Jeff Wills

Back then there were comments about Santé being the "girls" group- note that it had a shorter crank option (160mm) and short-reach brake levers available. About the only thing that we (I was working at Euro-Asia Imports then) really liked was the less-expensive 7-speed freewheel. Many people didn't want to step up to a Dura-Ace 7-speed freewheel, but still wanted 7-speed Shimano indexing. The Santé was your only alternative.

Besides, the chrome cogs were bling.

EjustE

Rival rides really sweet. Last summer I test road a couple of Tri bikes (caveat = no brifters; aero bar shifters). Both of them were Kestrel plastic frames, one had Rival, the other Ultegra. The SRAM was shifting better and was much more responsive in nasty situations like rapid rear downshifts or instantaneous double (front and rear) shifts (not that anyone in their sane mind would want to do those things, but, hey, when I am testing bikes, I am testing bikes). Really liked the feeling of the Rival and it did outperform the Ultegra hands down. The plastic frame was the deal breaker, because it felt as flimsy as the plastic frames I rode 20 years ago. And the price tag did not help either.... One of these days I will build an appropriate steel bike with modern components and Rival will be it... Sometime last fall I saw the 2009 group at clearance for $489 (caveat = aero tri set up) and I passed...

MetinUz

I remember selling a Cannondale with a full Sante group for $250 in 1992. I also just sold a nice Sante wheelset for $80. The buyer was mostly interested in the Campy Lambda polished box section rims. Perhaps should have held onto the hubs...

RobbieTunes

+1 on Rival, or maybe I was just impressed by the demo I saw last year at LBS. Fewer moving parts, 1:1 ratio, light weight, cheaper.

+0 on the plastic Kestrel. I like mine, and for the money, good frames, even running Ultegra...
....I hope this doesn't mean a fall from grace with the E.....

T-Mar

Last year we had a really high return rate on SRAM ATB trigger shifters. In one case, the replacement they sent failed the first time it ran though the cogs. I know this isn't Rival, but around here they're referred to as "Damn SRAM".

While I normally prefer conventional components, I can appreciate the market that Shimano was pursuing with Sante. Admittedly, the aesthetics of Sante does not co-ordinate well with your typical frameset, but it could look stunning with many of the pastel coloured framesets that were popular during the Miami Vice fad of the late 1980s. If you have one of these frames, I can see why someone would be seeking out Sante.

The one aesthetically marketed group that I never had any affinity for, was SunTour's X-1 Chroma. It was an attempt to cash in on the neon fad popular with ATB riders. Interchangeable, plastic, accent pieces in neon pink, neon green and neon yellow did not turn my crank (pun intended). I'm a bit surprised that they didn't apply the concept to a mid-range road group, such as GPX, for the triathlon crowd.

EjustE

Not a chance of that happening

I have no problem with plastic frames, just a bad experience braking a (loaner - no big deal Kestrel replaced the frame free of charge) Kestrel EMS fork when I hit a hole on the road doing about 30 back in the days of when Kestrel was controlled by Schwinn... That and the miscellaneous squeaky noises that come from the rear triangle when pedaling off the saddle up a hill on a plastic bike, make me kinda want to stay away from them... call it PTSD, if you like

On the other hand, they are gorgeous bikes... My Tri club is sponsored by Kestrel and can buy the bike at below dealer cost, but, I'd rather go with steel at this point.

RobbieTunes

They can be fairly noisy in the bb area. I'm not superstitious, but I install the BB, then take it out, and put it back in, and no problem. I guess I just want to get the threads introduced to each other...a little OCD, I guess.


Yes, I imagine it would look just fine.....kind of turn a "standard" frame into something with a little pizazz .....

YoKev

I guess I just wasn't in the mood for a new project bike last spring, but I passed on a bike with a full Sante group for $5.


Yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that Oh well.

RobbieTunes

You probably shouldn't have told us.

YoKev

I beg the Sante gods for forgiveness

Nothing like rubbing some salt in the wounds.

wrk101

+1 You just woke up the gods. I'd stay inside if you see any lightning in the forecast.