things that sucked/were cool back in the day

[hampco]

the poster thread and near perfect parts thread got me thinking (uh oh) about how much stuff we used that totally sucked when we were young (mid-70s for me) - but we didn't know any better 'cause we were all in the same boat.

here's a start:

helmets: it rocked back in the day because they didn't exist so no one wore one; it sucked racing in hairnets because you knew if you crashed and hit your head it wouldn't help a bit. fortunately it never happened.

shorts: wool with real chamois? sucked big time. so did the alternatives.

jerseys: see shorts

shoes: they were cool because you had to have a cobbler's last to mount cleats - or it helped, but c'mon - leather shoes with leather soles? or wood soles?

frames: cool because they were steel, sucked because heavy and poorly made. anything that wasn't steel (graftek, teledyne titan, alan) sucked even worse

parts: campy was the best and it sucked still. shimano and simplex were surprisingly good - that's how bad it was

tires: sewups for racing didn't suck, flatting them, trying to fix and failing, sucked. clinchers, both elan and schwinn le tour, sucked

saddles: oh boy. brooks, unicanitor, or ideale 90 or 2001 were the choices. brooks was better back then than now

pedals and clips: cool in a pre-industrial sort of way

gearing: please... 42/52 5-or-6 speed with 13-19 on the rear

riding: awesome, couldn't be beat. did not suck

food: bananas or pb sammiches

races: big fun

your list?

[Saab2000]

Indexed steering ranks very high on the list of things that sucked.

Pretty much everything else was awesome because ignorance was bliss.

[doofus]

sucked:

nobody in my part of the US knew what orthotics for cycling shoes were and I had knee and foot problems for ten years.

cool:

everything else. when you didn't know that there was anything better, you got out, rode the hell out of it, and had a blast.

hell, right now I ride a 15-year old frame with a bunch of campy alloy parts that I sometimes bother to (mis)adjust. I ride the snot out of it. I have a blast.

[habitué]

The first full-suspension MTBs.

[WFSTEKL]

All of the handlebars were narrow back in the day. That sucked.

All of the waterbottles had pin holes for openings. When you were on the rivit and needed a drink, you went hypoxic trying to get a drop of water out of the damn thing. That sucked.

[ADD]

The original grip shift where really stunningly bad.

[ron l edmiston]

my 1955 schwinn phantom:

i was 12 years old and my bud jere, always wanted to ride my bars - was only about 75 pounds, soaking wet.
when i hit the bumps, he always cought his crotch in the shock on top!!!!

those were the days!!!!

[dang]

My first race wheels . . . took off these tank-like things and replaced them with a used set of fiamme ergal rims laced to record hubs and eventually got a set of clement silks on them. I broke the front wheel in a mishap, but before that . . . awesome, I've never felt so thrilled with a piece of gear. Those tires killed, btw.

Loved it (and wonder how good it was) -- a carton of Raleighs bound for France somehow wound up here and there and I bought one -- 531 (pro?) frameset that seemed pretty light for the day, with an odd assortment of French parts. That was my first race bike.

Duegi shoes with wood soles -- I liked mine and wonder if I could even wear them now.

Really loved it and it was probably not very good at all: my first "ten speed" (actually had ten speeds) was a Gitane junior racer that I got when I was thirteen -- simplex derailleurs, weinmann centerpulls if I remember right, and a hard plastic saddle.

Definitely sucked but I thought they were good: clips with binda extra straps cinched down so that I'd get a nice groove on the top of each foot, which was immobile between the clip and the pedal, to which it was affixed with a hard plastic cleat with a slot in it.

[old_school]

Stick shifts on the top tube
Early Campy index shifters (the hatred runs deep)
Spinergy Wheels

[Bittersweet]

Brancale helmets were hotter than Hades and you looked like you played in the NHL. Skid Lids were mentioned but those dots of black foam to fit them should be noted as especially ridiculous. Duegi 101s with oak soles. I still suffer terribly from the frostbite I got in those shoes riding in northern NH in April '83 with wool socks cut out as "booties". 40 miles out and the drizzle turned to snow. NFG. Benotto cellotape was both fabulous and terrible all at the same time. Was it clement glue that was red? Awful stuff. Fiamme gold rims in 32h. Like tin foil with spokes. Hard silver and Red much better. GP4s in 36h were the best and still have 'em along with my precious Hard Silvers with Dura Ace AX (yes AX) hubs. The list could go on but really the availability of the best stuff at a click away is unbelievable. When I explain to people the difficulty in even finding proper cycling shoes never mind a selection they go cross eyed but then again cycling is the new golf - everyone does it.

