Steve Whitlatch 

I have an old late 50`s early 60`s French bike that I have fixed up to ride but have just purchased the Simplex Suicide Front Derailleur for the bike on ebay. I now would like to find a shifter that fits this braze on type. Would any shift lever work with a wing nut or do I need a certain one? I had hoped to put an old Campagnolo Gran Sport rear derailleur on the bike to replace the Nuevo Gran Sport I have on it now. What do I need?

crank_addict

For now, could simply remove the left lever and / or try for one of these single levers. This one is going on my Bottecchia. If conscientious of date, I'm sure the guru's will answer. But.... you have a braze-on. Happy hunting for something cool!

oddjob2

Steve, I believe the bike is more like late 1970's or early 1980's, looking at the cable braze ons and the shifter braze ons. As it's French lookat Simplex, Stronglight or Huret shifters. You micht take Campy shifters off the clamp to see if they would fit or also test fit off one of your other bikes that have DT shifters.

Steve Whitlatch 

I was looking at this one on ebay. I have no idea what it looks like under the lever, but it looks like it might be the type?

Campagnolo Gran Sport Single Shifter with Bracket Italy 70's Used | eBay

Steve Whitlatch 

I only posted limited pictures but this bike is a very high end late 50`s early 60`s from what I was told in my other thread.

crank_addict

'Wing it' ..... I suppose could just dismantle mine and you're welcome to try it. Not sure what type of retainer / tension nut is needed. Might suggest to start looking thru Campagnolo, Huret, other archival catalogs.

Steve Whitlatch 

If you look close at this picture it looks as if the boss is the same as the one on my bike. It looks like it screws on? See the end sticking out through the lever? I was hoping someone here could tell me? I have looked through Velobase and the only one I had seen for sure that would fit was an old Huret with a wing nut to hold it on.

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/aGgAAOSwq7JUDb9L/$_57.JPG

juvela

Hello Steve,

I was puzzled by your bicycle's shifter braze-on when I saw it on the Show Us Your French Bikes thread. Had not before seen one quite like this.

Am not able to see the presence or absence of bb cable guides as your photobucket account will not fully load on my machine. Likely a browser issue at my end.

Given the bicycle's birth time it is quite plausible that it came with a suicide front mech. You may well be on the right track there.

One thing to keep in mind is that french derailleur manufacturers made shift lever sets where one side uses a braze-on and the other is a clamp-on. In this arrangement the braze-on serves double duty as it acts as a no-slide pib for the shift lever clamp. Do not wish to assert that this is the case on your bicycle, just that it may be a possibility to keep in mind.

Have you been able to learn any additional information as to the history/origin of this manufacturer?

markk900

That braze on for the shifter looks like its set for a Simplex...like many Peugeots.

not_jason

I don't know anything about that brand or that specific bike, but that thing looks extremely 70s to me. Shifter boss is very peugeotesqe, except with that weird male threaded part, which throws me for a loop. Wonder if maybe somebody broke a bolt off in there and what you're seeing is what's left protruding? Here's a picture of my Peugeot, originally configured for Simplex shifters, now retrofitted with an uncannily similar set up to yours. You can just barely see the braze on in this picture, behind the shifters.

DSCN1100 by not_jason, on Flickr

Steve Whitlatch 

There are many clues pointing to its age not shown here. I am not at home to post pictures but there is a thread a couple pages back that has photos.

frameteam2003

Most levers work but what your going to have to make sure on is the shifter backing plate. The square hole and lever stop have to be right.If you look at some on ebay that are in pieces you will see the sq. hole is turned differently on some.

