What can the old Shimano 600 groupset compared to now?

[531Aussie]

Ah, memories. My first 'real' racing bike (very heavy, really old 531, which I bought off a guy who was 3 or 4" taller than me -- oops), which I put together in 1986, had 600, which was my first proper groupset. Before that I had cheap cro-mo bikes with bottom-rung Dia Compe brakes and other ****. Did anyone have a cheap SR quill stem? Eeew!

I still remember what I paid for most of the 600 parts, because I stared at them in the local shop's counter for months while I was saving up. The rear derailleur was $33, the front $27; pedals $43, and the cranks were $120. I can't remember how much the down-tube shifters, brakes and levers were. I think the brakes were around 40 bucks. How interesting! HA.
I ride with my heels in/toes out, so I dunno how I used to ride the cranks, coz the arms have bugger-all taper, if any.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by 531Aussie .

Ah, memories. My first 'real' racing bike (very heavy, really old 531, which I bought off a guy who was 3 or 4" taller than me -- oops), which I put together in 1986, had 600, which was my first proper groupset. Before that I had cheap cro-mo bikes with bottom-rung Dia Compe brakes and other ****. Did anyone have a cheap SR quill stem? Eeew!

YES (mine was a 56cm 531 Peugeot, 2cms too big), YES (600 was the first real group), YES (I did my first race on a 26lb+ bike from Taiwan with **** parts) and YES (I had an SR quill stem before migrating to the Cinelli 1A's and 1Rs)!


Good job!

 

[531Aussie]

You too? Ha! I'm sure there's a lot of us out there who did the same.

 

[danfoz]

In 1983, Nasbar (when they were one of the only mail order places) had a 22lb cro-mo race bike fully eqipped w/600 on sale for $325 US Dollars... I lusted after that bike which at the age of 15 was slightly out of my meager price range. I do believe I spent as much time looking at that bike in the catalogue as I did the Playboy magazine that was next to it beneath my pillow.

 

[531Aussie]

Nice. Mine had Araya rims and I think cheap Weinmann or Sansin hubs.

oh yeah:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Playboy_Playmates_of_1983

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif

 

[alienator]

Nice.  Mine had Araya rims and I think cheap Weinmann or Sansin hubs.  oh yeah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Playboy_Playmates_of_1983 :rofl:

Without pictures, your link is completely inappropriate. In 1983 I worked in Audio/Visual in my university's library. The university had every single playboy issue since its inception on microfilm. I loved that job. Unfortunately, they had neither Hustler nor Nasty Nuns on microfilm.

 

[531Aussie]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Without pictures, your link is completely inappropriate.
In 1983 I worked in Audio/Visual in my university's library. The university had every single playboy issue since its inception on microfilm. I loved that job. Unfortunately, they had neither Hustler nor Nasty Nuns on microfilm.

O.....M........G!!! There's an excuse for poor grades, if I've ever heard one.

 

[vspa]

Hi there, I had 600 sti back in 90's, loved it smooth with no problems, I want to get back into cycling, as its been a while not sure whats good nowadays, any help and suggestion would be of great help.

i was in this situation in 2003 or so, things have changed a lot in terms of compatibility, and it still does, so before you purchase anything you need to know if it will fit your bike, e.g. handlebars, stems, forks, headsets, bottom brackets, rims, hubs, seatposts, cassettes, chains... wow all of it needs to be checked for size and measurements ! and as alienator mentioned groups and drivetrains are not longer (most of the time) interchangeable, new bikes come good out of the box nowadays, its not like before where you bought parts here and there and then built your dream bike, you can still do that but its gonna be more expensive than buying the complete bike. Chose a good brand and they will have entry level, medium level, upper level and top of the class bikes. I personally like Scott's in that sense, but many others are great like Specialized, Trek, Cannondale and Giant and europeanm brands of course. Training has become really scientific but lots of the concepts are not really new, for me its similar training systems overhauled or even renamed. You will catch up quite more easily with the Internet, but i still like to go to cycling shops and see all the new stuff displayed.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by vspa .

new bikes come good out of the box nowadays, its not like before where you bought parts here and there and then built your dream bike, you can still do that but its gonna be more expensive than buying the complete bike. Chose a good brand and they will have entry level, medium level, upper level and top of the class bikes. I personally like Scott's in that sense, but many others are great like Specialized, Trek, Cannondale and Giant and european brands of course.

Yup, that's pretty much true. The OEM discounts are pretty deep compared to pick and choose. Most proper bike shop brands like the above and quite a few more will deliver a great riding experience in most of the price ranges. It really comes down to the type of riding you plan on doing and how flexible your body has remained. If money was no object, in light of recent events and my own personal revelations I'm going to say get something with Campagnolo. But take it w/a grain of salt. Shimano is good stuff too, I rode it for most of my cycling life. My personal preference is for 105 and above. Although the cheaper stuff probably does just the job you'd expect in whatever the price range implies. If you like your eyes, I'd pass on the new Dura-Ace, otherwise it probably works splendidly. I have no experience w/SRAM.

