It I could own only two vintage bikes, one would be the first carbon tubed bike that Look made for LeMond and the other would be the 98 Pantani Specialissima with the pirate saddle. I'd want examples that had seen some use, however, as I would only want to buy these classics to ride them.
Amazing... finally we get some bikes that made this sport so iconic and they rush through it and don’t mention half the bikes 🤦🏼♂️! Instead they make a films 🎥 about being drunk on a bike and do’s and don’ts . Real shame .. These where the rock n roll days of cycling before the nerds turned up .. just like F1 ! This is a special collection make it a special film.
Absolutely stunning collection, currently restoring an actually Greg Lemond team myself. Restoration and ride coming soon on the channel. Thanks for this viewing pleasure.
I own a vintage Trek 400 from 1994. It's baby blue in colour with bright yellow decals. It has Shimano Edge components featuring oval chainrings. It was an amazing road bike at the time for me. That bike also got me into the sport of road cycling. Keep it up @GCN Tech.
One small point about brake cables; if you run them out of the handlebars, old style, they provide some safety in keeping your hands from slipping off the bars. I'll never conceal my brake cables. Well, not since I stopped racing in '94. On a Paris -Roubaix, some riders used to specify exposed cables because they felt more secure with the cables there as slip guards. As a long distance tourist this is also a benefit.
@@ralphc1405 we've always been told double butted spokes are better, stainless are better than non-stainless, and although most typical lightweight racers would use 32 on each wheel. When I raced, my weight got down to 170 lbs minimum, and I raced on 32 rear and 28 front. But now I like a 40 spoke rear, heavy gauge stainless and 36 heavy gauge stainless front. I don't race at anymore. But touring is still a big thing, so I'm having a pair of Weinman concave rims from the 70's built into bolt on bulletproof specialized hubs. The solid axle and simplicity is what I like. I guess they're either track hubs, or designated bike courier hubs. They came in a gift box from a friend. But about the cables; there've been so many times on long tours that it's hot, hands get sweaty, and a sudden bump can cause your hands to slide and slip. Those cables are like safety guards and many times they've saved me from a bad head over or jack-knife accident. Not all of what's new is better. Exposed cables only mean I get to my destination one minute later at the end of the day. And they're much easier to access and work on. Back to the wheels; I'm frustrated by some of my frames which only have clearance for 25C tires. At my age I want 32 or 35. But I guess for racing 25 is okay. 28 is better I think, especially for bigger folks like me. Miguel Insurance, at 6'5", had to race on 18-19 mm tires! Ouch. Probably at 200 psi. There's so much more to it than light weight and minimal size. Cheers mate
As you said Alex, this is a truly amazing collection. I cannot imagine the passion and dedication of the individual restoring and maintaining the bikes. Hats off!
Wish I could upload a photo. I own (and sometimes ride for coffee) a Vitus 979 (1983). We restored the bike after finding it at the local dump. Now it's a real head turner everywhere we go.
Love it...and yes all of us on Steel Is Real know who owns these beauties. My bike is that 86 BH I got in 1988 for my high school graduation present...still ride it and its in my profile pic
A fantastic collection a real passion and captures one of the greatest periods of racing. Please, Please, Please lets have an hour long version though.
Vitus Carbone Kevlar 9 with a SSC Mavic group set was a revolution! The ride feeling is absolutely unique! Still got my frame from the mid 80ties stored up in mint condition....
WHY SO SHORT?! There was huge potential here for a full length video and it was barely an introduction. Why not discuss the bikes and their histories, video clips of them from the time etc...
Just my era. I remember seeing those alien sti's on the Merx for the first time on coverage of the TDF and then them appearing on bikes in the shops round Cambridge, one of which I worked in, soon after. Still love the look, feel and simplicity of downtube shifters though and will be using mine today! Thank you Alex for something a bit different... More please. 👍
@@joesaunders1631 Since Tudor times, only two families have owned Chavenage, the current owner David Lowsley-Williams having inherited the House from his uncle in 1958.
I may only be in my mid-twenties but I love these "vintage" bikes. There is just something special about riding a bike from the 80's and getting the most out of it. It just feels more rewarding than riding a modern bike.
Yah your body was engaged then...life was different a bit and that bike feeling was real escape... Books were still popular so ya know biking was epic ... Just equipment sucked alot so ya wore out more
Yes, there's nothing special. The frames and components were made to a standard and they're timeless, but they're good just for single speed or city bikes now, because chromoly is forever.
agreed. Let's get some interviews and retrospectives of LeMond and Hinault, with race footage and geek out on their bikes too. Lots of great stuff to cover in long form with Plus!
