fake/replica Precision Billet Proshift rear derailleurs?

[lowntegra]

came across this little gem while surfing ebay today:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Proshift-Ultra- ... 27edd3644e

thinking to myself....wow this seems too good to be true, NOS purple cnc derailleur from 20 years ago? and in china?? HHMMM....... also noting the abundance of CNC parts coming out of that region these days.

i am also aware of toronto cycles, which has been allegedly reproducing versions of these derailleurs for some years now, although i have never seen one in person.

http://www.precisionbillet.com/about-us.html

and:

http://www.torontocycles.com/Selling/Pr ... leurs.html

which happen to look suspiciously like the one in the ebay add. HHMM again..... toronto cycles also appears to be an importer/distributor of a ton of the KCNC parts lines, and other asian brands.

wondering of there is a factory in china (or elsewhere) reproducing these derailleurs??

anyone have any insight on this??

cheers

bryan

 

[jpicard616]

I've actually been wondering about the new Toronto Cycles Proshift derailleurs as well. They seem to be pretty honest about the product their reproducing, and they do look good in the photos. I've ordered some anodized bolts from them before and the parts arrived in a timely fashion with no problems.

I can't tell if the derailleur on the ebay ad is original or not, but the purple finish looks rougher than the fine polished finish on the original Proshift derailleurs. So if the derailleur is original, the anodizing is not.

 

[lowntegra]

they do indeed seem to be up front about what they are making, i wonder if there are any copyright issues going on here? or has something like this expired by now?

also, i agree about the finish on that one....something doesnt seem correct (to the originals). also there are no logos on it anywhere, as the real ones seem to have either lazer etched logo on the outer parallel link plate, or machined into the body of the B-pivot.

other than that - it seems spot on. but we know how good these asian companies are at replicating CNC stuff.....anyone remember the King headsets from not too long ago?

edit: i just came across a pic or two of some proshifts w no logos. i think the question is - we know this guy/shop is supposedly selling these things, and they are being reproduced, somewhere. question is where and by whom?

 

[pete_mcc]

Re:

They aren't reproducing anything. They bought the company and all the old stock of parts years ago and have put together a bunch of mechs. Good shop, nothing bad going on!

 

[Mofofo]

Nevermind if a CNC mech is a replica or true, if it works and looks good, I would one !

 

[dyna-ti]

Nevermind if a CNC mech is a replica or true, if it works and looks good, I would one !

AT $800 for something that isnt what it professes to be :? If they have the patent then all it does is make it a reissue and not an original.

 

[Mofofo]

Of course, for a replica, I hope the price would be almost 2 time cheaper than an original !
If not, it's robbery..

 

[B3]

Re: Re:

They aren't reproducing anything. They bought the company and all the old stock of parts years ago and have put together a bunch of mechs. Good shop, nothing bad going on!

It would look like the original company went bust and the guys that carried it on have been reproducing parts since then.

As they put it "THE ORIGINAL COMPANY CLOSED IT'S DOORS AROUND 2006. SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE PRODUCED REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR THE VINTAGE UNITS AND OUR TORONTO DEALER HAS BECOME WORLD KNOWN FOR THESE PRECISION PARTS"

To me that would mean they are making parts now, not using old stock.

 

[cce]

Nevermind if a CNC mech is a replica or true, if it works and looks good, I would one !

the originals never worked that well, so if these work properly, they're a step up!

 

[ferrus]

Re:

Not sure why they've such a bad reputation, they worked ok! (and much better than the other CNC'd jobbies)
It's a bit like Campag BITD; everyone dismissing it for being clunky and marginally slower than Shimano - but in hindsight, it was perfectly acceptable and did the job just fine. Well Proshifts work better than those early Campag mech's.

Anyway shifting performance was the least of their worries - despite being 'solid' they're a bit fragile, and the replacement parts were so expensive that the promise of 'rebuildability' was hardly practical.
..and where's the pivot-pin bushings?

Gotta love 'em though for everything they represent!