Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,338
Likes: 6,637
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Oh, my first ten speed was an Atala Giro D'Italia. I got it new in 1975. It had Simplex prestige derailleurs, but the shifters didn't suck. They looked just like the shifters that came on PX-10's in that year but the metal wasn't finished nicely. I think there was a paper washer in there for some reason, and they needed readjustment and lubrication, but that was how all shifters were, and they didn't flex or break.
I did end up replacing the whole shifting system with a SunTour VGT Luxe rear, a SunTour Compe V front, and SunTour bar-end power ratchet shifters. That was a big improvement. I think that improvement plus tires were the only upgrades I did to the bike.