Thank you for showing this fantastic collection. You didn't talk about my favorite. The black and white Concorde. A very classy bike. Built in Italy by CIÖCC.
I'm the proud owner of a TVT92 bicycle in the exact same configuration than LeMond's but the Scott drop bar: All Campagnolo Record, Mavic rims, Sella Italia Rolls saddle, etc... A pure delight.
👍👍👍👍 Downtube shifters. Yes, yes, yes! Bought one in 1988 (Centurion Accordo RS). Hard to find these days. I ride a 2007 Fuji road bike with downtube shifters. That year, Fuji was the only brand that carried a DT shifter road bike (that I could find). In 2008 Trek offered one model with DT shifters, an entry level road bike.
@@matthieumilliard2164 I started cycling in 1984, and the first thing that we'd do is switch the OEM levers to Simplex because that's what the pros used 😁
They are, all over my bike-room. Even better is my frankenbike gravel monster with friction stem-shifters so I don't have to bend down to shift on a 15-20% dirt climb.
Everybody out there, stay away from lower end Simplex. The plastic bits in the shifters and front derailleur will become brittle and break under stress. Early shimano and Suntour are much more rugged and reliable. Do a little reading and talk to people on 70-80's 10 and 12 speeds.
I have an 85 Eddy pro Columbus tubing , 91' specialized allez epic ...2 similar bikes to these top end specials...I met lemond in 99' buying shoes when he had a lemond demo club ride at Greg's greenlake cycle Seattle
Beautiful collection. Really wish the manufacturers would have continued making and selling bikes like this. A simple, steel bike would be such a nice alternate along side a "modern" carbon bike. And I do appreciate today's technology, but something traditional would be great to have as well.
🚨 So, much hype (well deserved) about this bike collection, and there's GCN dedicating a sub-6min video... SMH That was a great opportunity for a better production. IMO Btw, Alex did excellent like always. 👍🏻
Had Sean Yates Motorolo frame from 1991 bought at a race in Chicago where they were selling a bunch of stuff. well used already and then I rode it to death. Also the Mavic rear derailler was fine when it was relatively new but became sloppy after a while.
That old house could use a can of paint, no? And I grin and say thanks, Alex, for this look-see at these classic machines, and while modern frames and components are lighter, nothing looks as feather-weight as steel frames and alloy wheels as deep as a rim-brake pad.
That Eddy Merckx is beautiful. I bought a second hand Eddy Merckx in my first year of university which would be 1993, I paid about 200 pounds, it was a amazing bike to ride, but it's been in my mothers attic for about 20 years.
@@minuteman4199 my mothers attic is in Wales I'm living in Germany. And I don't have a driving license or a car. It's a bit of a challenge to get it back. And it's only 8 speed. Although it does have shiny Campagnola all over it.
If a company could produce a bonded Aluminum frame to survive the best sprinter AND Classics rider of the 80's. the Vitus definitely knew how to build frames.!!!
This is right up my alley! However, I tend to prefer earlier bikes, such as my Raleigh Team bike with 753 tubing and Campagnolo Super Record gear. So cool! :-)
Those Mavic cranks on Lemond's world championships bike Aero started in the '80s Would be good if GCN did a video on Clements tyres , I mean how many TDF and world championships were won on that iconic ( lost) brand
My collection is little bit smaller, but the bike with the most number made is 1 of 50. My prized one is a Roberts time trial frame, that was made for the 1994 Los Angeles Bike Show, it is reportedly a 1 of 1. All of my collection has though well loved and raced by myself. I having raced during those years of the bikes you showed, it was a great time to be racing. If I can get a good picture of the Roberts, I will post it. Maybe you can find out some more information about it for me, from Chas Roberts who built it.
Its pretty cool but I rather see the actual race bikes. I worked at a bike shop in North Carolina that had been in business since 1970. We could have built some of these replicas from the old frames and parts bin and painted them up. Amazing collection of stuff no one wanted at the time (times have changed). Wish we had this guys number and credit card.
