jimmuller 

I'm sure some of you know about this already, but it was a new detail to me. A day or so ago I was cleaning a very good condition Suntour Vx GT which I'd recently picked up. I noticed that it had no stop screw on the upper pivot, so the angle of the parallelogram can't be adjusted. Not that it is critical for my application, but I thought that was curious. I checked another Vx GT I have on another bike, and it did have the screw. Of course the cage is different too.

Disraeligears describes two Vx styles, the original and Vx S. The original style did not have a quick-mount cage such as was used on the VGT-Luxe series, but the second style did have it. Velo-base shows the Vx S style only, IIRC.

Curiously, neither disraeligears nor Velo-base mentions the absence of the upper pivot adjustment screw. That would seem to be at least mildly noteworthy.



Okay, so it isn't earthshaking but I thought it was interesting.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion of Campy NR components...

jonwvara 

That IS kind of interesting, and new to me, too. What's the date code on the derailleur? Maybe it's a really early version?
By the way , I've been looking for a long-cage Cyclone, Vx, or VGT Luxe. Would you be interested in trading that and something else for a NOS Vx-s?

Later edit: from the photo, it looks like it wouldn't be hard to drill and tap a hole in the stop for an adjustment screw, if needed. Except that then it would inevitably turn out that the screwless versions are rare and much sought-after by Japanese collectors.

jimmuller 

Don't know, never knew there was one, never paid attention. There are good markings on the back though. How does one read a Suntour date code?

You're interested only because you know that this version is much sought-after by Japanese collectors .

All seriousness aide however, I picked up this one and a Cyclone 2 GT (which turned out to be busted) to hold onto as spares because the VGT-Luxe on my commuter UO8 is rather worn and wobbly. So I'd want a long cage anyway. However if I can find another good Suntour long-cage I might be willing to give one up. Do you have a spring for the pulley cage pivot on a Cyclone 2?

cudak888 

I recently pulled out one of these from my parts bin whilst swapping out its later cousin. I still have both - give me 15 minutes to get the date codes on each.

EDIT:

"UA" on the fixed pivot Vx-GT - 1978.
"WG" on the adjustable Vx-GT - 1980.

Both are Quick-Cage.

Anyone here with a '79?

First letter is the year, second the month:
https://vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm#suntour

-Kurt

khatfull

I have several V-GT Luxes in stock at the moment...all used, all have gone through my "KHatfull refurbishment treatment"

PM me if interested, I'll snap a pic.

jonwvara 

This makes me smile, because we seem to be in exactly the same boat here. The reason I'M looking for a long-cage Suntour is that the the Cyclone Mk II GT I have also has a broken pivot spring--it snapped as I was tensioning it after dismantling the (very dirty but otherwise good-looking) derailleur for cleaning.
That would seem to explain why I haven't been flooded with responses to my earlier request for a replacement spring: I bet there aren't many unbroken ones out there. Bummer.

jimmuller 

Well, I already have an arrangement with another BF member to merge two into one. But if the nice Vx pictured above works on my UO8 I'm tempted to take apart the sloppy VGT-Luxe that is on it now just to see if the springs are interchangeable. Or maybe somebody already knows that.

jonwvara 

I'm pretty sure the VGT Luxe uses a tall coil spring that's nothing like the flat "clock spring" used in the Cyclone Mk II. Or am I misunderstanding what it is you're proposing to do?
JV

jimmuller 

That's exactly what I was thinking. I took apart, cleaned, and re-assembled a VGT-Luxe long ago but do not remember any of the details. Thanks for the word.

jimmuller 

Mine says TJ inside a circle - Oct 1977.

Disraeligears says the first Vx style without quick-cage came out in '76, and in '77 they decided to develop Vx as a family (the Vx S style) and started to phase out the original.

Mine may be one of the last original-style Vx RDs.
The bidding starts at $1000...

cudak888 

Not if mine is a '78. I'm offering mine for a flat $500 here - a bargain

-Kurt

jimmuller 

But yours has a quick-cage. Mine doesn't. Yours was "transitional". Mine is canonically pure.

cudak888 

Mine is the last of the quick-cage, fixed pivot Vx RD's. Mine is the rarest of both worlds.

-Kurt

P.S.: Watch as some arse seller on eBay copy-pastes all of this for his next $150 Suntour Vx ad.

Captain Blight

Silly mortals, with your Muggle bikes and your Mudblood "gruppos."