Positron cable

Lindsay Rowlands <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know of a source for a Shimano Positron derailleur cable? It's a push-pull type, ie,
single strand of piano-type-wire. I'm guessing that this stuff is over 20 years old - very retro.
Other than the cable the system works amazingly well and it would be a pity to discard it for the
sake of a cable.

Thanks for any help.

Cheerz, Lynzz

sorry if im being a dork for lobbing thigns i dont know about, but if you cant find anything, piano
wire in your material of choice is easily and widely available. it would beat discarding it for the
sake of a cable, as you say.

anthony

Lindsay Rowlands <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know of a source for a Shimano Positron derailleur cable? It's a push-pull type, ie,
single strand of piano-type-wire. I'm guessing that this stuff is over 20 years old - very retro.
Other than the cable the system works amazingly well and it would be a pity to discard it for the
sake of a cable.

I've never seen a Positron drivetrain work "amazingly well" or even "adequately well" for
that matter.

If you are happy with your Positron gears Loose Screws lists this cable for $9.95
loosescrews.comloosescrews.comOpen ↗ search on Positron.

Bruce
--
Bruce Jackson - Sr. Systems Programmer - DMSP, a M/A/R/C Group comapny

(Bruce Jackson) said:

Lindsay Rowlands <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know of a source for a Shimano Positron derailleur cable? It's a push-pull type, ie,
single strand of piano-type-wire. I'm guessing that this stuff is over 20 years old - very retro.
Other than the cable the system works amazingly well and it would be a pity to discard it for the
sake of a cable.

I've never seen a Positron drivetrain work "amazingly well" or even "adequately well" for
that matter.

If you are happy with your Positron gears Loose Screws lists this cable for $9.95
loosescrews.comloosescrews.comOpen ↗ search on Positron.

Bruce

They would be closer to thirty... for the time they worked OK... better by far than the other low
end stuff of the time...

ajames54 <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

for the time [Positron drivetrains] they worked OK... better by far than the other low end stuff
of the time...

Wasn't the Shimano Eagle rear derailleur contemporary with Positron? The Eagle was an excellent gear
changer; far better than Positron. The Eagle didn't index but I'd far prefer a working friction
drivetrain than a non-working index one.

Speaking of the Eagle, this brings up a bike shop story.

I was working at a bike shop that mostly sold cheap used bicycles to college students who couldn't
afford a car. We had hundreds of junker bikes and the goal was to produce as many working bicycles
out of the junk bikes as possible. Everything worked on the bikes we built though they were often
Frankenbikes with mismatched brake levers, derailleurs, etc. We sold the used bicycles for $30-$40
each. 15 years later strolling the campus I saw some of the bicycles I built in bike racks; by then
they probably had at least 3 owners since I built them up.

There were parts that I dreaded seeing on the junker bikes. Shimano Positron and Front Freewheel
were both trouble. There were also the plastic Simplex gear changers that time had rendered brittle
enough that they usually broke with the first serious tug. One thing that was never trouble though
was the Shimano Eagle rear derailleur. Even badly mangled Eagles could usually be made workable with
a little cold setting with channel lock pliars. Worst case we could install a new Eagle derailleur
for a few bucks and be done with it. The Eagle was a derailleur that never let us down.

After tuition went up there were fewer poor college students. As the market for cheap ugly used
bicycles dwindled we started to carry more enthusiast oriented bikes and parts. We hired a Salesman
who raced and he managed to resurrect a defunct local race team. After a season of being "off the
back" I got faster and started racing. Talking with other racers the subject of bike parts came up
and everyone started to talk about their favorite bike part. One person loved his Mavic hubs,
another went on about his Bullseye derailleur pullies, etc. When it came to me I said that my
favorite bike part was the Shimano Eagle rear deraillerur. Everyone was aghast. I had a Campy Super
Record Cinelli and my favorite bike part was the Shimano Eagle rear derailleur? I explained how as a
mechanic I admired that it was cheap enough for any bike yet nearly indestructible. I was dared to
ride one on the next training ride.

With my Cinelli in the stand and a Shimano Eagle rear deralleur still in the bag in my hand I wasn't
sure if what I was doing was rape or weird science. I tore open the bag as I had done hundreds of
times in the past and put the cheap derailleur on my prized steed. The ride went well; the Shimano
Eagle shifted every bit as good as my Campy Super Record; perhaps even a tad better. The cheap
changer probably added a quarter pound to my bike and likely wouldn't hold up very long being ridden
5-10K miles/year but to me it proved its metal that day.

Bruce
--
Bruce Jackson - Sr. Systems Programmer - DMSP, a M/A/R/C Group company

In article said:

ajames54 <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

for the time [Positron drivetrains] they worked OK... better by far than the other low end stuff
of the time...

Quoted message said:

Wasn't the Shimano Eagle rear derailleur contemporary with Positron?

No. The Positron derailleur had actual indents on the derailleur itself to do the indexing.

Quoted message said:

The Eagle was an excellent gear changer; far better than Positron.

The basic design of the Positron was essentially the same as the Eagle but with the indexing
modifications.

Quoted message said:

One thing that was never trouble though was the Shimano Eagle rear derailleur. Even badly mangled
Eagles could usually be made workable with a little cold setting with channel lock pliars. Worst
case we could install a new Eagle derailleur for a few bucks and be done with it. The Eagle was a
derailleur that never let us down.

They're heavy dogs, though. My favorite was the "Titalist" which was identical to the "Crane" (later
"Dura-Ace"😉 but with more steel parts. Shifted like a dream and never wore out.

--

-John ([email hidden])

I thought Loose Screws/Third Hand went out of business...

Quoted message said:

If you are happy with your Positron gears Loose Screws lists this cable for $9.95
loosescrews.comloosescrews.comOpen ↗ search on Positron.

Paul Giroux said:

I thought Loose Screws/Third Hand went out of business...

They did for a very short while, but now they're back under new ownership:

thethirdhand.comthethirdhand.comOpen ↗

Mark McMaster [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you are happy with your Positron gears Loose Screws lists this cable for $9.95
loosescrews.comloosescrews.comOpen ↗ search on Positron.