Categories: NostalgiaTechnologyTradition

The Golden Era: Downtube Shifters and Delta Brakes

I miss downtube shifters. I miss them in the same way I miss the days before the widespread use of race radios, when races were less choreographed and more unpredictable. Racing on downtube shifters, a rider had to be seated and take one hand off the bars to shift. Shifting had to be planned into race tactics. These days, we can enter a hairpin bend in one gear and exit out of the saddle in another all while never moving our fingers off the brakes. We can shift into any gear we want while mashing the pedals up a steep incline. With downtube shifters, a rider had to plan for corners and enter the turns in the gear they planned to exit it in; they had to commit to the gear they were going to sprint in. If they were in the wrong gear when an attack went, they had to stay (or get) seated, reach down and feather the derailleur into the proper gear – overshifting slightly and easing the chain back into the cog. Similarly, a rider planning to attack had to choose a gear before launching themselves up the road. A far cry from today’s bar mounted shifters. Besides, downtube shifters were beautiful: simple, elegant, and light.

Flipping through my old cycling books, it feels like the late eighties and early nineties were the golden age of component design. Even up to the early eighties, components were rife with nuts and bolts and square edges. But in the late eighties, it seems manufacturers spontaneously mastered aluminum forgery; Mavic, Shimano, and Campagnolo suddenly poured out elegant parts with sexy curves and polished finishes. In my opinion, the best and most beautiful groupo ever made was the 1989 and 1990 editions of Campagnolo C-Record.

Those were the years just before Campy put out the first version of the Ergo-Power lever which, to my taste, was always too bulbous and large; I much preferred their distinctive standard brake levers and their loose-fitting white hoods. The Campy crankset and derailleurs were stunning, complete with that unmistakable aluminum finish, polished to produce a luster that looked like it was something from a dream. The rear hub, with its sweeping curve from the freehub body to the axle, was mesmerizing to watch as it gleamed in the sunlight. But the piéce de résistance of the groupset was the delta brake, in its full triangular glory. In today’s weight-obsessed cycling culture, there is no possibility of such a brakeset ever being built again.

I already have plenty of bikes, but I think we all know that the correct number of bikes to own is n+1. It is a dream of mine to hunt around and collect an entire ’89-’90 C-Record groupo and build up a bike around it, right down to a set of hand-built (by me) three-cross wheels, downtube shifters, and delta brakes.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

yoyo says:

Aug 19 2011 at 5:38 am

I still have my 1988 bike with Campa C-Record. Without the Delta brakes though.
Pistolfromwarragul says:

Dec 1 2011 at 1:34 pm

Totally agree on the C Record Groupset. I recently restored a Reynolds 853 and ran it with the Delta brakes for a while. They look superb and work OK, only thing is the lack of adjustment. Have to disagree on Shimano of the era even being mentioned in the same sentence though. In my view, the only Japanese componentry that was appropriate for a top end bike at the time was Suntour Superbe Pro, that was beautiful stuff! Being the traditionalist that I am, I don't think anything has changed. Still running a 25 year old Suntour hub on my 853 training bike!
frank says:

Dec 1 2011 at 3:31 pm

@Pistolfromwarragul

Totally agree on the C Record Groupset. I recently restored a Reynolds 853 and ran it with the Delta brakes for a while. They look superb and work OK, only thing is the lack of adjustment. Have to disagree on Shimano of the era even being mentioned in the same sentence though. In my view, the only Japanese componentry that was appropriate for a top end bike at the time was Suntour Superbe Pro, that was beautiful stuff! Being the traditionalist that I am, I don't think anything has changed. Still running a 25 year old Suntour hub on my 853 training bike!

Fantastic! I ran Superbe Pro as well, and it was truly gorgeous stuff. The 7400 series Dura Ace, to my reasoning, though, is just a little to angular but still pretty - certainly better than their new stuff.

I'll take those deltas off your hands.
Lars Rasmussen says:

Oct 6 2012 at 6:00 am

Guys, While I respect and love the bikes of the past, they are the past.... I have ridden both with capagnolo's super record and the c record with delta brakes back in the day and trust me, the delta brakes were not only heavy, they were really poor ! - but only once you got them adjusted right, before that, they simply did not work. If you can get your hands on a super record, the performance is much better.

Having said that, there is no comparison to today's equipment, the di2 is just outstanding and I would not want to go back. I enjoy not needing to take my hands off the handlebars - and to be able to focus on the ride or the race ...

Happy riding ..!

Lars
roger says:

Oct 8 2012 at 11:58 am

I had the pleasure of riding with @Rob this past Saturday, and let me tell you, he is straight from the Milford Academy. Neither seen, nor heard (a reference to Arrested Development). While you could hear my shifts from a mile away, I dont recall once during our 60km tryst through Duchess county an audible peep out of his bike. Whether I was behind him or sidebyside, if I wasnt watching him intently, the whole process was over before it even started. There is certainly a heap of romance finished with grace I will now associate with Campy Record and dtube shifters.
Wag says:

Jun 22 2013 at 12:54 pm

@Marko

This
Christopher_W says:

Aug 2 2014 at 3:30 pm

@Dan O Yeah!
Andre says:

May 12 2015 at 12:21 pm

Currently own three outstanding bikes all with down-tube shifters. My 1989 Bianchi Giro with 7 speed synro Athena gruppo, 1994 Colnago Master in Wordperfect colors with 8 speed Chorus and a 2002 Colnago Master in Rabobank colors and 8 speed Record. I do with my down-tube shifters what my friends with STI do not. I shift both front and rear derailleurs with one hand on both levers!
V8powerage says:

Aug 7 2016 at 6:44 pm

Downtube shifters are ok but careful if you got long fingers like mine because you will get them in the wheel at one point or another and it's not a nice feeling lol Good thing about tube shifters are the brakes levers as they make that clickety sound good for scaring pigeons as well as general public and also they got this deep cut profiling which gives good grip.