Any thoughts on this derailleur?

I have one sitting around----kinda heavy by today's standards. I cannot speak to how well it works, however.

I have one on my Gitane. I like it a lot. I even bought a spare in case I wear it out.

Velo Orange gives it a good review. They are selling NOS ones and I would trust their speil.

I put one on a early 70's PX 10, and worked much better than the original. Not a bad looking piece either.

Here's mine.


I had to replace the Simplex tag. Hot glue worked great.

I think it's the same design as the last version of the Super LJ, just not as well made. It shifts great, but I don't expect it to last as long as a Super LJ. That's why I bought a spare. I doubt if it's much heavier than a Super LJ.

I just found them on the Velo Orange site. There are two versions. One is for Simplex dropouts and the other is for normal dropouts, but you can switch the parts around. I have both styles.

They were also marketed ad Gipiemme Sprint.
https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Ita..._Spint_grp.htm
Bananna Brain on eBay was selling them last year for $79.95 as a set including the front derailer and shifters. Now you know why the derailer on my Gitane had no Simplex tag.
I sold the shifters and front derailer at the bike swap Sunday.

I wanted one of those for my Gitane. I finally bought a Super LJ and still haven't put it on. I am living dangerously with the Criterium.

I've been trying to get a Super LJ on eBay for a long time. Banana Brain keeps outbidding me.

You may not need the spare. I have one on my 1979 PFN10E, original equipment on the bike (may be a 410, I can't recall exactly, but there's minimal dif). I've ridden this bike heavily over the last twenty plus years, with a few years off while I looked for a fork. The derailleur still operates perfectly, although I have noticed it shifts a lot better now that I put Simplex retrofriction shifters on the bike.

Thanks for the responses. I am building up a custom light touring style bike and really like the look of the simplex. I will be using simplex retro friction downtube shifters, a simplex front derailler, and a some stronglight impact double cranks. I am either going to use a shimano ultegra rear derailler with a 9 speed rear cassette or the simplex with an 8 speed deore xt cassette. The question is how the simplex compares in quality to something like the ultegra short cage. There's no question that it looks better, but will I end up with a broken derailler somewhere in Wisconsin if I use the simplex? On a second note (perhaps this belongs in the mechanics thread) will I be able to run the ultegra rear derailler with the retro friction shifters, which look absolutely fantastic? And what about longevity?

The design and quality of the Ultegra is way ahead of the Simplex. There's no comparison, IMO. I've got Simplex Retrofrictions on the Gitane. They're fantastic. I'm sure they'll work just as well with the Ultegra.

The Simplex SX610 is not an all metal derailer. The black plastic arm is hidden by a thin metal cover.