Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic & Vintage
Reload this Page >

Suntour Barcons

Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

Suntour Barcons

Old 10-24-11, 09:41 AM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
mikeybikes's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Edgewater, CO
Posts: 3,214

Bikes: Tons

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Suntour Barcons

I picked up a pair of Suntour barcons from the co-op. What makes these so special that they fetch prices up to $76.00 on eBay?

Sure, they are nice, but are they really that nice?
mikeybikes is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:53 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
ColonelJLloyd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Louisville
Posts: 8,382
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 111 Post(s)
Liked 12 Times in 10 Posts
They're no longer produced. eBay can be a crazy place.
__________________
Bikes on Flickr
I prefer email to private messages. You can contact me at justinhughes@me.com
ColonelJLloyd is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:56 AM
  #3  
You gonna eat that?
 
Doohickie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Fort Worth, Texas Church of Hopeful Uncertainty
Posts: 14,723

Bikes: 1966 Raleigh DL-1 Tourist, 1973 Schwinn Varsity, 1983 Raleigh Marathon, 1994 Nishiki Sport XRS

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 164 Post(s)
Liked 67 Times in 44 Posts
One of the C&Vers described them (as I remember) as one of the most perfect mechanical designs in existence. Having used a pair for a while, I can see where that comment comes from. That said, $76 is a bit steep. For reference, I got mine for $35 for the pair at a swap meet.
__________________
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.


Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."

Last edited by Doohickie; 10-24-11 at 10:39 AM.
Doohickie is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:56 AM
  #4  
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,280
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 6 Posts
outlier
Old Fat Guy is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:56 AM
  #5  
Senior Member
 
that_guy_zach's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: omicron persei 8
Posts: 808
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
They work. But you have to make sure they have all the hardware on the ends or the screw will back out.
that_guy_zach is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:57 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
southpawboston's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somerville, MA and Catskill Mtns
Posts: 4,150
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 182 Times in 89 Posts
They do have a very nice feel to them, nicer than the current production Shimanos, but they lack indexing, obviously. They're also very durable and with the exception of having the tendency to lose the outer locknut, they're virtually indestructible.
southpawboston is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:59 AM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
jbkirby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Dothan, AL
Posts: 264

Bikes: 1971 Raleigh International; 1972 Raleigh International; 1971 Schwinn Sports Tourer

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 1 Post
groooannnn...Before I became more parts-savvy, I drilled out a set of vintage SunTour barcons to remove them from my handlebars...dumb, dumb, dumb...
jbkirby is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:59 AM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
tmh657's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,936

Bikes: A few BSO's.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 164 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 53 Times in 26 Posts
Lemme see if I have any extras to throw on ebay if they are fetching that price. Wow. I don't know about the value but when I needed one I put a want ad on Craig's and someone about 5 miles from me dug it out of his parts bin and gave it to me. Nice.

The good part is they do what the ebay ad says. I put some on to use with an 8 speed Campy drivetrain and they worked great. I may put them on something else with 9 speed Shimano. I like em.
tmh657 is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 10:03 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
tmh657's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,936

Bikes: A few BSO's.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 164 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 53 Times in 26 Posts
Originally Posted by jbkirby
groooannnn...Before I became more parts-savvy, I drilled out a set of vintage SunTour barcons to remove them from my handlebars...dumb, dumb, dumb...
Ouch. I recall a couple of years ago a friend brought me some handle bars with said shifters attached and said, "you seem to know about bikes, how can I get these darn things off?". It is not obvious, huh.
tmh657 is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 10:04 AM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
southpawboston's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somerville, MA and Catskill Mtns
Posts: 4,150
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 182 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by tmh657
Lemme see if I have any extras to throw on ebay if they are fetching that price. Wow. I don't know about the value but when I needed one I put a want ad on Craig's and someone about 5 miles from me dug it out of his parts bin and gave it to me.
Hold on there, pardner, that price was for a NOS set. Good used sets typically sell for under $40. I got both sets of barcons in my fleet off of fleabay and never paid more than $35 a pair.
southpawboston is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 10:07 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Minnesota- the frozen tundra
Posts: 1,947

Bikes: 1977 Raleigh Super Grand Prix, 1976 Gitane Tour de France

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
I have them on my bike and my sons, we love them and luckily managed to get them free off bikes I flipped
SteveSGP is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 10:18 AM
  #12  
Wookie Jesus inspires me.
 
Puget Pounder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 2,225
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
They are great, but +1 for being <$40.

