Mike as far as i know they never made any chrome plated Deltas, as this would definately make these already heavy brakesets more more laden with weight, however some i have seen have definately got a more highly polished appearance than others.
This could have been due to production runs, and since there were quite a few different versions made within the same model, anything is possible but chrome plating seems unlikely.
Campy Only!
The Web's Leading UNofficial Campy Site
Chrome
20 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Chrome Deltas? Visually, Yes
by systemBuilder » Fri Jun 04, 2004 12:32 am
Mike, any piece of unanodized aluminum can be polished to a "chrome-like" shine with enough patience, and a buffing wheel and/or some 2000 grit sanding paper and/or some NEVR-DULL or SIMICHROME polish.
About half the parts on a campy bike at not anodized, e.g. seatposts, hubs, front derailleur, old-style pedal barrels. This allows these parts to be polished to a bright mirror-like shine (it dulls in 3-12 months however.)
I've never seen a delta brakeset in person but other brakesets were anodized. however, it's pretty easy to remove the anodizing (just take it to an anodizing shop or spray oven cleaner onto it FOR A SHORT TIME). At this point, you would be able to polish the brakes to a brilliant shine.
On a showbike, none of the parts will be anodized. They will all be aluminum in a high state of polish.
About half the parts on a campy bike at not anodized, e.g. seatposts, hubs, front derailleur, old-style pedal barrels. This allows these parts to be polished to a bright mirror-like shine (it dulls in 3-12 months however.)
I've never seen a delta brakeset in person but other brakesets were anodized. however, it's pretty easy to remove the anodizing (just take it to an anodizing shop or spray oven cleaner onto it FOR A SHORT TIME). At this point, you would be able to polish the brakes to a brilliant shine.
On a showbike, none of the parts will be anodized. They will all be aluminum in a high state of polish.
- systemBuilder
Chrome
by Allan » Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:46 am
Actually the chrome look that many people liked and Campy used, was in fact as you said System Builder, highly polished aluminum that would oxidize if the airborne elements got to it, especially sweat which really left it spotty and ugly in no time.
The hubs were notorious for this and they looked really started to look shoddy in no time, plus with all the spokes and harware in the way it was a chore to try and repolish them.
What i did however was to polish up the finish on my Record large flange hubs to a super brilliant shine and then clearcoat them,then build the wheels,its been years and they still look great, exactly like chrome plating and so beautiful. I'm at a loss as to why Campy never did this to the same products, surely they were aware of the problem.
The hubs were notorious for this and they looked really started to look shoddy in no time, plus with all the spokes and harware in the way it was a chore to try and repolish them.
What i did however was to polish up the finish on my Record large flange hubs to a super brilliant shine and then clearcoat them,then build the wheels,its been years and they still look great, exactly like chrome plating and so beautiful. I'm at a loss as to why Campy never did this to the same products, surely they were aware of the problem.
- Allan
Looking for Deltas
by Allan » Fri Jun 04, 2004 6:20 am
System you should really try to have a look at the Delta brakeset first hand before you eventually depart this earth.
The ones to cast your eyes on are the last generation Record model, since by this time they had finally solved all the issues of previous models made, except for the WEIGHT.
The polishing and finish is 100% first class and it stays looking this way too, even the areas you wont normally see are highly polished, like the parts facing the tyre and inside of the brake arms, its literally a work of art in aluminum.
The reviews for Deltas are varied and interesting on how these things worked or failed to work, but to be honest i have managed to get my hands on three sets of them over time, and they have always worked well for me.
The braking force action could best be described as one thats progressive and strong, with an infinite ammount of stopping power modulation thats available within the brake levers stroke.
Actually one of the main pains people complained about was the orbital type fitted brake block housings and spacers and how difficult they were to get aligned to the rims, but today most high quality brakes have this same very style system and i dont hear people complaining now, so what really was the big deal here.
It was probably a case of a unit made a bit before its time with very advanced features and engineering, but as with most concepts, there were some design issues and also what choices of materials to use.
To this end i'm referring to the excessive use of steel hardware that gave these calipers the bulk of their weight, however Ti would be preferred but it was very costly at the time of Deltas production and would have made the price even more horrific.
For a die hard Delta fan to buy these calipers and then get the SRP Ti kit as well was a considerable outlay, but in the end it became a worthwhile investment that most who did, would not regret.
Would i replace mine??? nah i like the way they work and look too much to give them up.
The ones to cast your eyes on are the last generation Record model, since by this time they had finally solved all the issues of previous models made, except for the WEIGHT.
The polishing and finish is 100% first class and it stays looking this way too, even the areas you wont normally see are highly polished, like the parts facing the tyre and inside of the brake arms, its literally a work of art in aluminum.
The reviews for Deltas are varied and interesting on how these things worked or failed to work, but to be honest i have managed to get my hands on three sets of them over time, and they have always worked well for me.
