# Vintage SunTour Hierarchy



## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

Lately I've been passing on quite a few SunTour equipped bikes. Not because I dislike SunTour but more because of lack of knowledge on the company in general. Anyone have a link or good reference on SunTour's vintage MTB groups?


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## yokine (Aug 31, 2007)

This is the best review of SunTour's history I've seen:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/page35.htm


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## -Anomie- (Jan 16, 2005)

Here you go, the history of SunTour from 1912 to 1998:

http://www.hadland.me.uk/page35.htm

Long read, but very interesting (if you're into business history at all).

edit: Great minds think alike


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

If you are just interested in the mountain bike stuff: http://mombat.org/Suntour.htm


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Jeff's site is great, with lots and lots of info on just about any company you want to know more about.

Short version is it's top of the line Suntour if it's XC in the mid-to-late 1980s or XC Pro in the 1990s. XC Sport and XC Comp were generally one notch down from those (Sport in 80s and Comp in 90s).

It's too bad they weren't very consistent with the lineup, but it's great we have resources available now to check on these things. I feel like 1987 made sense because they had the XC 9000, XC Sport 7000, 6000, 5000, etc. groups in descending order of price/level; but...they didn't stick with it.

You can also get a feel for the hierarchy in various years at the link below, too, keeping in mind that, of course, the lower the Bridgestones MB number, the higher end the bike.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/index.html#catalogues


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

WOW, lot's of great reading. Anyone know where you can specifics on SunTour rollercam brakes? I've got one on a 1986 Specialized. Been told it's a second generation but have no idea what the difference is.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*1st Gen Are Most Like WTBs*

...Drilled out arms and external springs.

The later varients (of which there were several) had the round springs inside the mounting bolts like most cantilevers.


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

I've gone through a lot of components "back in the day" and I found the Suntour stuff, in particular the thumb "power ratchet" thumb shifters to be better than Shimanos thumbies. 

Bad? Their chains were junk, the only brand I've ever broken. 

At least it was nice to have choices back then.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

KDXdog said:


> At least it was nice to have choices back then.


Sort of like Shimano and SRAM today?


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

Sort of like my bike that had Sram X-Ray shifters, Shimano rear derailler, Sachs front derailler, SunTour brake levers, Scott SE brakes, Ringle hubs with Suntour freewheel!

Sachs chain too.


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## misterdangerpants (Oct 10, 2007)

KDXdog said:


> Sort of like my bike that had Sram X-Ray shifters, Shimano rear derailler, Sachs front derailler, SunTour brake levers, Scott SE brakes, Ringle hubs with Suntour freewheel!
> 
> Sachs chain too.


or Precision Billet Proshift, Rhino, or Paul Components... :thumbsup:


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

Shayne said:


> ...Drilled out arms and external springs.
> 
> The later varients (of which there were several) had the round springs inside the mounting bolts like most cantilevers.


The arms aren't drilled completely through. They almost look like the holes were part of the casting. Can't see any springs so, I'm going to say they're internal. Thanks


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## McNewbie (Apr 5, 2008)

i've got one with an α-3000 rear derailleur. where does that fit in in the heirarchy of suntour parts? i haven't been able to find much about it online.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

McNewbie said:


> i've got one with an α-3000 rear derailleur. where does that fit in in the heirarchy of suntour parts? i haven't been able to find much about it online.


You may be able to figure out the manufacture date here:

http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm#suntour

3000 sounds like entry-level in the 1987 lineup, but I'm not sure. The MOMBAT table has a couple of 3000 references. Are there any other codes or names on it?


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## da'HOOV (Jan 3, 2009)

I researched but really couldn't determine where "XCD" fit into the lineup. I'm curious because I'm picking up an XCD equipped 1988 Mountain Klein tomorrow. The Mombat site lists the "Mountain Klein XCD" w/XCD (duh), the "Mountain Klein Trail" w/Deore and the "Mountain Klein Trail Elite" w/XT. So do I assume the XCD is the entry level"Mountain Klein"? Thanx....


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

da'HOOV said:


> I researched but really couldn't determine where "XCD" fit into the lineup. I'm curious because I'm picking up an XCD equipped 1988 Mountain Klein tomorrow. The Mombat site lists the "Mountain Klein XCD" w/XCD (duh), the "Mountain Klein Trail" w/Deore and the "Mountain Klein Trail Elite" w/XT. So do I assume the XCD is the entry level"Mountain Klein"? Thanx....


