kpug505

I'm building up an old Bianchi touring rig. I just scored a nice TA crankset for it and now I am looking for a set of derailleurs that would work (actually be the best) and look at home with the TA's. I'd also like to keep it Euro. I've got two Duopars one of which is an Eco. How do those stack up to a Campy Rally (thats the long cage one right? Aren't they basically NR with a long cage?). Mavics are cool but not old school enough. Any thing else out there? Maybe Simplex?
How about range? This will be a fully loaded rig that will conquer mountains. I was thinking maybe a 28 toothed small chainring 46 mid and a 50 big. Outback I'm thinking 5 or 6 speed friction shifted with a spread between 13 and 28 or so. Does any of that make any sense? I haven't really done my homework on gearing yet............but I assume those numbers matter.

Thanks in advance!
Kelly D

Sianelle 

I always liked the SunTour Vx derailleur for general purpose touring. Works sweetly, stays in adjustment, completely reliable. The old SunTour stuff was very good quality and always better than Shimano price for price.

Road Fan

I think your numbers are fine, but you do need to look at the
details. An far as the deraileur, I prefer the performance of the DuoPar, by far. While the Rally is a great collectible, the Huret is a great functional item.

Road Fan

luker

the eco duopar still blows everything else away. the only better is the titanium one. The reason is that the duopar can expand an extra degree because of the extra hinging mechanism under the main body...it will act like a smaller derailleur until you need the wrap. and they have a good reputation for durability...

Well, at least Berto and I think so. I think that the rally actually shifts okay, best in its last incarnation. and I like the three-wheel suntours too, because of the extra wrap that they can deliver.

kpug505

So far Duopar is winning in functional Euro. I want to stay away from the Asain stuff. Not 'cause I think it sucks but I kinda like to keep to a theme. Isn't the Duopar Eco the one with the titanium bits? I Have both a regular and an Eco. Is there another one I am not aware of?

Thanks,
Kelly

luker

I'm holding an Eco in my hands and I don't see any titanium anywhere. As a matter of fact it weighs a hefty 298 grams. I think that the Eco was meant to say "Economy", much like the Colnago Eco was.

kpug505

I see............Damn! I was taken in the heat of a buying spree! There are now officially 2 LBS' on my s^*#t list! I think I need a Blackberry phone so I can snap pics and consult the great bike forum gurus when in doubt.
Oh well......Off to the 'bay I go! Thanks for the clarification. Anyone have pics or detailed info on this titanium Duopar?

luker

I think that the Titanium Duopar was a product of Huret, and there is one for sale on da bay. The later ones were not Titanium kitted (sachs stuff).

kpug505

Yep........saw that. I spent the bike budget already but maybe I can make something fly.......

Antipodes

I can attest that the Duopar is a fantastic derailleur. I had one on my tourer until I converted it to indexed shifting. I can handle a very wide range of cogs and is very well made. I really like how you can unhinge the parallelogram spring so that you don't have to fight the derailleur when removing the wheel.
I have no experience with a Campy Rally, but I'm sure, at least functionally, that the Duopar wins hands down.

cyclotoine

the 1st and last generation (3rd?) I think both has drop parallelograms making them superior to the second gen. Not to mention spring upper pivots. Shameless plug:

https://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MESE:IT&ih=015

chewa

I used a Huret Duopar Eco on two bikes over a period of 20 plus years. Only put it out to rest when the hinge mechanism became so worn it wouldn't shift reliably.

It's the best ever touring mech in my opinion as it would handle even shifting under load up hill!

I replaced it on my Tourer/Commuter with a Campag Veloce long cage which is good too.

Road Fan

I'm with Berto and Luker -- +++3!

Road Fan

Now that you mention late-model Campy, I have a long-cage Racing T 9-speed friction shifting a Sachs 13-26 freewheel with 52/42/30 triple on my Woodrup, and it works as nicely as the Duopar, but I haven't tried a Megarange on it. However, the Duo has more capacity, more chain-wrap capability, and it can easily handle big jumps, such as 24 to 34 on a Shimano big Megarange freewheel (13-34).

If I recall correctly, there were three DuoPars: An original steel one, a cost-reduced Eco, and a lightened Ti. I've been using two Ecos, but in both cases the Ebay sellers did not appreciate teh distinction. Ecos can handle the Woodrup gearing or the 13-34 Megarange with it's big jump.

Road Fan

T-Mar

Yes definitely the Duopar, which were arguably the best of the friction, grand touring derailleurs. Given the touring application, the ECO's steel construction is actually a bit of a benefit. You don't want a flimsy gran touring derailleur.

I don't have the specs for the ECO Duopar but the standard Duopar was rated for a 13-36T freewheel and 28-53T chainrings. I would think that the ECO version would be similar, if not identical.

