Originally Posted by
tiger1964
...and THAT is what I was expecting for a SunTour. Let's see what breakdown reveals.
Just a reminder, I'm a Bike Bigot, used to Italian or French; but there's a special place for SunTour's technology, so it does not go in the dumpster quite yet.
And I would not object to a longer-cage version , if that is what is takes.
I'm also a Bike Bigot... it's why I use SunTour rear derailleurs on any bike that should have come from the factory with a Suntour rear derailleur.
Which is basically all of them, especially in the 1970s. (I've never had one of the slanted-body aluminum Simplexes, but if they work like the similar-looking Shimano 600s, I wouldn't kick either one off of a bike.)
If the bike would have been bought as a frameset, then I'm putting Sun Tour on it, because the dude who built it should have.
They're just that much better than everything else in-period that I've ever run a chain through.
As to capacity, I've not played with a short-cage V-series, but I've run a 1st-gen Superbe on a 14-26 with room to spare, and SunTour spec'd that for a 23t max. On the Fuji that it's on, with Suntour dropouts, I'd try a 28 and not be at all surprised if it worked. (Or if it didn't.) It's also rated at 23t chainwrap, and I'm using it in a 45/42/30 x 14-26 6-speed without complaint.
So, yeah, I'd leave the Sun Tour on there.
--Shannon