Originally Posted by
Charles Wahl
Older bikes, as sold, custom-built, or customized by experienced cyclists, tended to be more eclectic in the set of components found on them. Component manufacturers often made only a few of those needed to complete a bike, as opposed to the 80s onward, when every manufacturer seemed to have a more or less complete gruppo, or should I say, a range of them at different price/quality points.
Maybe a fitting tribute to Sheldon Brown would be that everyone in cycling, going forward, resolves to spell "derailer" the way he did. A memorial by orthography.
As much as I respect Sheldon, what he did, and how he did it, I think the French and Italian traditions in innovatign the early configuration of lightweight cycles into a form that has stood the test of time is much more important.
I tend to use the British slang "rear mech" when I don't feel like spelling out "derailleur."
Road Fan