Well, have a look at EBay there are still som sellers out there...expensive though? Good Luck

I agree with this, but the last version(7410), has a better profile/shape and appeals to me.

I like a lot of each brand, but every one of those(with friction shifting) would be better yet, with these shifters

Favorite grouppo due to pure nostalgia would be Super Record, hands down. For performance in the older stuff, my fave to this day is Superbe and Superbe Pro.

That said, I far prefer Ergo shifting and dual pivot brakes from a practical and performance standpoint, so I'm with Gomango on the Ergo 8/9, as I still consider it to be in the "classic" category, and it is about to become "vintage" (it has been 20 years since it was introduced). Once I tried Ergo, Downtube friction shifting suddenly became a quaint nostalgic memory, like Cambio Corsa.

For newer builds DA 7700. Shimano really hit it out of the park with this one, fit, finish, rebuildability, and performance.

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For vintage...well, you can't beat SR...and yet the Mistral crank paired with the Premier rear D seem like such a perfect and unintentionally complimentary combo:

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And topped with the aforementioned Chorus Monoplanars...well, you tell me:

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i agree that it comes down to the vintage fluted look versus the modern look. For me, the appeal of DA 7400, Sugino 75, and SunTour Superbe Pro 7 speed all stem from the fact that from a design perspective, they are a vision of the future as seen through the lens of the 1980's. As a child of the 80's, I have an enduring fascination with that aesthetic. That doesn't mean I dislike fluted cranks, not at all. It's more like my love of classic soul versus my love of old school electro. Completely different, but both are favorites.

I will say that if I'm going down the classic fluted crank route, I prefer French and Italian designs over Japanese. I feel like Shimano and SunTour didn't come into their own aesthetically until the early 1980's. They may have had better derailleurs but Campagnolo "owned" the look while the Japanese were just copying it.

in other news, here's the Cyclo group I was referring to in my original post:

I'm going with the Mistral crank and Premier derailleurs combo on my Medici build right now.

I agree, that it's the best looking combination you can do with the Ofmega drivetrain lines.
I always wondered why Ofmega decided to combine the Mistral crank with the resin derailleurs. they don't seem to really have anything n common design-wise, other than the same name. At least the Primier RD spots the same angled cut on it's arm as the Mistral crank arms have. No real aero advantage there, but just a suggestion that they have that cut to "cleave" easier into the wind....

Chombi

The images in your post are actually 7700, but I agree. 7800 is the Michael Jordon/Tiger Woods/Wayne Gretzki of component groups so far IMO.
Some in here might deem it akin to putting lipstick on the Mona Lisa, but I've got it on my Look 753, both Pelotons, and even my gf is building up her '86 Peloton with 7800.
7900 and the latest Dura Ace installments have been a step down from 7800.

Sorry, I just can't get past the cables coming out of the sides of the hoods, and the massive "transformer" brifters of ANYTHING Shimano did from '92 until they finally figured out how to route cables cleanly (like Campy's been doing the whole time). Gorgeous component finishes notwithstanding (except the ugliest cranks I've ever seen), I see the brifters and I'm done. Oh, almost forgot - brake levers should not move sideways - especially with "light action" shifting. Nonononono !
The newer stuff is MUCH better looking IMO. I'm still a Campy ergo guy, but the newer Ultegra/DA is the first thing shimano has produced since about '88 that I wouldn't kick out of bed.
Well, except for the cranks, but at least they're not the "mercury blob" cranks of a few years ago.

I'd take new Ultegra or DA with an SLK crank, no hesitation.

/Shimano '92-'10 designer WTF rant off

7800 (esp. the anniversary group) is a fantastic shining beacon in a cataclysmic ****storm raging between the poles of mind-numbing boring and monstrously ugly in the world that's called Shimano DA design. but it is a wonderful group. Oh, and AX. I love AX - and Catnap, thanks for your great write-up about why these 80's future tech groups are so great.

/Campagnolo fanboy mode off

The BL is only superficially similar to the Cyclone and was never sold as a complete group... it's performance lagged behind both the Cyclone and Vx, the level of finish is substandard, and it's design is a bit of a throwback.

It is not a bad derailleur and they are pretty... before the finish wears off.

I find beauty in pragmatism, performance for the value.

