Since coming to Retrobiking I've come to appreciate...

[dirttorpedo]

the beauty and quality of craftsmanship that was put into the old bikes and their components. I've always know that the hand built artisan frames were something special, but ever since getting my hands on a set of M737 XT mech's I'm struck by their beauty, the quality of their casting, the effort that went into polishing them, the quality of the finishing, the fact the front mech has a screw that allows me to swap mech's without breaking my chain. Same thing with hubs, and brakes, etc. The move to black painted components was a real boon for the manufacturers - it allowed them to take short cuts on finishing.

If you go to Disraeli Gears and scroll through the XT mech's you really get a sense of how they've gotten uglier and cheaper over time.

 

[Charlieboy28]

I would have to agree m737-40 is my absolute favourite gruppo, i find the rear mech a thing of beauty and the shifters so smooth compared to modern offerings.

There has been a similar thread where the previous xt series came out very favourable as apparently it was more serviceable, but for me the beauty of an m739 rear mech is unsurpassed

 

[M-Power]

Bitd I can remember the expectant arrival if the first M730,M732 and M900 groupsets. The latter two are still my all times favs.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

I agree with all the above, hence why I'm here. There seems to be no soul in modern bikes & components.

 

[xerxes]

I still think some of the mid 80s SunTour road kit is some of the prettiest ever made:

In contrast Campag and Shimano looked like this:

Campag stuff still looked much the same as it did in the 60s and although much favoured by the older guys in the cycling club I belonged to at the time, was way too expensive for a 15 year old financing everything on a Saturday job income and, to my eyes at least, a lot of Shimano stuff just looked a bit fugly.

I have a 1996 M739 on one of my bikes and it is quite smart with nice clean lines, whereas the M772-SGS I have on another is a bit of a mess of shapes and cut-outs, that quickly fill with mud and dust:

 

[ovlov440]

...I feel the same way about the road groupsets and have had a little rant on here a few weeks ago. Both my bikes wear Ultegra 6500 which IMHO is the best looking road groupset made - the current stuff looks cheap (even though it isn't by a country mile)

 

[bugloss]

I had a look at the Campagnolo Super Record group set as I wanted a whizz bang set on a steel frame.
I walked out of the shop empty handed and the sales chappie thought I was mad when I turned my nose up at it and told him that I thought it looked like it came from the Tuppaware factory.

 

[xerxes]

I thought it looked like it came from the Tuppaware factory.

Yes the new carbon fibre and polymer stuff looks very "plasticy". Even stuff that is made of metal is now primarily painted/coated rather than polished and anodized.

 

[Woz]

"the fact the front mech has a screw that allows me to swap mech's without breaking my chain"

Well noted. I have always taken this for granted ever since I was in nappies. I brought a new bike in 2013 with a Tiagra FD and
simply couldn't believe the stupidity of putting a damn rivet type thing there. How moronic, and it goes to show because it's
new doesn't mean it's progress. Needless to say, I swapped it out for something proper from 1995.

 

[joe careless]

''performance'' over panache and elegance