01 December, 2006

New Items


We have a couple of new items. These are all things I found in small quantities, but are special enough to be worth putting in the store.

First are Stronglight JDX94 headsets, also known as the R2D2 model. Originally intended for mountain bikes, this is also a great headset for road bikes that see a lot of rain and dirt. It uses the famous Stronglight needle bearings, but has triple seals. It also has an advanced self centering and self locking zytel (that's french for plasteek) ring so no lock nut is required. It requires a special wrench which is included. 122 grams. A very neat design. $45


Next are Edco Competition bottom brackets from Switzerland. Edco makes some of the nicest components and these sealed bearing BB are no exception. But what's really special is that they use two cups with lockring so they can be adjusted back and forth for a spot-on perfect chain line, it's that famous Swiss obsession with precision. $78.

It's hard to find nice old school front cable stops, especially with barrel adjusters. We have just a few chrome plated Dia Compe stops.

Finally we have some late model entry level Simplex derailleurs. I'm told these are much better than the early plastic models, but I have not used this version. Actually the plastic Simplexes usually shifted well when new, but wore out quickly. Only the models with plastic parallelograms were awful and gave Simplex a bad name. Anyway, they only cost $12 if you want to try one.

I'll have everything in the store over the next few days. There is some neat new stuff coming next week too.









11 comments:

  1. What is the axle length of the Edco bottom brackets?

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  2. How many teeth will the simplex handle? I need to find an attractive rear derailleut that will take at least 32 for my Panasonic Le Fac.

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  3. Do the edco bb work in any bb? Do these work like the mavics? More info pls. thx superfreak.

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  4. Approximate weight and spindle length on Edco BB please!
    nv

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  5. The Edco BBs weigh about 250gms. we have them in 116 Italian, 121 French, and 121 British thread. Since you can move the axle back and forth the exact length of the spindle is not so important, unless it's too short.

    These are not like the Mavic threadless BBs. They are a regular threaded unit, but they have a removable cup and lock ring on both sides instead on just on one side. It's a brilliant idea and I wonder why everyone didn't use it, a patent issue perhaps. If you enlarge the photo you'll see how they work.

    The Simplex will handle 30 teeth according to my old Simplex catalog; it might work with 32, they were pretty conservative.

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  6. What tool does the cups take on the edco BB? Standard shimano install tool? thx superfreak.

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  7. Does anyone have a photo of this type of stronglight headset on a bike?

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  8. The Edco BB uses the same tools as the old cup-and-cone BBs, a pin spanner and a lock ring wrench. Those are tools that fit 99% of pre-Shimano era BBS.

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  9. Hi people
    I do not know what to give for Christmas of the to friends, advise something ....

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  10. Regarding holiday gifts, if you are asking the advice of the readers here, I have to assume that the friends you speak of are interested in cycling, and more specifically, the kinds of bikes/components/accessories that VO offers. So why not a VO gift certificate?

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  11. Ahh, I see where this is going :)
    I'm glad my holiday advice is of use!
    Still, a VO gift certificate is a good suggestion!
    It's a shame that this blog is getting spam - you do such a great job with it Chris - easily one of my favorite blogs.
    nv

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