"In the late 1940s and 1950s these gears dominated professional (and a lot of amateur) cycle racing with good reason – they offered a faster sweeter change than even Campagnolo’s Gran Sport gear introduced in 1951. The Simplex gears were so good that they were almost capable of being indexed due to their ultra precise shifting. The Gran Sport and its derivatives were to dominate the racing scene later but this was because of their other qualities, robustness and ease of set-up primarily…"