Suggestions to replace an Allvit?
 

Hi All - I'm going to be re-habbing a Triumph-branded bike that seems to be essentially a Raleigh Record. The rear derailleur is an Huret Allvit, and from what I've been reading, these aren't great.

I'm looking for suggestions for what to replace it with. Preferably, I'd be able to keep the same shifters and cassette.

Specific model names would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

If you wish to retain the same shift levers after the change you would do well to stay with another older Huret product. Older Huret derailleurs take more cable movement than other brands to move their cages a given amount. In this regard the older Huret shift levers have uniquely large drums. It is a system designed to work together. Mixing older Huret gears with non-Huret bits creates a measure of incompatibility.

Back in the day, when you grew sick of your Allvit or your Simplex Prestige got sloppy you replaced them with a Sun Tour V of some sort. Still good advice.

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Suntour was the bike boom upgrade and owned the patent on slant parallelogram RD from 1964 until the early 80s - every RD made today is based on that design.
You should be able to use any shifters with a Cyclone or V.
If your largest rear cog is larger than 28t, you need a GT - Cyclone GT or VGT rear derailleur, but likewise, the shifters should work fine.
If you want to match them, find Suntour shifters of the same era. They have one advantage that their ratchet mechanism keeps the typically stiff derailleur spring from slipping/ghost shifting.

My favorite FD is Shimano 600 EX, and I have my Raleigh set up up with Cyclone GT RD and Shimano 600 EX FD.

You've read that they don't shift well but you might be surprised. Build it as-is with new lubed cables/housing and it should work fine. They were a little chunky but so is the bike! :)

Thanks for the replies. Is there a specific cage length I should be looking for?

Also, it seems like some on eBay have the hook that lets the derailleur hang on the axle, but some don't. Can I use the one that is on the Allvit?

Only if you replace it with another vintage Huret. Huret had a stop point on the hanger at four o'clock and all the other manufacturers use a mounting plate with a stop at the seven o'clock position. Another case of where Huret and others do not mix.

I had a '72 Motobecane Mirage with the Allvit back when I was a teen. The stem shifters were not cool enough for me. I bought a set of clamp-on downtube shifters and they worked just fine. I think you will not have to be too picky on a compatible shifter for it.

But then, grab a very available suntour derailleur as mentioned.

Suntour Vx is a great choice, the one that fits to a non-integral hanger, like the one on this old Jeunet...

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...Blt_Cogs_1.jpg

This is what the Suntour hanger will look like, and the derailleur hung to it is a Suntour, also, and a step or two lower than a Vx...

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...illeur_R_1.jpg

Cage length depends on your freewheel cog sizes.

If you need one, I have two or three tucked away. Let me know and I will post on the For Sale forum.

your derailleur hanger should work fine with a different derailleur

again, don't even worry about cage length if your largest cog is 28t or smaller.
If you want to find out max cog and chain wrap capacity, look up RD on velobase.
VeloBase.com - Component: SunTour Cyclone

VeloBase.com - Component: SunTour Cyclone GT

you can also give yourself some leeway over these specs. Any short-cage RD I've ever used runs 28t rear just fine.
Using a derailleur hanger also increases the max cog size over spec.
Raleigh GP with Suntour VGT came with a 34t rear cog, worked fine, and the spec rates the RD for 32t max.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...grand-prix.jpg

Here's the current drivetrain on my old Raleigh. Cyclotouriste triple 46/42/26T, wide-7 rear, 12-32t; Suntour VGT RD, Shimano 600 EX FD.
This works beautifully, just short a little chain wrap by one link, but I can use the 26T/14t combo just fine - never any reason to use 26T/12t
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...0c/drive26.jpg
for gearhead weenies, here's the gear analysis