Dressing to preserve Gum Hoods?

Tom Nakashima said:

Looking for a dressing to prolong the life of gum brake hoods for older
Campagnolo Nuovo Record.
No KY-Jelly jokes please,
-tom

Clear automotive tyre (tire) gel might be worth a try. It's supposed to
stop sidewalls cracking, protect against UVm and the Turtle Wax Extreme
stuff smells quite nice.

Tom Nakashima said:

Looking for a dressing to prolong the life of gum brake hoods for older
Campagnolo Nuovo Record.
No KY-Jelly jokes please,
-tom

I apologize in advance; drumroll please:

Um, creamy italian?

(rimshot)

Is this mike on?

App, who knows he violated the spirit of your request, if not the
letter.

Looking for a dressing to prolong the life of gum brake hoods for older
Campagnolo Nuovo Record.
No KY-Jelly jokes please,
-tom
---------------------------------------------------------------Hi Tom, I
suspect something like Armour-All, or some other Silicone Protectant
type product would be about the easiest way to help prolong the life of
these hoods.

Some may perhaps say that Armour-All can crack Tires, and rubber, but it
is certainly better than using nothing at all.
(I'm waiting for someone here to promote Formula 303)

I myself have always used Armour All on all my Brake Hoods. Sure, it
eventually dries-soaks-in, in a short time.

If yours are on thier way out, and are already getting brittle, and
cracking, there are a few dealers out there who specialize in carrying
older Campy parts, and many of these older style Campy Hoods are still
available. (Nigel at Campyoldy.com) I even think there are even
aftermarket makers in which the hoods were compatible. A. Muzi, and
Yellow Jersey Bikes come to mind as another possible source. Mark

Try Armor-all. I use it on all my hoods and they seem to last long. The
problem is the older NR gum hoods are made out of a material that's
prone to breaking down with use. Being out in the sun doesn't help it
either. Good luck, real NR hoods can be very expensive.

I don't think there is anything that works well. After some
experiments I concluded that gum rubber will not be penetrated or
"softened" by normal molecules under the control of mankind.

I have tried several ideas, on a set of experimental campagnolo world
logo hoods in very bad condition, including nasty industrial solvents
like acetone. nothing helped. see www.bikelist.org for details.

I think your best bet is to take a new set of hoods and coat them with
something that insulates them from the air, such as armor all
protectant. or pure latex, which is used on tire sidewalls to prolong
life. I haven't tried latex and try this at your risk.

The air eventually causes the hoods to dry out and rot, hence no air =
slower rotting.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

I don't think there is much you can do to preserve gum as it is not
very UV resistant, it cracks up easily and gets sticky when you add
solvents. Water based chemicals wash off anyway. Why bother. Just
buy replacement hoods from a good LBS. Small Parts carries various
lines, and I know Dennis Stone at Stone's Cyclery (Alameda, CA) along
with Hirose owner of Jitensha Studios (Berkeley, CA) both carry
replacement brake hoods for Campy (Modolo, Suntour Superbe, GPX, and
even the Dia Compe) and compatibles, because I have purchased from
them. All you have to do is shop at the right bike shops...The ones in
the know. FWIW.

"Donald Gillies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't think there is anything that works well. After some
experiments I concluded that gum rubber will not be penetrated or
"softened" by normal molecules under the control of mankind.

I have tried several ideas, on a set of experimental campagnolo world
logo hoods in very bad condition, including nasty industrial solvents
like acetone. nothing helped. see www.bikelist.org for details.

I think your best bet is to take a new set of hoods and coat them with
something that insulates them from the air, such as armor all
protectant. or pure latex, which is used on tire sidewalls to prolong
life. I haven't tried latex and try this at your risk.

The air eventually causes the hoods to dry out and rot, hence no air =
slower rotting.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

I believe you're right, as I was doing my own research. Timberland Shoes
makes some of their soles out of the same gum material, which outlast most
of their other soles. It is a durable gum material and there is not a good
dressing to prolong the life.

The gum hoods are hard to find due to Campagnolo rights to duplicate them.
There are some originals floating around as well as some copies. I just
picked up a pair from CyclArt in Vista Ca. The hoods I recently took off
lasted over 10 years, so I believe I got my $$ worth. Now the price has
sky-rocket, but hopefully I'll get another 10 years out of these. Also
thinking about riding without hood coverings.
-tom

Tom Nakashima said:

"Donald Gillies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't think there is anything that works well. After some
experiments I concluded that gum rubber will not be penetrated or
"softened" by normal molecules under the control of mankind.

I have tried several ideas, on a set of experimental campagnolo world
logo hoods in very bad condition, including nasty industrial solvents
like acetone. nothing helped. see www.bikelist.org for details.

I think your best bet is to take a new set of hoods and coat them
with something that insulates them from the air, such as armor all
protectant. or pure latex, which is used on tire sidewalls to
prolong life. I haven't tried latex and try this at your risk.

The air eventually causes the hoods to dry out and rot, hence no air
= slower rotting.

Quoted message said:

I believe you're right, as I was doing my own research. Timberland
Shoes makes some of their soles out of the same gum material, which
outlast most of their other soles. It is a durable gum material and
there is not a good dressing to prolong the life.

The gum hoods are hard to find due to Campagnolo rights to duplicate
them. There are some originals floating around as well as some
copies. I just picked up a pair from CyclArt in Vista Ca. The hoods
I recently took off lasted over 10 years, so I believe I got my $$
worth. Now the price has sky-rocket, but hopefully I'll get another
10 years out of these. Also thinking about riding without hood
coverings. -tom

I don't understand why someone doesn't duplicate these with silicone or
urethane, or some other modern rubbery material. I understand wanting the
traditional color, but that could be close enough. Modern materials are so much
better, and can be molded cheaply too.

