06-10-19, 09:58 PM
#95
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It's what a T-1000 would ride, or be, it's got that flowing liquid look. "Say, that's a nice bike."
06-11-19, 06:05 AM
#96
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06-11-19, 06:54 AM
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I like when form follows function in a very direct line: so for me, dura ace 7400 is my favorite if you are talking full groupset. mixing and matching is a different story. I often mix and match with 7400 to get what I really want.
but still. as stock its just clean and visual appeal aligns directly with its function:
but still. as stock its just clean and visual appeal aligns directly with its function:
This groupset is so so no nonsense but beautiful too. Some of the most durable components I can think of as well. Shimano would sell a ton of these if they could re-introduce a throwback groupset like this. I think the 7700 series is really awesome as well.
06-11-19, 12:41 PM
#99
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Not remotely a groupset, but the original Herse cranks, FD, cantis, and stem are pretty fab.
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06-11-19, 02:13 PM
#100
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Is that yours in the box? Very nice. I got one of these as part of a frame that I picked up recently, and I have not been able to find any other pics of this crank with the drilled arms of the crank spider, like yours.
Last edited by noobinsf; 06-11-19 at 02:18 PM.