IMO, silver shifters work better than the SunTours.
Puget Pounder is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 10:27 AM
  #13  
Hogosha Sekai
 
RaleighSport's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: STS
Posts: 6,672

Bikes: Leader 725, Centurion Turbo, Scwhinn Peloton, Schwinn Premis, GT Tequesta, Bridgestone CB-2,72' Centurion Lemans, 72 Raleigh Competition

Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 70 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 21 Times in 15 Posts
I have them on my Sekai and love them, in my area you never see barcons so I'd guess that price wouldn't be steep at all here.
RaleighSport is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 10:32 AM
  #14  
Senior Member
 
JReade's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 1,617
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 95 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by southpawboston
Hold on there, pardner, that price was for a NOS set. Good used sets typically sell for under $40. I got both sets of barcons in my fleet off of fleabay and never paid more than $35 a pair.
I see the auction as "used"...
JReade is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 11:23 AM
  #15  
Senior Member
 
southpawboston's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somerville, MA and Catskill Mtns
Posts: 4,150
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 182 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by JReade
I see the auction as "used"...
Ha! I stand corrected, my bad. Indeed, $76 for used Barcons is steep. Notice the seller did his homework and wrote out a very thoughtful descpription of them, and also employed that rather crass routine of embedding high-zoot keywords into the description for the sole purpose of boosting his hit rate. Those definitely help get the most out of your auctions!

My mistake comes from recently seeing a NOS set of barcons fetch $92.
southpawboston is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 11:30 AM
  #16  
Wookie Jesus inspires me.
 
Puget Pounder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 2,225
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by southpawboston
Ha! I stand corrected, my bad. Indeed, $76 for used Barcons is steep. Notice the seller did his homework and wrote out a very thoughtful descpription of them, and also employed that rather crass routine of embedding high-zoot keywords into the description for the sole purpose of boosting his hit rate. Those definitely help get the most out of your auctions!

My mistake comes from recently seeing a NOS set of barcons fetch $92.
Hmmmm adding those clamps, guides, cables, and housing is a good way to up the price with little expense!
Puget Pounder is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 01:36 PM
  #17  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
mikeybikes's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Edgewater, CO
Posts: 3,214

Bikes: Tons

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Puget Pounder
IMO, silver shifters work better than the SunTours.
Interesting. I also have a pair of silvers. Was debating on which pair to use for my wife's Peugeot.
mikeybikes is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 01:44 PM
  #18  
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,280
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by tmh657
Ouch. I recall a couple of years ago a friend brought me some handle bars with said shifters attached and said, "you seem to know about bikes, how can I get these darn things off?". It is not obvious, huh.
Reverse threads get you every time.
Old Fat Guy is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 01:58 PM
  #19  
Senior Member
 
JReade's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 1,617
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 95 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
I swapped mine out for a newer set of shimano ones and never looked back. They work so much better... flame suit on..
JReade is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 01:59 PM
  #20  
Senior Member
 
No Whey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 80
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Just a bidding war, I guess.

Originally Posted by southpawboston
Good used sets typically sell for under $40.
Agreed.

I got a pair of take-offs, still waiting to be mounted on something.
And I really like the pair shifting a wide-range 8-speed SRAM cluster.
No Whey is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 02:07 PM
  #21  
Senior Member
 
southpawboston's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somerville, MA and Catskill Mtns
Posts: 4,150
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 182 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by No Whey
And I really like the pair shifting a wide-range 8-speed SRAM cluster.
Same here! They handle my wide-range Shimano 8-speed no problems, and trimming is very easy.
southpawboston is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 02:11 PM
  #22  
Senior Member
 
Michael Angelo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Hurricane Alley , Florida
Posts: 3,910

Bikes: Treks (USA), Schwinn Paramount, Schwinn letour,Raleigh Team Professional, Gazelle GoldLine Racing, 2 Super Mondias, Carlton Professional.

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 77 Post(s)
Liked 28 Times in 22 Posts
I use a little bit of clear silicone sealer on the outer locknuts, haven't lost one yet.
Michael Angelo is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 02:15 PM
  #23  
Senior Member
 
Capecodder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Somewhere Between The Beginning And The End
Posts: 1,995
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by Michael Angelo
I use a little bit of clear silicone sealer on the outer locknuts, haven't lost one yet.
Or blue loctite on the threads, and they will stay put.
Capecodder is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 02:20 PM
  #24  
Game Warden of Love
 
Talus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Western Pennsyltucky
Posts: 243
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Any idea where I can find a rubber cover for one?
Talus is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 02:24 PM
  #25  
Senior Member
 
Capecodder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Somewhere Between The Beginning And The End
Posts: 1,995
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by Talus
Any idea where I can find a rubber cover for one?

Ebay https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=....c0.m270.l1313

Last edited by Capecodder; 10-24-11 at 02:30 PM.
Capecodder is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.