The braking force action could best be described as one thats progressive and strong, with an infinite ammount of stopping power modulation thats available within the brake levers stroke.
Actually one of the main pains people complained about was the orbital type fitted brake block housings and spacers and how difficult they were to get aligned to the rims, but today most high quality brakes have this same very style system and i dont hear people complaining now, so what really was the big deal here.
It was probably a case of a unit made a bit before its time with very advanced features and engineering, but as with most concepts, there were some design issues and also what choices of materials to use.
To this end i'm referring to the excessive use of steel hardware that gave these calipers the bulk of their weight, however Ti would be preferred but it was very costly at the time of Deltas production and would have made the price even more horrific.
For a die hard Delta fan to buy these calipers and then get the SRP Ti kit as well was a considerable outlay, but in the end it became a worthwhile investment that most who did, would not regret.
Would i replace mine??? nah i like the way they work and look too much to give them up.
- Allan
Deltas with 04' stoppers
by Allan » Wed Jun 09, 2004 2:17 pm
I never thought about an exclusive Delta owners club, but if you own one set, that should more than qualify, however owning 3 pairs might be the equivalent of a fetish.
Robsallnow its interesting that you mentioned the fitting of the present brake pads/holders to the Deltas, i looked at this combination a while ago and found that their overall height was a shade too low when compared to the Delta ones, and as such, the angle of the caliper arms were a bit too far in on the pivot line,when they contacted the rim.
For best braking with a caliper that uses a linkage system like Deltas, maximum force is realised when each caliper arm pulls into the 'meat' of its stroke, anywhere outside of this area and you will start to suffer loss of brake effect and a harder effort to create proper modulation and stopping power.
To this end i machined some thicker orbital spacers from alloy that create the same total stack height as the original Delta pad/holder and spacer.
I then remachined the new pad holders so that the integrated guides at the bottom are removed from them, then a clean up and repolish/clearcoat of the holders to keep them shiny.Once this was done i could now easily reuse the factory tyre guides.
All this time consuming work was in effect done so they could look reasonably standard at first glance, since with the factory tyre guides off of the calipers the Deltas look weird, as if a part is missing, hell yeah a part is missing.
So how does it all work with the upgraded brake shoes and bits??? VERY VERY nice, and its a hard call to tell whats stopping you now, they feel like either dual pivots or something else very efficient, unless you care to look down.
Robsallnow its interesting that you mentioned the fitting of the present brake pads/holders to the Deltas, i looked at this combination a while ago and found that their overall height was a shade too low when compared to the Delta ones, and as such, the angle of the caliper arms were a bit too far in on the pivot line,when they contacted the rim.
For best braking with a caliper that uses a linkage system like Deltas, maximum force is realised when each caliper arm pulls into the 'meat' of its stroke, anywhere outside of this area and you will start to suffer loss of brake effect and a harder effort to create proper modulation and stopping power.
To this end i machined some thicker orbital spacers from alloy that create the same total stack height as the original Delta pad/holder and spacer.
I then remachined the new pad holders so that the integrated guides at the bottom are removed from them, then a clean up and repolish/clearcoat of the holders to keep them shiny.Once this was done i could now easily reuse the factory tyre guides.
All this time consuming work was in effect done so they could look reasonably standard at first glance, since with the factory tyre guides off of the calipers the Deltas look weird, as if a part is missing, hell yeah a part is missing.
So how does it all work with the upgraded brake shoes and bits??? VERY VERY nice, and its a hard call to tell whats stopping you now, they feel like either dual pivots or something else very efficient, unless you care to look down.
- Allan
Delta Brakes
by JeffW » Sun Oct 31, 2004 6:20 am
Guys, excuse me as I am a bit new to the Vintage Campy scene....but I was cleaning out my old bike parts and came upon some old brakes I bought long ago. After showing to my friend at the bike store (and him showing me the "Bicycling" article, I discovered these are Delta Brakes....can someone tell me more about them..what years were they made, what gruppo are they from?...What is the market for them IF I want to sell?
- JeffW
Delta Brakes
by Jeff W » Sun Oct 31, 2004 6:02 pm
Thanks for the link....good site....Anybody reccommend a place to get new/replacement bellows for the Delta brakes....I tired ebay and did not see any?
- Jeff W
by Allan » Tue Jan 11, 2005 12:44 pm
Jeff,
The closest thing i can think of resembling the little rubber gaitors (pleated boots) on the Deltas are the ones as used on older motorcycles with drum brakes. These gaitors were used by the drum plate fixing mount where the cable end is held to seal water from going into the housing.The best bet you will have is to check some stores that carry vintage motorcycle parts.
The closest thing i can think of resembling the little rubber gaitors (pleated boots) on the Deltas are the ones as used on older motorcycles with drum brakes. These gaitors were used by the drum plate fixing mount where the cable end is held to seal water from going into the housing.The best bet you will have is to check some stores that carry vintage motorcycle parts.
- Allan
20 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest