[Road cyclist]

Why do Campy brake hoods (Super Record) break-down, dry out and crack so easily?
Is there anything I can do to protect the aging process of this rubber-like material.
I don't leave my bike in direct sunlight.
The bike is stored indoors and not subjected to extreme temperature changes.

Also, original Campy hoods are expensive to replace.

Lets be glad Campy doesn't make other rubber products, there would be a
population explosion

 

[Mr. Versatile]

When storing your bike inside, make sure you don't store it anywhere near an appliance with an electric motor. Furnaces, refrigerators, etc. are good examples. Electric motors produce ozone, which dries and prematurely ages rubber & plastic. My Campy brake hoods are 14 years old & they're fine.

BTW, since I'm fortunate enough to have a garage, I store my bike outside.

 

[Road cyclist]

Maybe

Maybe thats it. I used to lean my bike against a far kitchen counter top.
A dishwasher was 5 ft away and the frig was 7 ft away. The new frig's
have compressor motors that are constantly running. Thanks

 

[Mark McM]

Don't worry about large appliance motors

Maybe thats it. I used to lean my bike against a far kitchen counter top.
A dishwasher was 5 ft away and the frig was 7 ft away. The new frig's
have compressor motors that are constantly running. Thanks

It is unlikely that either the dishwasher or refridgerator motors are to blame (not directly, anyway). Ozone is produced by the arcing in brush-type motors. Most large appliances use induction motors, which have no brushes, and produce no arcing (or ozone).

If the appliances contributed at all to the degradation of your rubber hoods, it was more likely due to heat - both dishwashers and refridgerators can generate a fair amount of heat.

 

[Road cyclist]

So if this is correct, then what can I do to reduce the thermal aging effects
of heat upon these Campy brake housing hoods? I think household
temperatures of 50F to 90 F are normal in Northern Calif. I used to
apply glycerine to rubber windshield wipers to prolong their life.

 

[Road cyclist]

When storing your bike inside, make sure you don't store it anywhere near an appliance with an electric motor. Furnaces, refrigerators, etc. are good examples. Electric motors produce ozone, which dries and prematurely ages rubber & plastic. My Campy brake hoods are 14 years old & they're fine.

BTW, since I'm fortunate enough to have a garage, I store my bike outside.

Your brake hoods may look fine, but can they be removed without cracking or peeling.
Its probably better to not touch them.
BTW, I have a garage, but to store a nice bike there would be cruel and unusual
punishment.

 

[lousylegs]

If they do not have to campy, there are plenty of other makers of brakehoods out there that fix supe record. I just replaced some hoods on nuevo record this fall with some diacompe one, they actually are a lot more comfortable than the campy ones (a little more ergo design).

Also, I think that a company called AME makes some like the Dia Compe (maybe even did make the DC), and they have a gum hood one that look nice, and they are a lot cheaper than Campy. ]

 

[Bryce]

another option

My LBS scrounged up a pair of superbe pro hoods from the back of the shop that fit perfectly. Of course it's not concours -- but they're not held together with athletic tape, either.

I've heard that the modolo anatomics are comfortable, too, and a bit easier to find than NOS campy.

 

[mswantak]

I picked up a '71 Peugeot Caravan a couple weeks ago, and the Mafac half-hoods looked pretty dismal -- dry, chalky and cracking. The problem is real similar to dry skin -- lack of moisture, but in this case the moisture is oil rather than water. On a hunch, I slathered a good coat of mink oil on them, and they sucked it up inside of an hour. I put on another and now they don't look half bad. Nobody's going to mistake them for new, but they no longer look as though they're about to return to the earth either.