Originally Posted by
Ged117
Hi Gregory! What a name for a bicycle too - and it looks fantastic. The commitment on your part to the originality of the Carlton (and the other machines in your care!) is impressive. I am inspired to continue searching for GB Coureur brakes and GB handlebar for my Sun Wasp to go with the '50s Spearpoint stem I managed to hunt down. Really what I'd like to do is send the frame to Mercian for a full restore and enamel job + period transfers. What would be a period appropriate derailleur alternative be for the Simplex? Campagnolo Grand Sport?
I would definitely choose a Gran Sport, which was introduced in 1951 and widely available by the time his Carlton was first sold. Most of the 1960 Schwinn Varsinentals quickly ended up with Huret Allvit rear derailleurs because the Simplex TdFs were so primitive, poorly-engineered, and disaster-prone. I had an Armstrong 3-speed with the Cyclo 4-speed 14-16-18-20 cogset, and the only way I could shift across all 4 cogs in back was to throw away the Cyclo Benelux (Simplex TdF clone) and replace it with a Gran Sport, which worked like a champ. The Huret Alvitt was released in 1958, so would not be strictly period-correct for a 1954 Carlton. Bottom line: the Gran Sport was far and away the best rear derailleur available in the early to mid 1950s. The NR was a big improvement, and then SunTour made all other rear derailleurs obsolete in the late 1960s with the slant planograph.
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069