mnmkpedals 

I am cleaning a bike that came with a Shimano RD marked L513. New one to me, and tried to educate myself on it but no listings in Disreali or velobase or even doing a BF archive search, no references. None either in past ebay auctions for info. All hard to believe-- unless I am missing something?

Seems like it had to be the base model of the Light action series described on Disraeli/velobase. There's a L525 and 532 and a 523, but no 513. Just thought I'd see if anyone had experience and/or idea why so seldom seen.

spacemanz

I'm not real familiar with the Light Action line, but I know I like their retrofriction-type shifters. They're one of those "sleepers" that most of us never heard much about, but they're well worth checking out, for whoever finds them.

The Golden Boy 

I think I have an L525 at home. IIRC, it was paired with a Z206 FD.

WNG

Pics?

mnmkpedals 

Sorry, was trying to get some to show the back. Date stamp IK. !984. Guessing it was original to the Panasonic dx2000. Just never come across any, nor have many others it seems by lack of info out there.

top506

Not a Light Action. Pretty sure it's the same RD as on my '84 Shogun 500.
Looks more like a short cage RD Z501 with slightly different cosmetics.

Top

WNG

I think it is a light action series, based on that extra pivot lever beneath. I have a 525, same type of design.

Bruce Enns

I just happen to have one sitting in the house attached to a Centurion. If it didn't shift so good I'd probably pull it off and clean it, LOL.

The Golden Boy 

This is a Z505 that was on my old 1984 Trek 420.

This is the L525 on my 1986 Trek 400:

WNG

Yup, mine shifts flawlessly as well. It's a nice under-rated indexing derailleur.

simmonsgc

Found this thread while poking around for schematics for this beast, and thought I'd add this for the good of the order. Mine came as original equipment on a 1985 Miyata Two-Ten touring bike. It shifted great until a ride last weekend when I heard a "ping!" Didn't really give any warning; shifted great until it didn't. I'll have to do a post-mortem. Luckily I was climbing, so was able to stop before damaging the wheel. Like the OP said, can't find much info on these, let alone a schematic. I think I lost some bits when it asploded, so I reckon I'll replace with a Deore XT of some ilk. The whole drivetrain is Shimano, so I'll have to repress my constant desire to "Suntourize" it.



..and sure enough, it's listed in the '85 Miyata catalog as L513-GS paired with the Z204-GS front mech.

jpaschall

From the grave!

This mystery been solved yet? I just got the long cage version of this RD on a Miyata 210. Are we just calling this Light Action and moving on?

T-Mar

Yes it's definitely a Light Action derailleur, as it has an "L" prefix in the model number. It's not in my 1984 or 1986 literature, so I'm assuming it's was 1985 only. Certainly, the November 1984 date code on the OP's sample would be a 1985 model. It was OEMon both the 1985 Miyata 110 & 210.

Please note that contrary to a previous post, the lever incorporated into the cable attachment does not indicate Light Action. This linkage is part of the pre-select mechanism. While Light Action derailleurs typically incorporated this feature, there were models with the pre-select features that were not Light Action. The pre-select feature dates back to late 1970's Shimano entry level derailleurs intended for use with their front freewheel system. The rider could pre-select the gear while stopped and the derailleur would automatically shift during push-off, without pedaling, as the rear friction drove the chain, while the chainrings freewheeled.

dddd

I remember pairing a light-action RD with a pair of XT thumbies. The helper spring in the levers was not well matched to the derailer's return spring, which apparently was too light. Result was that the bit of overshift when shifting to larger cogs did not return by way of the derailer's return spring, so the chain would go on rubbing against the next-larger cog until I nudged the lever back lightly to release that little bit of overshift movement into the cable.


The light-action derailers were often paired with either friction or indexed levers, though all of these had barrel adjusters and slanted body so were index-compatible with the right lever. It was a cost-saving move as on the Raleigh 460 model among others that used Shimano friction levers with a ratchet feel to the movement but which were not actually indexed at all.