Lol I personally know of some collections in Belgium that would blow your socks off even compared to this one 🤣 (don't get me wrong, this is still a stellar collection though)
I mean you're on the wrong end of the supply chain here buddy. A lot of the vintage stuff that ends up in the UK at one point passes through the hands of a Belgian vintage bike/parts specialist and they keep all the best stuff for their own collection unless they really have to sell because they're in too deep (or the missus starts to complain)
Greg LeMond - marginal gains? When we spoke with him in 1989 everyone thought he was some sort of equipment junkie interested in silliness like "marginal gains" though that term had yet to be coined. He was anything but! He said he liked Campagnolo cranks because they were stiff but also liked that newfangled Shimano "click-shifting" In the end he noted none of it really makes much difference - he wanted a light bike, but not too light and was clear it was the RIDER who won the races and that the winner of any race could/would likely win on any bike in the pro peloton. He was "It's not about the bike" while BigTex was still in high school.
Which bike in this collection is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!
It I could own only two vintage bikes, one would be the first carbon tubed bike that Look made for LeMond and the other would be the 98 Pantani Specialissima with the pirate saddle. I'd want examples that had seen some use, however, as I would only want to buy these classics to ride them.
The vitus KAS with mavic group ssc wheels modolo brakes all my YouTh in the last century 😪
None really. Kinda like old cars. Looks good but it is rubbish to ride. Thankful for the modern era I can ride
The Vitus
My '78 Dave Moulton is my favorite!
the fact that you guys didn't get jon to make a return to presenting for this collection is CRIMINAL
Couldn't agree more!
Proboably Jon Cannings collection, he is a huge Greg LeMond fan
Yes, he is famous for his very big house
Yeah , kind of. Like mr canning collection. You know those "grubby little hands".
He wishes!
Nick Allen I think.
Its Nick Allen's collection
I wish this video had been longer!
Yep, could do with being twice as long. So many great bikes there that are worthy of discussion.
Amazing... finally we get some bikes that made this sport so iconic and they rush through it and don’t mention half the bikes 🤦🏼♂️! Instead they make a films 🎥 about being drunk on a bike and do’s and don’ts .
Real shame ..
These where the rock n roll days of cycling before the nerds turned up .. just like F1 !
This is a special collection make it a special film.
Absolutely stunning collection, currently restoring an actually Greg Lemond team myself. Restoration and ride coming soon on the channel. Thanks for this viewing pleasure.
This is a really nice video. Greg Lemond should be proud of his bikes. 25 years on and I still love mine. The ride of that all steel bike is sublime.
I own a vintage Trek 400 from 1994. It's baby blue in colour with bright yellow decals. It has Shimano Edge components featuring oval chainrings. It was an amazing road bike at the time for me. That bike also got me into the sport of road cycling.
Keep it up @GCN Tech.
Each of these bikes could use a 30min special. Thanks for sharing anonymous collector!
Excellent. The components from that era are just so nostalgic.
One small point about brake cables; if you run them out of the handlebars, old style, they provide some safety in keeping your hands from slipping off the bars. I'll never conceal my brake cables. Well, not since I stopped racing in '94. On a Paris -Roubaix, some riders used to specify exposed cables because they felt more secure with the cables there as slip guards. As a long distance tourist this is also a benefit.
Nice! How were the wheels specified for the Spring classics back in the 90s and before? 32h or 36h? straight gauge or double butted? THANKS!
@@ralphc1405 we've always been told double butted spokes are better, stainless are better than non-stainless, and although most typical lightweight racers would use 32 on each wheel. When I raced, my weight got down to 170 lbs minimum, and I raced on 32 rear and 28 front.
But now I like a 40 spoke rear, heavy gauge stainless and 36 heavy gauge stainless front.
I don't race at anymore. But touring is still a big thing, so I'm having a pair of Weinman concave rims from the 70's built into bolt on bulletproof specialized hubs. The solid axle and simplicity is what I like. I guess they're either track hubs, or designated bike courier hubs. They came in a gift box from a friend.
But about the cables; there've been so many times on long tours that it's hot, hands get sweaty, and a sudden bump can cause your hands to slide and slip. Those cables are like safety guards and many times they've saved me from a bad head over or jack-knife accident. Not all of what's new is better. Exposed cables only mean I get to my destination one minute later at the end of the day. And they're much easier to access and work on.
Back to the wheels; I'm frustrated by some of my frames which only have clearance for 25C tires. At my age I want 32 or 35. But I guess for racing 25 is okay. 28 is better I think, especially for bigger folks like me.
