Originally Posted by
verktyg
The "official" name of the derailleur that you have was the Simplex
PresTige CRITERIUM AR537.
There's some conflicting info on velobase.com and on
http://www.disraeligears.co.uk. I'm going with information on velo-pages.com.
The Simplex
PresTige CRITERIUM AR537 was introduced in 1966 and in production until 1970 when the then new (and improved) CRITERIUM AR637NI replaced it.
PresTige became name of the PRESTIGE model which was the omnipresent black Delrin derailleur that destroyed the French bicycle industry!
The "NI" indicates the derailleur was designed to attach directly onto a dropout with an integral gear hanger. The "P" version came with a "Claw Hanger".
1966 Simplex
PresTige CRITERIUM flyer from velo-pages.com
(...)
Thanks, Chas, for your elaborate reply. Much appreciated!
I hadn't even got to the point where the mangled pivot bolt would have become a problem. Thanks for pointing that out. Saves me a lot of time and frustration.
I have a other - newer and better - Simplex derailleurs, but this particular one would have looked really nice on my 1968 Jacques Anquetil. Oh well.
What I'm still not getting, though, is the five o'clock position of the tab. It is purely the result of the locations of both the spring end and the groove in the stop plate (part 2580). My initial reaction was the same as yours (Huret? NON!), but I still haven't any other logical explanation.
I looked for a replacement stop plate in my parts bin last night, but the ones I have are all like the one below you posted. They require a "ledge" which the 537 doesn't have.
I think I'll mount a newer SX-somethingorother for now, but the 537 looks awfully pretty with its blue hue, and I'll keep looking for a new pivot bolt and Simplex-compatible stop plate.