Dura-Ace 10 Pitch

If you're a real track cycling connoisseur/geek, here's you chance to score some of the most elusive, hard-to-find and esoteric vintage Made In Japan track bicycle components ever made. 

On Ebay and on two separate auctions, a Shimano Dura-Ace 10 Pitch crankset with a chain and a NIB NOS 10 Pitch chain. This stuff doesn't show up for sale often. But what's so special about these, you might ask? 

"Almost all bike chains are half-inch pitch, so the centres of the pins are half an inch, or 12.7mm, apart. Introduced in 1976, and discontinued some time in the 80s, Dura-Ace 10 used a smaller chain and therefore smaller chainrings and sprockets - the number of teeth was the same, but they were closer together. 

The big advantage was lower weight, and eventually, according to legend, the Japanese Keirin federation banned the 10mm pitch equipment because it might give some riders an unfair advantage."

So they're only some old parts made to an obsolete standards, and maybe a little bit lighter than normal track components, so what? Yes, but isn't the whole point? 

See here for an example what they look like in action. And the whole original 1982 gruppo here.

But remember also that even with these items you'd still need to find a 10 Pitch cog and THIS.