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tom Nakashima said:

"Donald Gillies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't think there is anything that works well. After some
experiments I concluded that gum rubber will not be penetrated or
"softened" by normal molecules under the control of mankind.

I have tried several ideas, on a set of experimental campagnolo world
logo hoods in very bad condition, including nasty industrial solvents
like acetone. nothing helped. see www.bikelist.org for details.

I think your best bet is to take a new set of hoods and coat them
with something that insulates them from the air, such as armor all
protectant. or pure latex, which is used on tire sidewalls to
prolong life. I haven't tried latex and try this at your risk.

The air eventually causes the hoods to dry out and rot, hence no air
= slower rotting.

Quoted message said:

I believe you're right, as I was doing my own research. Timberland
Shoes makes some of their soles out of the same gum material, which
outlast most of their other soles. It is a durable gum material and
there is not a good dressing to prolong the life.

The gum hoods are hard to find due to Campagnolo rights to duplicate
them. There are some originals floating around as well as some
copies. I just picked up a pair from CyclArt in Vista Ca. The hoods
I recently took off lasted over 10 years, so I believe I got my $$
worth. Now the price has sky-rocket, but hopefully I'll get another
10 years out of these. Also thinking about riding without hood
coverings. -tom

I don't understand why someone doesn't duplicate these with silicone or
urethane, or some other modern rubbery material. I understand wanting the
traditional color, but that could be close enough. Modern materials are
so much
better, and can be molded cheaply too.

Matt O.

Actually they do, but my choice of colors were red or lavender...or the
original Campagnolo gum hoods. Someone mentioned black hoods are also made,
but they were not in stock.
I did pay a pretty good price for the Campagnolo original gum hoods, but as
I said, the ones I replaced lasted over 10 years. Bottom line $8.oo a
year...I think I can afford that.
-tom

Matt O'Toole said:

Tom Nakashima wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The gum hoods are hard to find due to Campagnolo rights to duplicate
them. There are some originals floating around as well as some
copies. I just picked up a pair from CyclArt in Vista Ca. The hoods
I recently took off lasted over 10 years, so I believe I got my $$
worth. Now the price has sky-rocket, but hopefully I'll get another
10 years out of these. Also thinking about riding without hood
coverings. -tom

Quoted message said:

I don't understand why someone doesn't duplicate these with silicone or
urethane, or some other modern rubbery material. I understand wanting the
traditional color, but that could be close enough. Modern materials are so much
better, and can be molded cheaply too.

There are many duplicates / compatible replacements for campagnolo
hoods, with prices starting at $18/pair :

http://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.asp?Filename=classicrendezvous.10405.1292.eml

There is a distributor in north america with stock of shield logo gum
hoods, and wholesale on these is about $65 so $75 is a very reasonable
markup on that price.

Also, someone in los angeles _did_ make reproductions of campagnolo
shield log hoods and auctioned a few on ebay, before Campagnolo shut
them down, about 3 years ago. You can find out more details by
reading the bikelist.org archives.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Agree, generic brake hood for older NR/SR levers are available:

http://www.bicycleclassics.com/brakes.html

I believe any LBS that does business with Euro-Asia Imports can also
get them too.

Of course, if you want the "real" ones, its gonna cost:

http://www.vintagevelos.com/parts1.html

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Donald Gillies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't think there is anything that works well. After some
experiments I concluded that gum rubber will not be penetrated or
"softened" by normal molecules under the control of mankind.

I have tried several ideas, on a set of experimental campagnolo world
logo hoods in very bad condition, including nasty industrial solvents
like acetone. nothing helped. see www.bikelist.org for details.

I think your best bet is to take a new set of hoods and coat them
with something that insulates them from the air, such as armor all
protectant. or pure latex, which is used on tire sidewalls to
prolong life. I haven't tried latex and try this at your risk.

The air eventually causes the hoods to dry out and rot, hence no air
= slower rotting.

Quoted message said:

Tom Nakashima said:

I believe you're right, as I was doing my own research. Timberland
Shoes makes some of their soles out of the same gum material, which
outlast most of their other soles. It is a durable gum material and
there is not a good dressing to prolong the life.

The gum hoods are hard to find due to Campagnolo rights to duplicate
them. There are some originals floating around as well as some
copies. I just picked up a pair from CyclArt in Vista Ca. The hoods
I recently took off lasted over 10 years, so I believe I got my $$
worth. Now the price has sky-rocket, but hopefully I'll get another
10 years out of these. Also thinking about riding without hood
coverings. -tom

Matt O'Toole said:

I don't understand why someone doesn't duplicate these with silicone or
urethane, or some other modern rubbery material. I understand wanting the
traditional color, but that could be close enough. Modern materials are so much
better, and can be molded cheaply too.

You guys should get out more.
That lever and its clones have a bunch of aftermarket covers
from $10 vinyl AME to genuine-1985-sealed-in-poly
(expensive) originals. Superbe, Royal Gran Compe, Modolo,
GPM, others. Much easier to find five choices for your 1968
Record brakes than any for 1980s Shimano levers.

Armorall is very kind to latex.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

John Thompson said:

B-b-b-but what about the globe logo? Wah!

John ([email hidden])

World logo hoods are available in england from Universal Cycle Center.
They are 50 pounds per pair, i hope you have deep pockets, and a
shallow brain.

http://www.universalcyclecentre.co.uk/Genstock.htm

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Tom Nakashima said:

Looking for a dressing to prolong the life of gum brake hoods for older
Campagnolo Nuovo Record.
No KY-Jelly jokes please,
-tom

Talcum powder.