smd4

They pop up on eBay occasionally...

mstateglfr 

So a company is going to pull out the tooling and specs for some components they havent made in 10-25 years ago(depending on who you ask for what 'one of their better old systems' is), manufacture a small amount of all those components that are likely polished/chromed aluminum and instead make them out of modern materials(carbon?) but also with bling, and then charge even more than they already charge for the highest level groupset?
...and all this would perhaps generate some income?

That seems like an insane amount of effort for a really small income opportunity. I would be interested to find out what they would have to charge for such a groupset.
What'd be really funny is that it would then only be useful to those who have more money than things to buy AND who have a cherished old mechanical rim brake frame. All the people with absurdly expensive modern bikes wouldnt even be the target audience because of brake and shift cables.

mstateglfr 

Huh. Interesting take.

mstateglfr 

Ha! Take your first red comment and apply it to your second red comment.
Is it a missed opportunity for the company?

RB1-luvr

yep, I looked immediately after seeing this post, and there's a NOS one for $750. oof. Worth every penny I'm sure, but too rich for my blood. There is also a well-worn one overseas for a more reasonable $300.

I will spend the rest of my days looking for one of these that I can afford (intentionally overly dramatic).

For now, I'll continue enjoying my poor man's Festina Specialized watch from approx. the same era.

njkayaker

Hmm.

On one hand, we have the most-successful (likely) bicycle component manufacturer with years of experience. On the other hand, we have a couple of arm-chair internet quarterbacks.

Which one is more likely to be able to know if it's a "missed opportunity"?

??? You are guessing (too) and making a bad guess at that.

smd4

Yeah, they're a little spendy.

Personally, I'd rather have the booklet that came with the group. But even that is usually out of my price range.

njkayaker

Not sure how we all missed you being elected the pope of aesthetics.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

smd4

Beats me.

ScottCommutes

https://www.lionel.com/products/115t...shire-6-82959/

For whatever it's worth, Lionel trains is up to their 115th anniversary edition. They still do the old steamers, and they still run on WWII era layouts. The anniversary edition includes all the latest digital tech and will also run on computer network controlled layouts.

+1 Lionel for blending the new tech into their heritage, -1 for Shimano.

icemilkcoffee 

A 'missed opportunity' is a value judgement. In other words, it is subjective. I am not making any predictions as to whether customers would readily buy it or not. I am just saying I would have loved to see a 50th anniv Dura Ace. It's too bad that they never produced it.

icemilkcoffee 

Why is my guess worse than yours? Did anyone appoint you the Pope of guessing while I was sleeping?

70sSanO

You can always get 105 watch on eBay for $24.99 and upgrade later.

John

njkayaker

I’m saying that the expert (Shimano) might know what they are doing.

You (not an expert) are guessing the expert (Shimano) is doing the wrong thing.

You are managing to make even less sense. You started whinging about people guessing without realizing you were doing the same thing.

This doesn’t make any sense. And you complained about what other people said. This is ridiculous.

But you didn’t say this. You are also seriously moving goal posts.

mstateglfr 

That is a helluva tight rope to try and walk. You failed bigly, but I give you credit for at least trying. Your attempt is just a distinction without a difference, but kudos for trying.

Sierra_rider

Yes, bikes were so much more interesting to look at when they all looked the same.

calamarichris

I would argue that they much looked less alike before they were all asphalt-camouflage with carbon-fibre (also the same colour as asphalt) parts.
But that's just like my opinion, man.
(And when did black jerseys become cool? Does no one know about Kirchoff's Law?)

ScottCommutes

You don't always need customers to buy a thing. Shimano (if they wanted to) could send anniversary sets out as promotions to shops, display the set at trade shows or in their lobby, do print ads with it, or whatever. Tons of companies do anniversary stuff like that.

By the way, a missed opportunity is sometimes just that. I have already missed many opportunities in life.

Steel Charlie

I cudda bin a contenda !

Atlas Shrugged

This discussion might be more suitable for the C&V because it appears that reality has been overlooked, and a sense of delusion has taken hold. The notion that Shimano would commemorate a significant milestone for one of its groupsets by reissuing an outdated model to cater to a handful of individuals seeking to recapture their youth with increased disposable income seems unlikely. While some may have a fondness for older, shiny groupsets, these can be found in garages and sheds in virtually unlimited quantities and are regularly available on the resale market. For the rest of us, the priority is on purchasing what works and performs best.

icemilkcoffee 

How do you know they know what they are doing in this instance? Shimano is the 800lb Gorilla in the bike industry. But you know what, 800lb gorillas make mistakes too. How many failed Windows versions and failed internet and mobile products has Microsoft put out throughout the years? How about Boeing? Surely they know how to make planes without pop-off doors, right? GM was the top car maker in the world for at least 50 years. How many glaring mistakes and missed opportunities had GM made in those glory years? IBM was the biggest name in computing for several decades. Likewise lots of missteps anyone could point out in hindsight.
You don't even know why Shimano didn't come out with an anniversary groupset, how do you figure their reasoning must be correct when you don't know what their reasoning is?

tomato coupe

Brilliant.

smd4

I'm beginning to think their reasoning not to produce a 50th DA set is a combination of a couple things:

(1) Lack of ability to bling-up black components; It's boring to even look at the R9720 "group" on-line.

(2) The decimation of the true groupset--A boxed set containing Shifters, Derailleurs; disc brake calipers, discs and a crankset is pretty boring. Being virtually all black doesn't help. See (1) above.

Atlas Shrugged

Oh, these "Anniversary" groups are just a masterpiece of marketing – a fancy case and some minor graphics tweaks. Campagnolo did an 80th Anniversary group a while back, not exactly everyone's cup of tea, but the usual suspects seemed to lap it up.
https://road.cc/content/news/76868-c...upset-released

smd4

Yuck. Is the only thing that distinguishes it the red logo? That makes the group even uglier. But does seem to confirm my (1) above.

Maybe it went well with the black-and-red frames common at the time.