[taz]

things that were cool (circa 76-79):

Full chrome Paramount track frames
BMX before the freestyle crap
MKS pedals
Campy gold anodized BMX hubs
Original RedLine Proline frame in white, Cook Bros

things that sucked:

alloy seatposts without integrated seat clamps
GrabOn grips

[WadePatton]

Stick shifts on the top tube

IIRC that was a t-handled stick shift on the top tube--what was the total range of a three-speed hub gear anyhow...and those "suspension" springs for the "moto" seat. and that silly little tire!

Then as an adult in the 80's (I still refuse to grow up) I suffered with some early c-dale atb stuff (yeah, it wuz kewl-for about three days)...there's a forever bad taste in the mouth.

[coylifut]

campy nouvo record seat posts sucked. the two bolt tilt idea was great, but getting the bent wrench in there to adjust it was a pain. I still have the wrench.

[twowheels]

campy nouvo record seat posts sucked. the two bolt tilt idea was great, but getting the bent wrench in there to adjust it was a pain. I still have the wrench.

i still have one of the posts. raced alpenrose in the mid-late 80's on one of those seatposts in the guerciotti. they were very heavy and too short by modern standards but they never slipped.

[Shinomaster]

the poster thread and near perfect parts thread got me thinking (uh oh) about how much stuff we used that totally sucked when we were young (mid-70s for me) - but we didn't know any better 'cause we were all in the same boat.

here's a start:

helmets: it rocked back in the day because they didn't exist so no one wore one; it sucked racing in hairnets because you knew if you crashed and hit your head it wouldn't help a bit. fortunately it never happened.

shorts: wool with real chamois? sucked big time. so did the alternatives.

jerseys: see shorts

shoes: they were cool because you had to have a cobbler's last to mount cleats - or it helped, but c'mon - leather shoes with leather soles? or wood soles?

frames: cool because they were steel, sucked because heavy and poorly made. anything that wasn't steel (graftek, teledyne titan, alan) sucked even worse

parts: campy was the best and it sucked still. shimano and simplex were surprisingly good - that's how bad it was

tires: sewups for racing didn't suck, flatting them, trying to fix and failing, sucked. clinchers, both elan and schwinn le tour, sucked

saddles: oh boy. brooks, unicanitor, or ideale 90 or 2001 were the choices. brooks was better back then than now

pedals and clips: cool in a pre-industrial sort of way

gearing: please... 42/52 5-or-6 speed with 13-19 on the rear

riding: awesome, couldn't be beat. did not suck

food: bananas or pb sammiches

races: big fun

your list?

Wow, I'm glad I was born in the 70's... I grew up with all the good stuff.

[XXXX]

Galli equipment. No, scratch that. It always sucked and was never cool.

[kemptonslim]

Tri-dorks wearing speedos for 112 miles on bicycle. Sucks and cool at the same time.

[Mrs. Mustache]

the poster thread and near perfect parts thread got me thinking (uh oh) about how much stuff we used that totally sucked when we were young (mid-70s for me) - but we didn't know any better 'cause we were all in the same boat.

Man you guys are O. L. D.

But what ever happened to mustache bars? I always have to special-order them. They're my favorite...

Holy crap edoz -- flickstands! how obscure! Learned the other day what the hell those are, guys who want them are turds. Only met one person in my life with one, and he seemed really annoyed/triste that they don't come on bikes anymore. And he was a total turd.

[csbmo]

Man you guys are O. L. D.

But what ever happened to mustache bars? I always have to special-order them. They're my favorite...

Holy crap edoz -- flickstands! how obscure! Learned the other day what the hell those are, guys who want them are turds. Only met one person in my life with one, and he seemed really annoyed/triste that they don't come on bikes anymore. And he was a total turd.

mustache waxing on the rhode gear

[davids]

Flickstand: "It was a gizmo that clamped on your down tube and had a wire-type thingy that pivoted. When you leaned your bike against a wall or tree, you pushed the thingy down until it engaged your tire. Then your front wheel couldn't turn or rotate, and your bike was less likely to fall over."

less likely... perfect.