Opinions on first gen Suntour XC?
07-29-22, 02:48 PM
#1
Chipper
Thread Starter
Opinions on first gen Suntour XC?
Just looking for opinions. I have bikes with both early Mountech and Deerhead gruppos (or as close as you can get with suntour) and I was wondering where the original XC stacks up.
Looking at a bike that has it for $30, I have a thing for early MTBs.
Cheers
Looking at a bike that has it for $30, I have a thing for early MTBs.
Cheers
07-29-22, 02:57 PM
#2
feros ferio
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I have never met a SunTour derailleur I didn't like.
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
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07-30-22, 06:50 PM
#3
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I have XC Sport on this and I LOVE it!
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07-30-22, 08:00 PM
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I would agree with you for pre-1982 derailleurs and even post-1984 derailleurs, but 1982 brought along the disastrous Mountech and Trimec derailleurs with their self-destructing guide pulleys. Fortunately they eventually discarded this flawed design around 1985, but the damage (to their reputation especially) had been done.
07-30-22, 09:01 PM
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The original XC was a perfectly adequate group, I had it on a mid-1980s Norco. The trouble was that the bicycle manufacturers didn't seem to know what to make of it and it was quickly outdated by Shimano's revised 1987 offerings.
My recollection was that you rarely saw a full XC group on a bicycle. When it was released, the Mountech derailleurs were still in production. so, the XC components were often less visible, spec'd to supplemenmt Mountech derailleurs. Also, XC, as originally released didn't have a crankset, so Sugino or SR was often used. Since it didn't have a matching crankset, when XC derailleurs were spc'd, manufacturers oftened substittuted Sanshin hubs and Dia-Compe brakes as cost concessions and to save some weight, especially over the XC Rollercams. All this mixing gave the consumer the impression that XC was a lower end group than intended.
It's really unfortunate because it was very competent. The derailleurs preformed very well, though not quite up to Mountech level. Of course, they also wouldn't suffer the Mounttech issues, which would become widepsread in the near future. The sealed cartridge bearing hubs were very nice and the pedals were arguably the most popular spec at the time. Rollercam are a love them or hate them proposition. There was also a stem and seat post, though they seem quite rare.
Of course, Shimano blew them out of the water in 1987 with the intrduction of SIS on their Deore XT and Deore groups. Freehubs with cassette spockets and outboard drive side bearings that better resisted bent axles, outweighed the advantages of the sealed cartidge bearings for most consumers. But the biggest attraction was a full,matched group, including crankset and headset. Full groups had been a hallmark of higher end road bicycles and this correlation was not lost of the dirt crowd, many of which were ex-roadies (Oh, if only Campagnolo had made an ATB group. Wait, that's another story). SunTour did counter with 2nd Generation XC 9000 and XC Sport 7000 but shot itself in the foot with poorly executed Accushift.
The bottom line is that thre was nothing wrong with XC upon its release. It's was quite nice and competent. But it seemed to have an identity crisis and quickly evolving ATB designs made it short lived.
My recollection was that you rarely saw a full XC group on a bicycle. When it was released, the Mountech derailleurs were still in production. so, the XC components were often less visible, spec'd to supplemenmt Mountech derailleurs. Also, XC, as originally released didn't have a crankset, so Sugino or SR was often used. Since it didn't have a matching crankset, when XC derailleurs were spc'd, manufacturers oftened substittuted Sanshin hubs and Dia-Compe brakes as cost concessions and to save some weight, especially over the XC Rollercams. All this mixing gave the consumer the impression that XC was a lower end group than intended.
It's really unfortunate because it was very competent. The derailleurs preformed very well, though not quite up to Mountech level. Of course, they also wouldn't suffer the Mounttech issues, which would become widepsread in the near future. The sealed cartridge bearing hubs were very nice and the pedals were arguably the most popular spec at the time. Rollercam are a love them or hate them proposition. There was also a stem and seat post, though they seem quite rare.
Of course, Shimano blew them out of the water in 1987 with the intrduction of SIS on their Deore XT and Deore groups. Freehubs with cassette spockets and outboard drive side bearings that better resisted bent axles, outweighed the advantages of the sealed cartidge bearings for most consumers. But the biggest attraction was a full,matched group, including crankset and headset. Full groups had been a hallmark of higher end road bicycles and this correlation was not lost of the dirt crowd, many of which were ex-roadies (Oh, if only Campagnolo had made an ATB group. Wait, that's another story). SunTour did counter with 2nd Generation XC 9000 and XC Sport 7000 but shot itself in the foot with poorly executed Accushift.
The bottom line is that thre was nothing wrong with XC upon its release. It's was quite nice and competent. But it seemed to have an identity crisis and quickly evolving ATB designs made it short lived.