Friction: Suntour Sprint/LePree

Indexed: Shimano 6400 8-sp era, with the dual pivot calipers

STI/Ergo: 8-sp Chorus/Athena Ergo. Simple, smooth, dependable.
(take the shifters away, and I like 9-sp Ultegra-strong like a bull-but the shifters look like the Alien busting out of the bar)

thanks! each time i look at this thread, i kick myself for not including Shimano AX on my list. i've coveted it for a while but never followed through and bought any because i feel like it only belongs on a period-correct aero bike with the ovalized aero tubing.

on that subject, i once had a chance to buy the one and only Richard Sachs aero bike ever made, complete with AX group for $2K. i passed on it at the time because... actually i don't remember but i regret not buying it now.

regarding the "lagging performance" - was that due to the different cable routing of the Blue Line RD as compared to the Cyclone RD? Looking at the picture, I can't spot any other differences.

For looks and style it's Nuovo Record. For function it's indexed tr-color 600 with SLR brakes, circa 1989.

here's some pics of that Sachs bike. *sigh*

Some favourites... the 600 Arabesque is a beautiful looking group (although the rear d is a little weak) but the 600 Ultegra just shines in every respect.



All I have left to do is build up new wheels to my 600 hubs here and am making due with a Superbe headset and the Cinelli stem and bars.



Suntour's Mk1 Cyclone stands as one of my favourite all time derailleurs but was not sold as a complete group until later into it's production. Earlier Suntour derailleurs were matched with other Japanese components like Dia Compe and Sakae and complete groups came later on with Cyclone, Superbe, and some of their mountain groups like XC Pro which is some amazing stuff.

The first year XTR STI 8 speed group is astounding... I have collected almost an entire group for a Kona restoration.

Not shown here are the Zeus 2000 centre pull brakes... they are among the nicest centre pulls I have ever used and the group is pure sex to look at.

You know a group has something special going on when people feel the need to attack it in a "Favorite Group" thread. Nobody asked what anyone's least-favorite was...

It did feel really good, though


- Don't take it personally - your Look Hinault is one of my favorite bikes on this forum.

campy, campy, campy, all you gonna hear is campy. Are you sure you needed to ask this in the C&V forum?

Oh wait, someone actually mentioned Shimano? and SUNTOUR? oh my goodness, what has the world come to. How can they be anybody's favorite group...when they are not even European, let alone Italian!

I like Shimano. Actually, they are the only group(light action, 500, 5700) I have. I held a sram shifter once for 2 secs and never got the chance to even see a campy anything in real life.

Actually, I think ultegra and DA "mercury blob" crank is da bomb and looks way hotter than the campy record/Sram cranks(except Red, that crank looks like a ninja star). Just wish I could cobble together enough money to upgrade..

There's plenty of love for Suntour and Shimano in here.
Shimano 600 SIS and SLR brakes replaced Campy on my bike circa 1986 and it was a dramatic improvement.

I always liked the last years of Super Record. then we got C Record on our team bikes and I was underwhelmed. I regret selling all my SR, but don't miss C. I always liked Superbe but never owned it.

There's no perfect group out there anyway. Even the most popular, best looking and best working group will have a weakness somewhere.......
Anyway, some of these favorites become almost cliche that people eventually love to hate them....just like when the Cowboys started to call themselves "America's team" after dominating football so long and maybe it kinda got into their heads.... At some point, I could not even stand to look at Tom Landry on TV standing at the sidelines....with his little hat and wool jacket.....but dang, they were good!

oooooh i've been waiting for someone to bring up Zeus. I've only owned one or two Zeus bits but they have all been impressively well made. I think they're better quality than the Italian Campy-copies like Gipiemme, Rino, and Galli.

loving this thread right now.

*edit* here's a Zeus Alfa derailleur I have

Absolutely. I had 600 SIS with 105 SLR dual pivots when they first came out. HUGE improvement of the friction campy.

To me Nuovo Record is a good looking group, but I hate the functionality of it. It also looks outdated on anything newer than 1980. Just my humble opinion of course. Cyclone M-II is my favorite of all time I would have to say. It functions on par with anything else the top end friction genre has to offer. Once again my opinion only. I am a huge fan of Huret Jubilee for aesthetics. It was light years ahead of anybody else during the time period, in looks and weight. Function though, not all that great on my Raleigh Competition. As finicky as NR to me, and I am quite afraid I might break the RD, so it doesn't see a lot of use. I have thought taking pics of the Competition with the Jubilee, and swapping the derailleurs to something else for actual riding. That way I can return it to original, and the Huret will be saved from a unfortunate demise. How to get around that derailleur stop though?? Is anything else but another Huret compatible with it?

Blue Line? Love it. My BL group has black inserts though?? Still never seen another with black, ever? The lettering is also not highlighted like the posted pics?