Hey folks, I decided to slightly retrofit some of the cool old Simplex skewers on my original wheels on the '74 Grand Record. In '74, the bike came with the newer style MM Atom skewers on the Normandy Luxe Comp hubs. I think they stopped using the old Simplex quick releases in about '72-'73.

However, my old Simplexes, like almost all of them you see these days, had long since been missing the cool little wingnuts on the ends. I found there is a company just north of me here in Colorado that 3-D prints them. They do a great job, IMO....



Front hub Normandy Luxe Comp with Simplex qr

Front hub wing nut

Rear hub wing nut

That would be worth checking out; especially if they do the other styles. A while ago I made a mold on a good one and made a copy with JBweld, there is an imperial thread that almost matches the skewer thread so a brass nut of that thread got cast into the end; handy for mounting when the other end had to be tidied up. Next time I'll add some carbon black to the epoxy.

Real one on the left:

Most appropriate.

Now that is cool. One thing I would mention is that unlike the originals, these are textured. I like it, but it is a departure....

Something is missing . . .

Yep, I got some 3D printed ones back in 2016. The texture wasn't something I really liked but they work and hold up. Not a good picture to illustrate but I did paint mine purple to match the Peugeot.