smd4

I believe the Dura Ace 7700 series was the last-best looking Dura Ace group set ever made.

I loved the previous 7400 group. The metal was sensuously sculpted and the parts actually looked light. It was the group that enticed me to upgrade my lowly 600EX parts. The rear derailleur had beautiful dark and clear anodizing. The group got even better with the introduction of the gray aero brake levers and gray downtube shifters. But it never got beyond 8-speed.

The 7800 group crank is a blob of aluminum flowing into inelegant chainrings; the rear freehub features a bulbous protrusion on the drive-side, ostensibly to accommodate the freehub body; the brake calipers gained some unnecessary angularity, while the upper caliper arm seems modeled on the Statue of Liberty’s torch arm, holding the barrel adjuster up high, beseeching the poor, huddled masses to tighten the cable. The stubby and inelegant quick-release lever does not help.

The following Dura Ace component sets only go downhill from there in terms of aesthetics. Black parts have no place on bikes—even black plastic bikes. Sure—you can talk about increased numbers of gears or electronic shifting, but truly, the last-best looking Dura Ace group was the 7700.

The 7700 crankset is a tour-de-force of form following function, with elegant arms spreading out from a central self-extracting bolt, replacing the smooth dustcap of the previous iteration. The initial Hollowtech crank arm technology hides a weight-saving channel running down the crankarms’ center—and to my knowledge these cranks don’t fail, as later models have. The brakes are graceful and functional; the rear hub is bulb-free, sporting its nine cogs, some made out of titanium, on a titanium body. The rear derailleur is sublime in its lines and anodizing. While integrated shift/brake levers were available, Shimano also still offered downtube shifters. Coupled with the gray 7402 brake levers with return spring and the rare but striking Dura Ace quill stem, the cockpit was the quintessence of elegance.

Sure, the bottom bracket and the pedals leave something to be desired (an Ultegra Octalink cartridge bottom bracket is certainly an acceptable and functional substitute, as are PD-7400 pedals; arguably the nicest platform pedals ever made), but beyond those quibbles, I believe the 7700 group represents the ultimate high water mark for Dura Ace components. If I could only afford the 25th Anniversary version, whose fit and finish is beyond luxurious.