Miguel Insurance, at 6'5", had to race on 18-19 mm tires! Ouch. Probably at 200 psi. There's so much more to it than light weight and minimal size. Cheers mate
I meant Miguel Indurain of course...
As you said Alex, this is a truly amazing collection. I cannot imagine the passion and dedication of the individual restoring and maintaining the bikes. Hats off!
You could do an hour long video on each bike and I'd lap it up. What a fantastic collection.
Wish I could upload a photo. I own (and sometimes ride for coffee) a Vitus 979 (1983). We restored the bike after finding it at the local dump. Now it's a real head turner everywhere we go.
Well done! Time for part 2. My dream bike from that era was red/green Merckx Corsa Extra of team 7 11. Late 80s were my peak racing years.
and before Eddy sponsored the team in 1989 they were riding Serotta U.S. built frames...even rarer to find!
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! - that's the super nice bell being rung for each one!!
Great piece, was expecting to see a special guest appearance from Mr. Jon Cannings!
Love it...and yes all of us on Steel Is Real know who owns these beauties. My bike is that 86 BH I got in 1988 for my high school graduation present...still ride it and its in my profile pic
A fantastic collection a real passion and captures one of the greatest periods of racing. Please, Please, Please lets have an hour long version though.
I kind of wish you talked about the groupsets too, would have loved a walkthrough on the advancement of technology throughout the years.
GCN is contractually obligated to NOT say the C word on camera. LOLOL
Vitus Carbone Kevlar 9 with a SSC Mavic group set was a revolution!
The ride feeling is absolutely unique! Still got my frame from the mid 80ties stored up in mint condition....
WHY SO SHORT?! There was huge potential here for a full length video and it was barely an introduction. Why not discuss the bikes and their histories, video clips of them from the time etc...
Just my era. I remember seeing those alien sti's on the Merx for the first time on coverage of the TDF and then them appearing on bikes in the shops round Cambridge, one of which I worked in, soon after. Still love the look, feel and simplicity of downtube shifters though and will be using mine today!
Thank you Alex for something a bit different... More please. 👍
When they would only use the rear sti shifter to save weight.
I miss John Cannings
Jon would've been filming until sunset, with a picnic lunch on the lawn with the bikes.
Why so short. Also you skipped several bikes and didn’t even show one for Hinault, as advertised!
It may end up as a longer vid, on GCN+
Jon Cannings would have made an hour long video out of these bikes and we would watch every second of it.
2 or 3 times over. If you love these bikes as much as I do watch DAB restoration videos on UA-cam. He's the master.
Yeah this vid was long on repetition and short on bikes, stories and detail. Cannings would have given us what we all wanted.
I bought a new Bianchi TSX back in 1992 so I must be vintage now too .
Still riding it. One of the best things I've ever bought.
If it ain't broke, don't replace it! Seriously though, it sounds lovely 😍
I love this portal AC. We can move around the house. Definitely need it for the hot summer.
Wants to remain anonymous = His wife doesn't know does she!
It is Hank's Grandad, who also owns the house in the Intro.
@@joesaunders1631 Since Tudor times, only two families have owned Chavenage, the current owner David Lowsley-Williams having inherited the House from his uncle in 1958.
I understand Hank inherited the house (and whoe estate) years ago when he truned 18. So, technically the collection is Hank's!
Haha wife bad 😎
I follow a few horological UA-cam channels as well.......there are a LOT of anonymous/married watch owners too.
I may only be in my mid-twenties but I love these "vintage" bikes. There is just something special about riding a bike from the 80's and getting the most out of it. It just feels more rewarding than riding a modern bike.
Yah your body was engaged then...life was different a bit and that bike feeling was real escape... Books were still popular so ya know biking was epic ... Just equipment sucked alot so ya wore out more
Yes, there's nothing special. The frames and components were made to a standard and they're timeless, but they're good just for single speed or city bikes now, because chromoly is forever.
I'd like to see a closer view of the Look 1986 Lemond and Hinault battle.
agreed. Let's get some interviews and retrospectives of LeMond and Hinault, with race footage and geek out on their bikes too. Lots of great stuff to cover in long form with Plus!
Should of been a longer vid, I was literally drooling.
When is the GCN+ version of this?
Thank you for showing this fantastic collection. You didn't talk about my favorite. The black and white Concorde. A very classy bike. Built in Italy by CIÖCC.
