The lite age

My bike came with a Suntour XCD complete except for the wheels, some Exage with a Shimano cassette. I have a pretty complete XC Comp, and since I just finished the Look Mi 960 in XC Pro with Thumbies, I thought about putting on some really nice X-press NOS, even some very interesting "chicken bone" levers.

And that's where the article in Mountainbike magazine comes into play... I've been looking at it several times. And it comes with Suntour (except for those wonderful Middleburns), like almost all of them!

I myself recommended to a fellow member of Foromtb Spain, who stripped a Sakae and left it in a very nice gray, that he install full Japanese components: T-Bone, Ukai... and of course Suntour.
But I've decided to complicate my life.

P.S. Not long ago, I was able to buy some Ukai rims; I regret not having done so.

joglo said:

Just for the motivation

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And I'm sure you know there is this article from Mountainbike.es with that great pictures
https://www.mountainbike.es/noticias/clasicas-mtb-bh-supra-litage-sakae-1991_66398_102.html

Just out of curiosity, does your BH also has some Sakae signature somewhere?
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Click to expand...

In the link to the mountain bike magazine you attached, there's a paragraph that says:
"SunTour, with its XC Comp and XC Pro, were the opposition to Shimano, while Campagnolo briefly appeared on the scene."

And I started to think: How many Litage bikes with Campy are there?
Okay, let's make things a little more complicated.

On the positive side, I have the opportunity to use a few Campagnolo parts I've had stored away for decades. New and beautiful.

On the negative side, the secondhand parts: we start with the broken rear axle, now that's classic.
I have to find a replacement, but it's not all bad: I can use my Campagnolo wrenches!

This "ancient astronaut" engineering has its difficulties, but it makes it fun.
I found the rear axle and adjusted it. That reminded me why I fell in love with Campagnolo 40 years ago despite all its complications. Those hubs were marvelous; they were and are perfect. They spin smoothly, precisely, forever... nothing beats them. I took the opportunity to adjust the front hub as well.
The rims have gotten a bit tiresome: I have an Elbrus and found its "match." I bought it, but the seller canceled the sale and it disappeared without a review or comment.
My bad manners are beyond me, so I decided not to look any further (for now) and put on some Rigida Rally 30s. They also marked an era, and they deserve recognition. By the way, the Rally 30s don't have a sticker; it's a direct print, possibly pad printing, since the ink isn't very durable either (a screen print from those years is eternal; the inks of that era were much more durable than today's, for obvious reasons).
In any case, it's a quality touch to print the rim instead of sticking on a vulgar sticker.

Okay, so we have the headset, bottom bracket, crankset, derailleur, and almost everything has been with me for years.
Now come the shift/brake levers.
Okay, I've had a right-hand lever with its NOS thumbstick for maybe 35 years. Campagnolo had several versions of the brake lever: 2 fingers, 4 fingers, 2 fingers above + 2 fingers below... I suppose also 3 fingers, 1 finger and 2 nails, 0 fingers, and "toothless." A real mess.
Mine was the most complicated and stupid version. In fact, I don't think it's a brake lever at all, but a ritual axe from some ancient tribe on some remote island in the Pacific Ocean.

I got some 4-finger levers. They're still very bulky, but I definitely like them better. The right lever was in terrible shape, destroyed... but I got a new one!!! And the Campagnolo complexity benefits me; everything is removable and COMPATIBLE.
The metal forks are a separate issue, as they still make the lever very bulky. It's funny, at a time when handlebars were narrow, the levers wouldn't fit on the bike with those forks.
I chose an ITM 21-speed handlebar, very suitable for the era, but its 560 mm length is too small for those tensioners that look like Jedi lightsabers.
I found some more modern and streamlined tensioners, original from Campagnolo and NOS. I wasn't familiar with them, but from the picture, they seemed compatible. Well, I took a chance, and they work perfectly with those brake levers.
Another issue resolved: the levers now fit on the handlebar.

Now, some interesting information about the Campagnolo Syncro system:
It's absolutely superb!!!!
It's magnificent, it's mechanical, it's very well thought out.
In fact, the ergopower is the same system!!!
Shimano changed its entire mechanism when moving from Syncro to STI, but Campagnolo only adapted it.
One flaw (it's Campagnolo, they can't help but complicate what's simple): They decided that their Syncro would work for all sprockets on the market. They released sprockets (ratchets, I don't quite understand how to spell them in English) for different brands, 6/7/8 speeds, etc., etc., etc. So if you wanted your bike to shift properly, you had to find the sprocket with the correct color code for your sprocket (for example, a 7-speed Everest or an 8-speed Regina Syncro...). It's all very complicated when the idea was absolutely simple.

The sprocket is placed between two springs. The springs are made of softer steel than the sprocket. SUPERB!!! This way, the springs wear out with use, not the sprocket. The springs cost peanuts and are easy to change. A 10 for mechanical thinking.
Okay, if you have Euclid or similar 7-speed thumbies, you can easily convert them to 8-speed; you just have to find the right sprocket (I think it was yellow, though I don't remember exactly).
You can also mount road shifters on an MTB mount. I'm not sure why anyone would want to do that, but it can be done without any problems.

And that got me thinking, so I disassembled a 10-speed Ergopower I had lying around.
As I said, the system is identical and the springs are the same, so I removed the sprocket, which has a spacer to accommodate the cable. The diameter is the same, and the gauge is very similar. If a lathe operator can remove that spacer from the cable, you can install 8/9/10/etc. speeds on your Campagnolo Thumbies

I had a serious problem because the previous owner of the Thumbies changed the left cable for a non-Campagnolo one, and he didn't even file or round it off a bit.
A very serious mistake.
It took me ages to remove it, and I scratched the lever a bit.
Well, after cursing the previous owner and his useless mechanic, I was able to start building my cable.
Of course, the CAMPAGNOLO cables (and the housings, too, which look nice).

I remembered how complicated it was to adjust Campagnolo shifters from that era. FALSE
Why? I don't know, I have no answer.
The front derailleur works perfectly from the start. I thought about retrofitting it, but it incredibly synchronizes all three chainrings without hesitation. Are you sure it's Campagnolo? Could it be a Shimano in disguise? I have doubts.
The rear derailleur also works perfectly. Incredible.
To be completely honest, the 21st "scratches" a bit when shifting up, but everything else is working too well.
I left the cable uncut to see if I can adjust it better. Campagnolo cables are expensive, and I only have two left. I don't feel like messing it up and throwing a cable away.