Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- components:intro [2021/09/16 09:29] – gchandler
+++ components:intro [2022/02/25 10:03] (current) – [Mountain Bike Components] mtbtimeline
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 The idea here (in progress!) is to have a visual map of all mountain bike components available by type, manufacturer & year.
-Too often date attributions are missing, misleading, or have deliberate misinformation.  //Compochronology//((I just made that up)) allows for a more confident provenance by bracketing possible dates by component manufacture dates.  For example, it would be anachronistic for 1985 mt. bike to have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopace|biopace]] chainrings, as only road bikes had these by 1985.  But it's possible, just not very likely, that the mt. bike was fitted with a 1984 [[https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=F6E74FD2-417D-4154-A7C2-AF9E1392A018&Enum=115&AbsPos=4|Shimano 600EX]] road crankset.  Parts on vintage bikes are often swapped.  Component dating can disprove claims that bikes are all original and add confidence when everything seems period correct.
+Too often date attributions are missing, misleading, or have deliberate misinformation.  //Compochronology//((I just made that up)) allows for a more confident provenance by bracketing possible dates by component manufacture dates.  Component dating can disprove claims that bikes are all original and add confidence when everything seems period correct.
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 Similar timelines have been attempted elsewhere:
   * **[[http://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Timeline.html|mombat]]** : simple text, no pics or links
-  * **[[https://velobase.com/default.aspx|velobase]]** : comprehensive - but too much info to make a visual timeline.  mtbtimeline will rely upon velobase when it can.  Velobase is very road bike centric and is missing most mountain components.
+  * **[[https://velobase.com/default.aspx|velobase]]** : comprehensive - but too much info to make a visual timeline.  mtbtimeline will rely upon velobase when it can.  Velobase is very road bike centric and is missing some mountain components.
-  * **[[http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm?fbclid=IwAR2QXKgdpoZVKuTj1n_8FpjAjGHOwyf7T93p5p37P0jSYJn3KMIk8NOTnsk|vintage-trek]]** : dating by code.  Good idea.  Many sites give serial number decoders, which is vital.  Should be sed in addition to this visual component timeline.
+  * **[[http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm?fbclid=IwAR2QXKgdpoZVKuTj1n_8FpjAjGHOwyf7T93p5p37P0jSYJn3KMIk8NOTnsk|vintage-trek]]** : dating by code.  Good idea.  Many sites give serial number decoders, which is vital.  Should be used in addition to this visual component timeline.
   * **[[https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/disraeli_gears_-_a_derailleur_collection.html|disraeligears]]** : Rear derailleurs only.  A nice example of how to make components visually cool.
+  * **[[https://mombatbicycles.com/Suntour.htm|mombat SunTour museum]]**: all the pics and links are dead.
 \\
 \\
 **Dating Rear Derailleurs**
-Other than dating headsets and bottom brackets (because they're harder to swap,) dating the rear derailleur is a reliable step, as they're very visible and come in a huge array of date limited shapes.
+Other than dating headsets and bottom brackets (because they're harder to swap,) dating the rear derailleur is a reliable method to date a bike, as they're very visible and come in a huge array of date limited shapes.
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 [[https://ritchey.vintagebicycledatabase.com/bike.php?id=499|The Ritchey Project]]
 \\
 Available in 1981: check.  Note that the velobase entry isn't an exact match and its dates are unsure.
 Looking at other 1981 [[https://ritchey.vintagebicycledatabase.com/listing.php|Ritcheys]] shows the same or similar specs.  Or, looking at other sites such as [[https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/sachs-huret_derailleurs.html|disraeligears]] confirms that these were available in 1981.
 \\
+**Chain Wrap Capacity**
+Mountain bikes need wide gearing to ride both up **//and//** down hill.  The rear derailleur capacity limits the range of gears and the
+sizes of the freewheel and crankset.