I'm the proud owner of a TVT92 bicycle in the exact same configuration than LeMond's but the Scott drop bar: All Campagnolo Record, Mavic rims, Sella Italia Rolls saddle, etc... A pure delight.
What an amazing collection. These are definitely supernice bikes
Great video but disappointed you didn’t show the Hinault bike or Roach bike.
Vintage bikes are so beautiful !! 👍This video is very short 🥺
That was disappointingly short
I own and regularly ride a mid-80s Vitus 979 with the first generation Shimano SIS shifters. It's a beautiful bike and it rides like a dream.
I imagine the collector being my ultimate endboss that I'm up against at Ebay auctions for vintage bike parts.
Thank you to the anonymous person who allowed these beautiful bikes to be viewed. This is truly a fantastic collection.
57yr old so that was my time line ya could say still have my old Rossin from the late 80s :)
Wow! That was beyond cool. What a collection. Thanks for letting us see it👍👏
Some nice memories revived for me, thankyou GCN and the Collections Owner.
7-Eleven Merckx is my favorite.
That is some N+1 taken to a whole new level.
Italian bikes are so cool!
I remember watching Lemond win the tour. Man am I getting old.
With the right rider, any one of those bikes could still win races. I love those Vetus bikes!
Great info really enjoyed this what a great collection makes me want an older bike.. amazing
👍👍👍👍 Downtube shifters. Yes, yes, yes! Bought one in 1988 (Centurion Accordo RS). Hard to find these days. I ride a 2007 Fuji road bike with downtube shifters. That year, Fuji was the only brand that carried a DT shifter road bike (that I could find). In 2008 Trek offered one model with DT shifters, an entry level road bike.
Loving getting a look at Hank's bike collection :)
I had a PDM Concorde , it was a fantastic turning bike ! Loved the twisties
My youth bike... A Peugeot premiere. Used to ride a full size one at 10 years old.
This made my day. Just wish you could have spoken on the Pinarello and Concorde bikes I assume relate to my cycling hero Pedro Delgado.
Ah, downtube-mounted friction gear levers. I genuinely wish they were still available. No fuss, easy to maintain and adjust.
They seems to be all from the same brand: Simplex, a French one 😍🤩
DT shifters are still available. Rivendell, Velo Orange, even Amazon sell them...
@@matthieumilliard2164 I started cycling in 1984, and the first thing that we'd do is switch the OEM levers to Simplex because that's what the pros used 😁
They are, all over my bike-room. Even better is my frankenbike gravel monster with friction stem-shifters so I don't have to bend down to shift on a 15-20% dirt climb.
Everybody out there, stay away from lower end Simplex. The plastic bits in the shifters and front derailleur will become brittle and break under stress. Early shimano and Suntour are much more rugged and reliable. Do a little reading and talk to people on 70-80's 10 and 12 speeds.
The 1989 Greg LeMond worlds bike made me moist!! I wanted one so bad...🔥🔥
I have an 85 Eddy pro Columbus tubing , 91' specialized allez epic ...2 similar bikes to these top end specials...I met lemond in 99' buying shoes when he had a lemond demo club ride at Greg's greenlake cycle Seattle
Beautiful collection. Really wish the manufacturers would have continued making and selling bikes like this. A simple, steel bike would be such a nice alternate along side a "modern" carbon bike. And I do appreciate today's technology, but something traditional would be great to have as well.
Eddy merckx still makes the corsa extra in steel only a bit more modern.
If you listen carefully you can hear John Cannings shaking with excitement in the background
👌👌Those bikes need to be ridden.
and fiddle around with sew up glue?!?! nope
Great job Alex. Any mtb collection ?
🚨 So, much hype (well deserved) about this bike collection, and there's GCN dedicating a sub-6min video... SMH That was a great opportunity for a better production. IMO
Btw, Alex did excellent like always. 👍🏻
Maybe they shot it longer for Plus, right???
. . . and a great opportunity for getting Jon to present it!
I'm jealous. I have 40 High end Very good condition bicycles from the 70s and 80s and none of them have a story!
That Gum colored Hood from Vitus is such nice complement to gum wall tires... i hope manufacturers like shimano do add these to their sales....
Amazing collection. Up most respect worthy 👍
those gear ratios were bonkers!
You didn’t talk about half of them!
Time pedals everywhere 👍
My favourite is the team Motorola Eddy Merckx. That's because I own one.
SLX? TSX? MAX?
Is the anonymous collector Jon Cannings?
