Bicycle Mechanics - Huret Svelto

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View Full Version : Huret Svelto


RegularGuy
02-08-02, 11:11 PM
Hi. I'm new to the forum.

My local bike club has weekly winter trainer "rides." This week a guy showed up riding an old 10 speed (5x2...not Campy 10 spd) that he bought for $15 at a Salvation Army store. The frame waas Italian lugged steel. The front derailleur was Campy but the rear was like nothing I'd ever seen. A flimsy little thing, it was protected by a cage bolted to the chainstay. It was basically a spring, two screws, a short pulley cage, and a flat sheet of metal stamped "Svelto." I've been able to determine that it was made by Huret in the early 60s. Inefficient by modern standards, there was an elegance to its simplicity.

Has anyone here ever come across one? Or ridden with one? Do you know anything about them? Pertinent information and amusing anecdotes will be greatly appreciated.


velocipedio
02-09-02, 08:22 AM
The Svelto was one of Huret's low-mid to low-range groups in the 1970s. It wasn't a pro group, but it wasn't a bad sports/enthusiast group. The Svelto was an incredibly simply, lightweight and elegant mechanism that could be easily dismantled and serviced by the owner.

ljbike
02-09-02, 08:55 AM
...and they actually shifted pretty well. I may have 2 or 3 of them in my scrap box.


mike
02-09-02, 12:10 PM
I'd like to know how the guy on the old 10-speed faired on the ride. Could he keep up? Did he finish the ride?

RegularGuy
02-09-02, 03:54 PM
He did great. It's a trainer ride. We were all on rollers or trainers. No one got dropped.

John E
02-09-02, 09:29 PM
Originally posted by mike
I'd like to know how the guy on the old 10-speed fared on the ride. Could he keep up? Did he finish the ride?

Even off the rollers and on the road, it's the rider that counts. I still consider my 1982 Bianchi (10kg, friction shift, 14 speeds) to be my "no excuses" bike and do not honestly believe that a newer machine would make me significantly faster.

Greg
02-10-02, 10:19 AM
Originally posted by RegularGuy
We were all on rollers or trainers. No one got dropped.

That would be both embarrassing and painful.

Oscar
02-11-02, 04:23 PM
I have a Svelto on one of my bikes (also a 10-speed). Works fine, shifts smoothly, and is as simple as all get-out.