At one time, XCD was XCD 6000 so that gives you a reference point. 9000, 7000 then 6000 so it would have been somewhat equivalent to Shimano Deore LX. The 3000 stuff was pretty low and would have been found on entry level bikes.


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

First Flight said:


> At one time, XCD was XCD 6000 so that gives you a reference point. 9000, 7000 then 6000 so it would have been somewhat equivalent to Shimano Deore LX. The 3000 stuff was pretty low and would have been found on entry level bikes.


So, would you recomend a bike with XCD 6000? I saw a nice 1989 vintage Raliegh with the gruop on it. I was interested in the build kit not the frame so I really don't want to pay a ton of money. What would you suggest for a clean Technium with XCD?


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

$200 +/-


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

CS2 said:


> So, would you recomend a bike with XCD 6000? I saw a nice 1989 vintage Raliegh with the gruop on it. I was interested in the build kit not the frame so I really don't want to pay a ton of money. What would you suggest for a clean Technium with XCD?


XCD would be great for a "rider" but probably not much for a collector. I would think value would be under $200


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

The XCD group had the coolest looking pedals ever. Don't know if I've ever seen them in person come to think of it. Does anybody have a set?

I don't think Suntour sold much of it. I would say similar to Deore. Good decent stuff.


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## Slimpee (Oct 3, 2007)

Fillet-brazed said:


> The XCD group had the coolest looking pedals ever. Don't know if I've ever seen them in person come to think of it. Does anybody have a set?
> 
> I don't think Suntour sold much of it. I would say similar to Deore. Good decent stuff.


I have XCD on my KHS and it works well. Granted, the shifters are XC Comp but the rest is XCD. Clean, crisp shifts and the brakes work very well, IMHO (although I maybe have set them up correctly as opposed to most of my brake setups).

I think the set looks really cool, too, except the annodization (or whatever creates they gray color) has worn off my cranks.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

Slimpee said:


> I have XCD on my KHS and it works well. Granted, the shifters are XC Comp but the rest is XCD. Clean, crisp shifts and the brakes work very well, IMHO (although I maybe have set them up correctly as opposed to most of my brake setups).
> 
> I think the set looks really cool, too, except the annodization (or whatever creates they gray color) has worn off my cranks.


yeah, in addition to the pedals, the group had a cool look to it. When I first saw the group in an ad I thought it was the new flagship offering.


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

Fillet-brazed said:


> yeah, in addition to the pedals, the group had a cool look to it. When I first saw the group in an ad I thought it was the new flagship offering.


There was a Suntour XC 9010 rear derailleur too.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

Vader said:


> There was a Suntour XC 9010 rear derailleur too.


yes, my initial thought when seeing the ad was that maybe it was placed above the XC 9000 stuff. I guess I didn't word that very clearly. So, who's got a cool XCD-euipped bike? I wanna see those pedals.


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

Fillet-brazed said:


> yes, my initial thought when seeing the ad was that maybe it was placed above the XC 9000 stuff. I guess I didn't word that very clearly. So, who's got a cool XCD-euipped bike? I wanna see those pedals.


I had a 1988 Schwinn High Sierra with Suntour XCD 6000 but it came with SR pedals. I was still in high school making less than three bucks an hour, so upgrades were few and far between. I had a True Temper bar, Farmer John's, ODI grips, and a 50 tooth big ring for DH racing.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)




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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

*Are you mad at me?*

I'm kinda sorry I asked now.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

So, was XC 9000 SunTour's top mountain group before the introduction of XC Pro? Which Shimano group would be most comparable? I picked up an '89 MB-2 at Goodwill today with some XC 9000 components, so any info appreciated!


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

Sizzler said:


> So, was XC 9000 SunTour's top mountain group before the introduction of XC Pro? Which Shimano group would be most comparable? I picked up an '89 MB-2 at Goodwill today with some XC 9000 components, so any info appreciated!


WOW, 3 1/2 years dead only to be brought back to life.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Was the only thread I could find on SunTour hierarchy, any info???


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

Sizzler said:


> Was the only thread I could find on SunTour hierarchy, any info???


First Flight Bikes has some good info. Also, I found this out after I originally posted.

SunTour derailleurs - Frank Berto and the curse of Duopar page 2

SunTour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

VeloBase.com - View Brand


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