Steve Whitlatch 

The bike has a pulley wheel derailleur cable guide. It has no fd guide. I am useing a clamp on guide right now for the fd only. There is a less faded spot in the paint on the seat tube that looks like and is located where a suicide shifter was and would be. The frame is 531 Reynolds. Everything points to high end custom builder. I am trying to get more info on the builder but so far have had no luck.

juvela

Hello Again Steve,

thank you for this additional information. sometimes the OP ends up helping the would be helpers.

suspect this illustration from cr may show the series of Freres Huret shift lever(s) your machine might have come with when ex-works:

https://www.classicrendezvous.com/ima...U_58_set_1.jpg

the type of campag shift lever seen in the link you posted did not exist at the time your cycle was created.

hope you are able to locate that remover soonly.

repechage

I would be looking for a two cable rear mechanism, with a "claw" mount. French of course. From a time where there was no spring for the counterbalance of the single lever. I would have to flip a coin to advise if it was Huret or Simplex. I am pretty sure the crank set on this bike is a replacement, the original cranks should be Stronglight steel cottered to go with the Stronglight bottom bracket. Lost to time as to why is was modified, perhaps for a smaller inner ring, way back the mechanisms (especially the lever type) were not designed for a big difference between the tow rings. I also agree that the front changer was a lever type, again, Simplex or Huret.

juvela

found this model of Huret shift lever at vb. it is a clamp-on version but you can see enough to get the picture...

and according to their dating it is the right epoch:

VeloBase.com - Component: Huret (painted lettering)

Steve Whitlatch 

I am buying a Stronglight crank set to put on the bike from a forum member. I am waiting for him to find the box they are in after his move. I have heard that the Campagnolo Gran Sport was the best RD of the time period? I have also been advised that race bikes of the day had no real groups and would have mixed and matched components. I am open to a French rd but do not want to suffer to much when it comes to shifting.

Steve Whitlatch 

The guy in that ebay listing link I posted calls it 1970`s but it looks like the one listed at Velobase that says 1960?

VeloBase.com - Component: Campagnolo 1013/1A, Gran Sport (Single Sided)

Steve Whitlatch 

The problem I face is that every shifter listed on Velobase from the time has a clamp attached to it. I can`t tell whats under the lever as in how it attaches to that clamp?

juvela

sad news. was thinking that if one went back far enough there might be Huret model/models of shift levers which assembled with a nut rather than a bolt. alas, evidently such be not the case. found this catalogue sheet from the early fifties with shift lever disassembled drawing. darn thing is bolted

https://threespeedhub.com/wp-content/...s-1950s-UK.pdf

evidently this would leave us with some model of Juy...

Steve Whitlatch 

Well i just found something that looks good. Vintage Campagnolo Shifters with Campy Downtube Shifter Boss Clamp RARE | eBay

repechage

Well then, you have a problem to get a Campagnolo shift lever to fit on that braze on. It was not designed for it. It might be done with some modifications, and fabrication. I am pretty sure that the threaded stud on the braze on is a separate part. You are correct, this was a time before ensembles, (the French term for group) Campagnolo was close though, BB, hubs, seat post, front and rear mechanisms, frame and fork ends, shift levers, soon to arrive- pedals and head set. Cranks took almost to 1960 to arrive and brakes, 1968.

juvela

Hello Steve,

wrt shift levers -

the vb listing you referenced is not dated as 1960 but rather as "1960's - 1970's." in truth these gran sport/valentino shift levers did not launch until the very late '60's and did not exist at the time of your bicycle's construction.

VeloBase.com - Component: Campagnolo 1013/1A, Gran Sport (Single Sided)

the ebay listing you posted is indeed for quite a rare set which was only made for a very short time. have only ever seen two or three of these.

Vintage Campagnolo Shifters with Campy Downtube Shifter Boss Clamp RARE | eBay

it is the immediate predecessor of the gran sport/valentino set you referenced at vb. note the writing on the shift lever itself and also the thickness of the shift lever's "neck." 1967 was about the changeover from the old writing with the thin neck, which always bent, to the later writing with the thicker neck. hence, once again these are too late to have come on your machine.

wrt chainset -

repechage mentions that the cycle has a Stronglight cottered bottom bracket. this would imply that the original chainset would have been a Stronglight Competition Model 55 set.

Steve Whitlatch 

Thanks for all the help. The bike is older than I am. I guess I should ask what would you put on the bike if it was yours or what would have been on a racers bike back then? I am open to suggestions? The Simplex suicide shifter is the centerpiece.

JohnDThompson 

This is the band and left shift lever to fit over this boss, but it's still missing the right shift lever hardware (could be salvaged from a standard set, though):