I have an SLJ 6600, however I can only find information on the SLJ 5500. Anyone aware of the differences? Also the pulleys appear a little cheesey. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

The SLJ 5500 was Simplex's top, all aluminum derailleur from the mid and late 1970s, while the SLJ6600 is it's early 1980s successor. The prime difference is the upper pivot casting and how the parallelogram attaches to it. On the SLJ6600, the pivot casting has an arm extending down below the pivot bolt and the parallelogram is mounted so that it protrudes forward and is nearly horizontal. The older SLJ5500 does not have this arm on the upper pivot casting and the parallelogram is more vertical like on the Simplex Prestige. The dropped paralleogram on the SLJ6600 is a better shifting design and was popularized by SunTour and Shimano.

In the event that my description was confusion, her's a picture of an SLJ5500, which should clarify the difference.

To me, that SLJ 6600 is the Holy Grail of Simplex derailers. I've been looking for one at a decent price for over a year, but the prices just keep going up. I'm making do with a cheaper version, the SX610.

try here look for a simplex.zip you will find even the weights on all the different 6600's, you can download the file.
https://velobase.com/Resource_Tools/CatalogScans.aspx

Rob

Same here - although the clock's ticking because I can't get the derailleur to maintain the chain tension I'd like when in the small chainring. I've got a swap meet in a couple of weeks that I'm going to and hopefully can find a suitable replacement.

Those are just the best derailleurs Simplex made, easily the equal of Shimano's Dura-Ace derailleurs from the same period -- even better if you couple them with a set of "retrofriction" shift levers.

I've often suspected that there was some cross-licensing arrangement between Simplex and Shimano. The early Shimano derailleurs from the 1960s bear a striking resemblance to the Simplex derailleurs of that period, and the later Simplex derailleurs are equally similar to Shimano's later derailleurs.

I found my SLJ 6600 and I'm up to four SX 610s now. I don't find that the 6600 shifts any better than the SX610, it's just a bit lighter. I also picked up an interesting SX810 long cage. The SLJ cost me more than all of the SXs combined.

It's really weird how much these Simplex derailleurs arepriced so high as they dont have the "polish" of their competitiors. A contemporary derailleur, the Cyclone MkII, (which are presently going for under half the price of the Simplex) seems to be a much better deal than a SLJ6600 any day if you place them side by side or compare their shifting performance, I also suspect that the Cyclone would be a bit lighter than the Simplex plus, the Cyclone seems to also be a more sophisticated design with all it's allen head bolts and very compact dimensions. I especailly love the way Suntour cleverly routes the control cable anchor between the parallel arms instead of the more typical outboard mounting that Simplex and Shimano uses. But I guess, in the end, the Simplex will always win when you need that French finishing touch to a top end French classic bike you might be building.
It's just the idiosyncracies we deal with when restoring classic and vintage bikes.
Come to think of it, I should really buy myself a couple of NOS Cyclone MkIIs when they come up, before everyone realizes just how fantastic a derailleur it is........now that I can't afford Super LJs and SLJ660s anymore.....
Chombi

The Simplex is far classier then a second-generation Cyclone, and many may argue that the SLJ is also more tastefully executed then the first-generation Cyclone (of which I'll be one of the first to agree upon that subjective point).

-Kurt

I think it's arguably the best derailleur you can attach to a Simplex dropout without hacking it...Big plus in my book!

I just wish I could find a long cage SLJ6600 like the one in Velobase. The Suntour V-GT Luxe on PX10 works great, but I still think that it's out of place on an early '70s French bike. I tried transferring the long cage from an SX810 to an SX610 and it didn't work.

I'll bet it looks a lot better than the Shimano Tourney on my late 60's/early 70's Peugeot.

Speaking of cool French stuff, here's a nice item:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

That seller has a lot of great French parts! The drilled Stronglight 93D is something I've never seen before.

I saw that, If only it had English threadimg,.......I'd be all over it for my Vitus Carbone!

Chombi

I definitely look out for galibier95's auctions -- mostly I don't want to pay what his starting prices are, but the guy certainly has incredible (mainly French) stuff, lots of it NOS, and practically none of it (ab)used. I splurged a year ago and bought a NOS tan suede Selle Turbo saddle, Hinault edition, for my mid-80s Motobecane Team Champion (it's going to be a tan/honey and midnight blue metallic scheme, rather than the white saddle/bar wrap combo that it was sold with). I also got my own SLJ 6600 for it, and the front derailer to match with the funky French braze-on.

"Arguably?" No argument from me -- it's one of the best derailleurs, period, in my book.

so how much have they been going for on ebay?

The SLJ6600?, Just a little bit over 2 bills.....

Chombi

nice!