Beautiful collection, must be tempted to go a bit further out though and get some pantani bianchi on that lawn though!
Had Sean Yates Motorolo frame from 1991 bought at a race in Chicago where they were selling a bunch of stuff. well used already and then I rode it to death. Also the Mavic rear derailler was fine when it was relatively new but became sloppy after a while.
Bet it had DT shifters! What were his Seat/top tube dimensions?
That old house could use a can of paint, no? And I grin and say thanks, Alex, for this look-see at these classic machines, and while modern frames and components are lighter, nothing looks as feather-weight as steel frames and alloy wheels as deep as a rim-brake pad.
"Quite literally mind-blowing"
RIP Alex
Cool bikes!
Surprised Hank didn't want to show us his collection in person. Although Alex did a great job of course.
I still ride a 90’s Flite Ti saddle, they were so far ahead of the time.
Dream,thank you.
That Eddy Merckx is beautiful.
I bought a second hand Eddy Merckx in my first year of university which would be 1993, I paid about 200 pounds, it was a amazing bike to ride, but it's been in my mothers attic for about 20 years.
Pull it out and get it back on the road!!
The Corsa Extra is truly beautiful.
@@minuteman4199 my mothers attic is in Wales I'm living in Germany. And I don't have a driving license or a car.
It's a bit of a challenge to get it back.
And it's only 8 speed.
Although it does have shiny Campagnola all over it.
Multiple Merckx’s in that collection.
@@johnwolff1043 all the pro's were riding Merckx back then, it was the best no one was even close
Video could’ve been 3 times as long ☹️
I can't believe Cannings passed this up
Classic bike are the greatest , down tube shifters for the win
I own a Vitus 979 like Kelly rode
If a company could produce a bonded Aluminum frame to survive the best sprinter AND Classics rider of the 80's. the Vitus definitely knew how to build frames.!!!
This is right up my alley! However, I tend to prefer earlier bikes, such as my Raleigh Team bike with 753 tubing and Campagnolo Super Record gear. So cool! :-)
Dam I want one of these
Those Mavic cranks on Lemond's world championships bike Aero started in the '80s
Would be good if GCN did a video on Clements tyres , I mean how many TDF and world championships were won on that iconic ( lost) brand
nice shoes mate!
Lovely bikes but it's like trailering your classic car to shows the joy in bikes is to ride them
Why on earth is this video only 5 minutes long!
My collection is little bit smaller, but the bike with the most number made is 1 of 50. My prized one is a Roberts time trial frame, that was made for the 1994 Los Angeles Bike Show, it is reportedly a 1 of 1. All of my collection has though well loved and raced by myself. I having raced during those years of the bikes you showed, it was a great time to be racing. If I can get a good picture of the Roberts, I will post it. Maybe you can find out some more information about it for me, from Chas Roberts who built it.
Its pretty cool but I rather see the actual race bikes. I worked at a bike shop in North Carolina that had been in business since 1970. We could have built some of these replicas from the old frames and parts bin and painted them up. Amazing collection of stuff no one wanted at the time (times have changed). Wish we had this guys number and credit card.
Great content.
Wiggins owns most of these bikes 🤔
Lol I personally know of some collections in Belgium that would blow your socks off even compared to this one 🤣 (don't get me wrong, this is still a stellar collection though)
I mean you're on the wrong end of the supply chain here buddy. A lot of the vintage stuff that ends up in the UK at one point passes through the hands of a Belgian vintage bike/parts specialist and they keep all the best stuff for their own collection unless they really have to sell because they're in too deep (or the missus starts to complain)
Greg LeMond - marginal gains? When we spoke with him in 1989 everyone thought he was some sort of equipment junkie interested in silliness like "marginal gains" though that term had yet to be coined. He was anything but! He said he liked Campagnolo cranks because they were stiff but also liked that newfangled Shimano "click-shifting" In the end he noted none of it really makes much difference - he wanted a light bike, but not too light and was clear it was the RIDER who won the races and that the winner of any race could/would likely win on any bike in the pro peloton.
He was "It's not about the bike" while BigTex was still in high school.
Well Shimano did invent the index "click" shifting you are talking about--something Campy could not replicate due to the patents the Japs had on it.
Delgado's 1988 Pinnarelo and LeMond Tvt 1990
Wiggins....
The Jon Cannings bike collection?
One hopes that they are actually used, if only occasionally - that's what they are built for.