 

[alienator]

 Yup, that's pretty much true. The OEM discounts are pretty deep compared to pick and choose. Most proper bike shop brands like the above and quite a few more will deliver a great riding experience in most of the price ranges. It really comes down to the type of riding you plan on doing and how flexible your body has remained. If money was no object, in light of recent events and my own personal revelations I'm going to say get something with Campagnolo. But take it w/a grain of salt. Shimano is good stuff too, I rode it for most of my cycling life. My personal preference is for 105 and above. Although the cheaper stuff probably does just the job you'd expect in whatever the price range implies. If you like your eyes, I'd pass on the new Dura-Ace, otherwise it probably works splendidly. I have no experience w/SRAM.

I think the new Dura Ace crank is good looking, at least better than what the 7800 and 7900 cranks looked like.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by alienator .


I think the new Dura Ace crank is good looking, at least better than what the 7800 and 7900 cranks looked like.

The 7800 was an aesthetic masterpiece. They lost me with most of the lines on the 7900 group, except the brifters were quite exceptional. And now this... thing. If I were a Spartan mother it would have been off the cliff as soon as it was out the womb.

 

[531Aussie]

I like most Dura-Ace stuff (uncanny!). The 7800s were a bit of a shock to me at first, but they quickly grew on me. I especially like my super-buffed ones (below). It was a bit of a big, messy job with oven cleaner and Brasso, so I don't think I'll do another set.

While I'm at it: I much prefer 9sp DA brakes over 10sp. There, I said it! I reckon 9sp look better and work a little better, and I also prefer the cable tension adjuster on the 9sp.

While I'm still at it: what I really farkin hated when I first saw them was fat-tubed alu road frames! I thought they were an abomination, but I eventually got used to them.

 

[vspa]

nice bike

 

[531Aussie]

Thanks. It's nice to ride. I highly recommend them

 

[alienator]

Thanks.  It's nice to ride.  I highly recommend them

Damn you! I've always wanted a Super Prodigy. How does the thing ride? Please, give details.......and more pics.

 

[531Aussie]

Ha! Hmm, what can I say? I'll try to go into some detail.

It has all the positive characteristics of good steel, such as comfort and pleasant springiness, while also being noticeably stiffer, and "lighter feeling" than my 531 frames. When accelerating off the saddle, it feels nice and fast, but not quite as fast as my stiff alu frames (Soloist, old CAAD8, and a couple of other Asian-made ones), even though I know that’s probably in my head.

As a further reference, I’ve only ever owned one carbon frame, which was a flexy, old BH Global Concept G1.

I can’t fault its handling one bit, even when it had a bunch of different forks on it, before I bought the ITM Visia.
I found the 1” Columbus Muscle, which came with the frame, too flexy, so i eventually bought the ITM. You probably know, but the ITM has an alu steerer and chunky blades, and is much stiffer. I would’ve preferred an inch-and-an-eighth steerer, just for more future fork options, but I think Cervelo marketed it as a traditional frame.

Like all the steel frames I’ve had, it “holds firm/heavy” on the road -- this is something I can’t describe very well, but it’s the opposite of skittish, whatever that is. Having said that, I often like the skittishness of my Soloist and Caad8.

I like the 73.5 seat tube, coz I’m not much of a “setback” guy.
The relatively small head tube (160mm) doesn’t really suit me, since i have some minor neck and lower back issues, but it's no big deal.

In case you don't know, it as an oversized down tube, pretty chunky stays, and an ovalized top tube, all for "extra lateral stiffness and vertical compliance." HA!

Mine is a ‘58’ (57.5 top tube, and 57 seat tube, c-c), and the frames weighs about 1680g, which is a little more than I thought it was gunna be (before I bought it, a guy at Cervelo told me that it would be "about 3 pounds" -- ha!), but I'm no weight weenie.

I bought it as the frame-set, so I obviously didn't get the stock parts that Cervelo were putting on them, which was Ultegra and Shimano 540 wheels (I'm pretty sure).

Yes, I will be taking questions.

The only other pic I have on my computer or on a hosting site at the moment is the geometry chart.

 

[alienator]

Cervelo should have kept making it. It's way better looking than anything they've made since.

 

[vspa]

got to love the wheels too, DT swiss rims with 32 or 36 / 1.8 or 2.0 mm spokes 3x cross lacing, great stuff

 

[531Aussie]

Originally Posted by alienator .

Cervelo should have kept making it. It's way better looking than anything they've made since.

I also like the old Renaissance. Hot!

 

[531Aussie]

Originally Posted by vspa .

got to love the wheels too, DT swiss rims with 32 or 36 / 1.8 or 2.0 mm spokes 3x cross lacing,
great stuff /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

Yep, I've found them to be bomb proof and fool proof, coz I built them myself.
I've been thrashing 4 pairs of them for a few years (since not long after they first came out) with no problems. They're very similar to Deep Vs (same depth and ERD), but I think they're welded instead of regular "sleeve" join