Equipment/Product Review (1988) A Preview of 1989 SUNTOUR Road Groups
09-19-23, 06:41 PM
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Equipment/Product Review (1988) A Preview of 1989 SUNTOUR Road Groups
SunTour road groups for 1989 ordered from top-to-bottom price points are Superbe Pro, Sprint, GPX, Olé, Edge, Blaze 3040, Allegro, RT-1000, Alpha-1500, and Alpha-200.
New groups in 1989 shown in bold type.
New groups in 1989 shown in bold type.
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09-21-23, 06:32 PM
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Another good article. And on my favorite manufacturer of the era.
One observation: it gives you an idea of all the ways things have improved for an article to mention the new innovation of lined brake housing, which is now found all the way from the dollar store to Dura-Ace.
One observation: it gives you an idea of all the ways things have improved for an article to mention the new innovation of lined brake housing, which is now found all the way from the dollar store to Dura-Ace.
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Richard C. Moeur, PE - Phoenix AZ, USA
https://www.richardcmoeur.com/bikestuf.html
Richard C. Moeur, PE - Phoenix AZ, USA
https://www.richardcmoeur.com/bikestuf.html
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09-22-23, 10:29 AM
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I think Suntour was too good in some ways. You could get some of their lower-level offerings and achieve very good and lasting performance, not having to bother with up-grades. Although I swapped my @3040 r.d. for an earlier Cyclone 6000 when I finally decided to go back to friction, after having brought my bike in every 6 weeks to get the Accushift system adjusted, I still have my Blaze (XCM) 3040 f.d. on the Technium, and have examined Suntour front deraillers of all groups, having found no considerable differences. The derailleur has been perfect, forever.
I miss using AccuShift. If Suntour had gotten it to work with every free-wheel, riders might have hung on with it. The cable and cable-housing recommendations that Suntour published in the AccuShift manual are very precise and exclusive.
I tried the GPX r.d for a while.., until I lost the cable anchor bolt and learnt that there is no way to replace it.
I think the transition to indexed shifting at this point-in-time had riders, sales execs and engineers a little confused. It wasn't Suntour's fault. The 1989 line gave an array of choices, and that was the right thing to do on Suntour's part. The competition was just too hot. If Suntour could have simplified the AccuShift system, giving it more universal adaptivity, things might have been different.
Getting back to what I was saying about Suntour being too good, I think this is part of their most important legacy, that they offered great components that average people could afford. It almost didn't matter which group the component came from.
I miss using AccuShift. If Suntour had gotten it to work with every free-wheel, riders might have hung on with it. The cable and cable-housing recommendations that Suntour published in the AccuShift manual are very precise and exclusive.
I tried the GPX r.d for a while.., until I lost the cable anchor bolt and learnt that there is no way to replace it.
I think the transition to indexed shifting at this point-in-time had riders, sales execs and engineers a little confused. It wasn't Suntour's fault. The 1989 line gave an array of choices, and that was the right thing to do on Suntour's part. The competition was just too hot. If Suntour could have simplified the AccuShift system, giving it more universal adaptivity, things might have been different.
Getting back to what I was saying about Suntour being too good, I think this is part of their most important legacy, that they offered great components that average people could afford. It almost didn't matter which group the component came from.
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