Are current gruppos ugly?

[charliedid]

Vintage bike nostalgia is so trite.

What bikes other people prefer is of exactly zero consequence to me.

Ride a bike.

[54ny77]

Product design people these days, from autos to bike parts, grew up on watching a little too much Transformers cartoons.

I like my bike parts shiny and with graceful curves and I cannot lie.

[Toeclips]

I don't know about ugly, but I don't care for shimano securing the rear derailleur cable behind the derailleur and so close to the spokes.
If I wanted to sound like a motorcycle I would have used a playing card

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Toeclips

I don't know about ugly, but I don't care for shimano securing the rear derailleur cable behind the derailleur and so close to the spokes.
If I wanted to sound like a motorcycle I would have used a playing card

But holy moly it works so damn well. I'm never goin back to my old school...

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

Product design people these days, from autos to bike parts, grew up on watching a little too much Transformers cartoons.

I like my bike parts shiny and with graceful curves and I cannot lie.

I'm still watching those cartoons!

Originally Posted by Toeclips

I don't know about ugly, but I don't care for shimano securing the rear derailleur cable behind the derailleur and so close to the spokes.
If I wanted to sound like a motorcycle I would have used a playing card

I tuck it inside the rear derailleur. On the back of the parallelogram is some hexagonal holes. I put the crimp in the hole and it stays there. Doesn't put stress on the inner wire either.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

I'm still watching those cartoons!


[/B]

I tuck it inside the rear derailleur. On the back of the parallelogram is some hexagonal holes. I put the crimp in the hole and it stays there. Doesn't put stress on the inner wire either.

Works a treat IMO

[Burnette]

Originally Posted by reuben

Or is it just me?

Background:

Just joined up. Thanks for letting me in on the group ride.

I started riding when Look pedals first appeared - mid 80s I guess. Lemond, Hinault, Kelly, Fignon, Herrera, Longo, Twigg, Rooks, Theunisse, Roche, Argentin, Alcala, Musseuw, Yates, Anderson, Delgado, Rominger...

In the late 80s/early 90s I did triathlons and such on a low end Bianchi. I started to make a "comeback" in the late 90s to get into road racing but then broke both arms in a nasty crash and never followed through. Then I did nothing for a coupla decades and got fat.

Now to my point:

This old Chorus group is pretty - to my eyes.



The current offerings from Campy and Shimano are not - IMHO. It's not just the old polished look versus the current black/anodized look - the old lines were cleaner, smoother. Nowadays they look like skeletor components and I don't mean just the rear derailleur, I mean things like the crankset as well. Even the skewers are ugly, like I could use them to grill some kebabs and not have to worry about any of the meat or veggies falling off.

And electronic shifting? Bicycles now need batteries? You're kidding, right? When did Tesla start making bicycles?

Maybe I'm just geezin'. Quite likely, actually.

Anywho, these days I've finally started riding a Specialized A1 Diverge I bought about 2-3 years ago but rarely rode. It's a low end sort of road bike with disc brakes and 30mm tires (I rode 19-22 back in the day). I'm liking it, and if my bathroom scale ever stops displaying frightening numbers I may treat myself to a vintage Cinelli Supercorsa. Steel. No electronics. Most likely rim brakes. I do like the shifters in the hoods, though.

Welcome and you've exposed cyclist for the style and fashion whores they truly are

For me it's never been a narrow, one way affair for me. I like some old things, some new things, I find beauty and value in all of it.

And that goes for other things too. I can appreciate a 67 Vette and an Audi RS5, a Harley Davidson Road King and a Ducati Panigale V4.

And as for bicycles, if you dig around enough you can pretty much have whatever flavor you want, used, handmade, heck, some brands even still make steel bikes.

Are new group sets as pretty as the shiny kit of years ago? Not in my opinion but modern group sets have the proper aesthetic for modern bikes. They look right on today's bikes.

In the end I like it all, the classic steel lugged bike will always look right to me. The new aero shaped tubes bikes with no cables and wires showing look good too.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Vintage bike nostalgia is so trite.

What bikes other people prefer is of exactly zero consequence to me.

And yet you replied anyway.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by reuben

And yet you replied anyway.

Sorry I should have answered your original question. No.

[Toeclips]

Yup I repositioned the cable

I do admit that it's the best shifting I've had, especially the front derailleur

[FlashUNC]

No.

The mid-80s stuff was made to exactly the same standard as the stuff is today -- the best materials on hand suited for the purpose.

The 4 arm stuff is every bit the curvaceous wonders that the 80's fetish objects are. They're just carbon instead of alloy with a more brutalist bent.

Whether it's to someone's personal taste is another matter.

[johnniecakes]

Welcome to Paceline !

In my eyes Shimano has got very a attractive "industrial" sort of look that I like, black or dark gray, functional and business like. Campagnolo tries too hard to add their "Italian" flair which detracts from the appearance.

Please understand this is my opinion, to each their own, Ride what you like but ride.

[flying]

Originally Posted by reuben

Well, I'm not sure how to take that, but I'll try.

Madonna v Ariana Grande (musically):

I think it was a trick question as they both suck so neither could be a Campy Compare (before fans of either get twisted yes I'm joking...a little )

[reuben]

Originally Posted by flying

I think it was a trick question as they both suck so neither could be a Campy Compare (before fans of either get twisted yes I'm joking...a little )

Bozo the Clown or that Tiger King guy, eh?

I'm more of a Helen Hunt kinda guy.

[Hellgate]

Yes and no.

Campy 15+ SR with 15- cranks looks great, and works better than the old '80's stuff.

I never cared for the C generation groups as they were heavy. Bikes checked in at 22+ lbs!

At the time I went the other way with Mavic SSC. My 58cm SLX bike was 18 lbs and climbed fast.

I will admit, I do like Dura Ace 7400. It's a clean looking group that worked well.

My favorite is perhaps Campy Record 10 with aluminum cranks. Beautiful!