Are current gruppos ugly?

[Spaghetti Legs]

Yes but appropriately styled for the mostly unattractive bikes they are going on, to my eye anyway.

I will see your Chorus though and raise you a Record. The hidden 5th spider of the crank and the blended swoop on the aero post are unmatched IMO.

[OtayBW]

And then there is the question of whether (or how much) 4-arm spiders are ugly....

[reuben]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Well, ya know. . . Most Things Haven't Worked Out.

Damn right. Ever been to Holly Springs?

[reuben]

Wow. OK, so it's not just me. I mean, look at these clean lines.

[reuben]

Better image. Can't figure out how to delete the old image or the old post.

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

Groups are ugly these days. It isn't that they are black and carbon. I like both of those things. They just have way too much styling for my taste. I prefer more minimally styled components.

I think Suntour Superbe, XTR 950, campy 10 and Dura Ace 7700 mark the end of good looking components although plenty of nice parts have been made since then.

I think SRAM probably makes the best looking groups these days

See, I disagree. I think 950 XTR was the start of the Ugly Train. You put some gorgeous silver kits like Superbe Pro and 7700 with the dark grey of the XTR. A grey mind you that heel rub made look hideous. 900/910 was the best.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

it's not the components fault.

the real problem is that most bikes are ugly these days. look at this red hot mess below. what a visual steaming pile of garbage.

unfortunately the component manufacturers were forced to abandon beautiful, subtly designed components to match the ugliness of the bikes being made today.

and, welcome to the forum

I agree that the bike of now wouldn't look right with a bright silver Record or Superbe Pro kit. Not sure if it's the bike companies fault as the larger and shaped tubing just doesn't look good with the spindly arms of the cranks and other parts.

Originally Posted by vincenz

Both silver and black groups can look good. Depending on the frame and the rest of the build, one may look better than the other. I don’t think silver looks best on everything and vice versa. Like the bike above. Ugly frame I agree, but the bike would look even worse with silver components.

If you want to go for a blanket statement, silver tends to look more elegant and black tends to look more sporty. Both can be beautiful.

Agreed! I think the Potenza even in the normal silver looked nice. But in the polished CycloRetro version, a work of art.

Originally Posted by old_fat_and_slow

"Are current gruppos ugly?"

Yer dang straight they are. Campy 12 is pretty fugly IMHO, especially the cranks.

Campy C-Record was the epitome of elegance. That Chorus group you posted is pretty sweet too. I think 10-speed Chorus was the last really pretty group. Some of the 11-speed alloy Athena and Potenza groups are tolerable.

Four-arm crankarms are just fugly, sorry.

Disagree on both. The Record 4 arm in silver was stunning. And I think the new Campy 12 is very nice. Not quite as good a look as the Dura Ace. But I like the function and rebuildability of the Campy.

[Toddtwenty2]

Amen. This is my opinion, exactly.

Most groups now look like Elon's version of a truck. My opinion of beauty is not from a dystopian future in intergalactic space.

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

Groups are ugly these days. It isn't that they are black and carbon. I like both of those things. They just have way too much styling for my taste. I prefer more minimally styled components.

I think Suntour Superbe, XTR 950, campy 10 and Dura Ace 7700 mark the end of good looking components although plenty of nice parts have been made since then.

I think SRAM probably makes the best looking groups these days

[thirdgenbird]

I can appreciate both of them in their own way.

I am a huge fan of late record 10 speed. I also think Campagnolo 2015+ groups with pre-2015 cranks are the most universally attractive once mounted to a frame. It works on classic steel and modern carbon. I have seen record 12 on some vintage frames and the look is growing on me.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

Groups are ugly these days. It isn't that they are black and carbon. I like both of those things. They just have way too much styling for my taste. I prefer more minimally styled components.

This.

I'm a minimalist at heart.

[Cy Trivialities]

Dura Ace 9000 was beautiful.

Also Dura Ace 7900, and Ultegra 6700. I might be in the minority on these two.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by reuben

Damn right. Ever been to Holly Springs?

Have not. I sold a 60s Gibson Skylark GA-5T to Matthew at Fat Possum some years back. I've got a DVD of You See Me Laughin' somewhere around here.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Toddtwenty2

Amen. This is my opinion, exactly.

Most groups now look like Elon's version of a truck. My opinion of beauty is not from a dystopian future in intergalactic space.

Soul brother.

[flying]

Originally Posted by reuben

Or is it just me?
This old Chorus group is pretty - to my eyes.

Hi & welcome

You will get no argument from me

I had that exact Chorus groupset on my Masi Gran Corsa that I rode for over a decade during the years you mentioned.

I also agree with others who said all the plastic bikes these days are (**mostly**) not very good looking either

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by Cy Trivialities

Dura Ace 9000 was beautiful.

Agreed. Where did that come from? It came right off the heals of some of the ugliest components to grace a bike and then left us for groups that are somewhere between awkward and bland.

[Waldo62]

What makes the groups ugly are the most visible parts -- the cranks and the disk brakes. Current SRAM Red and Force cranks actually look pretty good. Campy cranks haven't looked good since the first iteration of 11-speed. Shimano hasn't looked good since 7700 and its Ultegra and 105 equivalents. And all disks are ugly.