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~~~~~~~~
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1982
Condor team bike
w/
Reynolds
Speedstream
tubeset:
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~~~~~~~
Dura-Ace
10mm pitch
track parts: |
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~~~~~~~~
other bikes
(not mine):
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3Rensho
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Tsunoda:
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Shimano's big experiment w/ aerodynamics debuted in 1980. Produced alongside the more conventional Dura-Ace EX, the aero groups were Dura-Ace AX, 600 AX, and a low-end Adamas. While AX aero parts fizzled in the marketplace and full AX groups were seldom raced, you find there was a lot of innovation there. It's like seeing in a crystal ball for the next 25 years of technology.
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This was the arrival, alongside Dura Ace-EX, of the cassette hub. But, after all that effort with aero hub covers and recessed spoke heads, the hubs only came in 32˚ or 36˚.
And the shifting was "indexed", kinda. The rear derailleur had an early form of 'click shifting' called New Positive Mechanism.
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Besides the Dura-Ace AX headset,
which had an 'aero' plastic fairing, several other headsets made it on to AX bikes.. including Tange and Levin.
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The AX bar and stem. The stem had both the bolts for the quill and bar clamp hidden under a cap. The bars included 'aero' plugs.
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The Dyno-Drive pedals lowered the seat approx. 1cm, enough to put you on a smaller sized frame.
The cranks featured a 1-key release. Why are they so rare in 175mm? I've still never seen them..
The Para-Pull brakes are the most valuable pieces on the 2nd hand market these days, perhaps in part because of Lance Armstrong using one on the front of his time trial bikes. They were the 1st production brake levers to 'aero' route the cables under the bar tape or through the handlebars..
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The most noticeable thing riding this bike is the difference in sound, how noisy the frame is over bumps.
In this era these oval tubes were heavier and less stiff than round tubes, plus they would would ride rougher and be harder to build.
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Shimano claimed this bike was 21.7% more ærodynamic than a standard road bike.
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home | Lotus Super Pro | Dale's AX Thommasini | Shimano corporate site: AX history & Dura-Ace history | V é l o - R é t r o - catalog reprints | 1982 Shimano catalog- - on Shimano page at Sheldonbrown.com | part numbers for 80s Shimano | component dates - Vintage-Trek.com | book: 'Shimano AX and the Æro Tradition' by Alan Bernstein - Cycling History Conference #8