Picchio Special

There's a Duopar on eBay currently that I believe is the Ti version. Not sure, though, that it has the little stop that goes with the mounting bolt - important bit to have.

John E

For your application, I still favor the long-cage SunTours, from the V-GT on up.

Picchio Special

I had a V-GT Luxe in very good condition at the Westminster, MD, swap yesterday, and it was one of my few derailleurs that didn't sell (very cheaply). Just not as appreciated as they should be, or maybe everybody has a supply already, as they're not hard to find. Maybe I'll keep mine for the 70's Jack Taylor I just acquired.

Saintly Loser

I have a standard Duopar on my old Super Course. 14-28 six-speed freewheel, 48-36-24 Sugino crank. Works fine.

kpug505

So after getting confused about which ones I have I decided to dig them out. Then I went to this great site:
https://homepage3.nifty.com/passhunte...uret/huret.htm
to find out what I've got.
It appears to me that I have this one: Which is supposed to be the titanium one. Is it missing a cover over the bolt?

And this one: Which is supposed to be the Sachs/Huret Eco. Mine is missing the cover over the bolt.

Thankfully, the gentleman I bought them from had enough common sense to zip tie the washers and bolts to the bodies.
How can I tell if they are still good?
I also have a Jubilee (obviously not for touring)like this:

that is missing the bolt and washer. Will the bolt and washer fit from the Eco?

Thanks,
Kelly D

sykerocker 

I'm running an old generation all-steel V-GT rear on my Magneet, with a reverse action V-Comp on the front. That was the hot touring setup back in 1971, so I just copied what I used to know. Amazed they they don't get more credence nowadays - but then they're not exactly the prettiest lumps in the drawer.

bbllaakke

Old thread, I know.

But, I recently acquired a Schwinn Passage equipped with a Sachs Huret Duo-par Eco. Problem is, it was hanging on the bike with an axle nut cross-threaded onto an odd bolt. Does anyone know what the mounting system looked like for this derailleur, and do I have any hope?

Right now I have a Suntour V-GT rear in place, which is very solid, more so than the Duo-par it seems. But I would still like to see if I can get the Duo-par running again- after reading this thread that praised its greatness.

Shameless picture post (I still have to get a picture with the bar tape shelacked and twined):

\

Blake

mkeller234

Your bike looks great, what fenders are those? A bike that nice looking deserves matching bottle cages!

bbllaakke

Thank you, they're SKS. They have the best mounting system I've found on a plastic fender- a bit harder to adjust but stay in place better. I made the mudflap out of some Rubber base (what you would see in many office buildings in place of base molding). It's held on with two split rivets. I'll get two more stainless bottle cages soon enough,

Here's a link to the build process:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...28pic-heavy%29

No info on the derailleur though?

Drillium Dude 

Kelly, here's what Robert Broderick has to say on the TI Huret rear derailleur - note it will accomodate a 28 tooth cog:

REAR DERAILLEUR:
Huret Success Titanium (modified) - titanium upper and lower brackets marked with "T" inside a circle - forged light aluminum alloy shift arm - pivoting cable barrel mount - adjustable stop plate and demountable lower pivot bracket to accommodate either a 24 or 28 tooth maximum freewheel cog - 12 to 24 or 13 to 28 tooth freewheel capacity (adjustable) / 36 to 53 tooth front chain wheel capacity - rear body plate date code marked "MADE IN FRANCE 4077" for the fortieth week of 1977 - custom "drilled" and radiused stamped aluminum alloy pulley cage plates (...similar to what would later appear on 1980 to 1984 Super Success models) - custom milled alloy pivot pins and cable clamp bolt - model 2460 : Bullseye pulley wheels - Clear anodized aluminum alloy (Silver) - ten tooth design - NMB 6260 sealed cartridge bearings - width adjustable spacers - custom drilled ... [A period correct component of my choosing, albeit now thoroughly customized, and one of the fastest shifting, lightest, and yet durable rear derailleurs available from this era weighing in at a scant 170 grams in stock trim and a paltry 109 grams in the modified and yet still robust form seen here. The advanced Huret Success Titanium rear derailleur was truly "cutting edge" when introduced for public sale in the latter half of 1975 (...its moniker begot of the fact that the Sonolor / Cycles Gitane team had ridden these specially modified Huret Challenger components "successfully" throughout the preceding 1974 season) and arguably represents the pinnacle in both design and performance as achieved by the Huret brothers prior to a majority interest of their company being purchased by the German conglomerate Fichtel & Sachs AG in 1980. The original rear derailleur mounted to a Graftek G-1 sold as a "complete" bike would have typically been the venerable Campagnolo Nuovo Record model 1020/A.]

His website is: velo-pages.com and you can see this derailleur in pics under the 'Naked Bikes' gallery - Graftek G-1. The drillium brake levers in that album are the ones I did for him.

Jeff