+For example, with SunTour MounTech, the first mountain specific component group, the derailleur had a 34 tooth capacity.  Pairing this with a SunTour Winner 14-32 freewheel implies that the chainrings can't exceed a 16 tooth difference, such as a 30-46 double.  Try and use an older SunTour Cyclone (24T) then the bike would cease to be a mountain bike at all.
+Today (2021), touring derailleurs have the greatest capacity and mountain derailleurs often have less than 1980's derailleurs.
+\\
+This page should only list derailleurs commonly spec'd on early mountain bikes or related derailleurs with lots of capacity.
+**Timeline Date Skew**
+This timeline starts a few years after the MTB timelime, to be from 1978->1991.  The earliest mountain bikes are so rare that dating them by components is a non-issue.  When dating a 1989 bike it's helpful to have 1990 and 1991 components on the timeline.  Some pre-1978 components used:
+  * [[breezer:start#jbx1|1977 Breezer #1]]: SunTour Cyclone rear, SunTour VX front, TA cranks.
+  * [[cc:start#ccproto|1978 CCPROTO]]: Shimano DuraAce rear, no front, DuraAce cranks
+  * [[lawwill:start|1978 Lawwill-Knight Pro Cruiser]]: Shimano 600 EX GS rear, Suntour Vx front, SR Apex cranks
+** Quick links **
+  * [[https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/suntour_derailleurs.html|Suntour rear derailleurs]]
+  * [[https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/shimano_derailleurs.html|Shimano rear derailleurs]]
+  * [[https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/sachs-huret_derailleurs.html|Sachs Huret rear derailleurs]]
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 </blockquote>
+**Cranksets**
+Even more visible than derailleurs, cranksets have lots of branding real estate.
+{{ anna.jpg?300 }}
+//**Biopace?!?**// on a 1985 Ritchey Annapurna   [[http://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/Bikes/1985_Ritchey_Annapurna.html|mombat]]
+\\
+[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopace|Biopace]] first showed up in 1984 on road [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupset|gruppos]] only.  It wasn't until 1986 that biopace infected mountain chainrings in the [[https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=D529E215-25E1-4BA3-AE8A-62295F689017&Enum=115&AbsPos=0|Deore XT]] group set.  However, Ritchey used the road [[https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=f6e74fd2-417d-4154-a7c2-af9e1392a018&Enum=115|600EX FC-2606]] crankset, back when such things were compatible ((Today, road and mountain components don't get along.  See this table on [[http://blog.artscyclery.com/science-behind-the-magic/science-behind-the-magic-drivetrain-compatibility/|cable pull]].))  So, the biopace is period correct.  The chainstay mounted u-brakes, however, are very avant-garde for 1985 ((See Sheldon Brown's critique on this doomed [[https://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-u.html#u|fad]])).  However, there is precedent for Annapurnas to use these: [[https://ritchey.vintagebicycledatabase.com/bike.php?id=72|Ritchey DB]].  So again, period
+ correct.
+**Component Serial Numbers**
+Courtesy of [[https://vintagecannondale.com]]:
+  * Shimano: [[https://vintagecannondale.com/info/shimano/]]
+  * SunTour: [[https://vintagecannondale.com/info/suntour/]]
+  * Campagnolo: [[https://vintagecannondale.com/info/campagnolo/]]
+**Index Shifting**
+The 1985 release of [[https://www.rideshimano.com/unitedKingdom/en/History-of-Shimano/|Dura-Ace 7400]] saw the first index shifting which trickled into every model and brand of rear derailleur over the next few years, requiring new models to support the changing requirements.  No rear derailleur on sale in 1986 existed without change by 1989.((SunTour especially suffered a decline with the introduction of SIS and with no decent indexed gruppo of its own, SunTour went bankrupt in 1987, sold itself to Sakae Ringyo, losing focus, reselling itself again and finally closing its component line in 1995.  See [[https://web.archive.org/web/20081205181751/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/page35.htm|Sunset for SunTour]] by Frank Berto.))  For a history of mountain bike technology, see the [[tech:start|tech timeline]].
 </div>