Suntour Radius

[kdelong]

I have an opportunity to purchase some early 1990s vintage Suntour Radius drivetrain equipment for a vintage Lotus that I am restoring. It has a good frame but the components are basically junk. What grade of components were Suntour Radius? Were they Suntour's version of Shimano's 105, or lower or higher? I know that Suntour may pre-date many of the members of this forum but I am hoping that maybe one of the old timers will know.

 

[alfeng]

I have an opportunity to purchase some early 1990s vintage Suntour Radius drivetrain equipment for a vintage Lotus that I am restoring. It has a good frame but the components are basically junk. What grade of components were Suntour Radius? Were they Suntour's version of Shimano's 105, or lower or higher? I know that Suntour may pre-date many of the members of this forum but I am hoping that maybe one of the old timers will know.

Is it possible that the SunTour components were replacements?

I only remember Lotus from around 1978-1982, but that doesn't mean they weren't made before, or after ...

So, I'm thinking Shimano AX if your LOTUS frame was made with aero tubing, and pre-indexed Dura Ace if the frame has round tubing rather than 90s vintage SunTour components.

FWIW. The rear brake bridge & rear drop outs will give some indication as to the frame's vintage.

 

[531Aussie]

Yep, according to this 1992 catalog, it looks like Radius was similar to 105

 

[kdelong]

Is it possible that the SunTour components were replacements?

I only remember Lotus from around 1978-1982, but that doesn't mean they weren't made before, or after ...

So, I'm thinking Shimano AX if your LOTUS frame was made with aero tubing, and pre-indexed Dura Ace if the frame has round tubing rather than 90s vintage SunTour components.

FWIW. The rear brake bridge & rear drop outs will give some indication as to the frame's vintage.

Actually it is a 1989 vintage frame, near the end of Lotuses being imported into the US. It is definitely a mid-range frame with chrome moly tubes, good Suntour dropouts with a RD hanger, and all braze on's instead of clamp on's. The components, which are original to the frame, are Suntour VX. These appear to be about on par with Shimano Tourney components, or in other words, you find more plastic in them than you find in the bras at a strip joint. They were probably imported like this as a cost saving measure as this is about the time of the Asian financial crisis. I am not such a purist as to keep it all original. The rear derailluer is broken anyway and I thought that I would upgrade it to a higher level but still keep it Suntour. I just wanted to know how high I was upgrading it.

 

[kdelong]

Yep, according to this 1992 catalog, it looks like Radius was similar to 105

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for!