Originally Posted by
Captain Blight
I've seen literally hundreds of Simplex RDs in the past two years at the bike shop, and I think I've only seen one with a broken body. The pulleys, of course, do chip and break; but when they're complete the work very nicely. I've never tried to replace them, but surely there's another brand with tougher plastic that would fit and work.
Yes, actually some older Suntour jockey wheels are a direct replacement. I've done it and the old Suntour stuff works fine. I forget the exact model of Suntour I used, but it's an older model from the 70's and it was the only Suntour rear DR where the wheels were compatible. All my newer, late 70's and all of the 80's stuff did not fit.
Edit: The Simplex derailer that I so carefully repaired went on an all original, 70s Raleigh Grand Prix. I cleaned that bike up, made it look really nice and fully functional then sold it on CL. After I sold the bike, the new owner tells me "Yeah, I'm going to make it a fixie." Arrrggg!.