Hi hope all are doing great

among the french makers of Rear Derailleurs anyone care to say who made the top tier >?


rc

Kind of like asking "Which car made by Yugo is the best?" in my opinion

I vote for the Huret Jubilee though.

I understand completely
i have an old Jeunet mixte and want something french to go on it... or what would be a great derailleur from the middle 70s to use?

thanks a ton

rc

I've seen Huret Jubilees from around 1973ish... As far as tracking one down, that may prove difficult or otherwise "not worth it" but the later models were pretty sweet looking for what they are.

All I know is most Simplex brand stuff from the same timeframe (think "bike boom" era) is plastic and crappy, but if you can find it, it shouldn't be all that pricey. I might be wrong, I've never had to source full parts groups or any real period specific action for Frenchy bikes. I just fix em up when they need (much?) love.

[EDIT]
Just wait until a more civilized hour (at least where I am, its 3:15AM) and there are a couple total French vintage pros around these parts that can help you out a lot more than myself!

If you need touring gears, the Sachs-Huret Eco-Duopar shifts way better than a Campy Rally. I know they were available in the early '80s. Not certain about the '70s.

https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2006...erailleur.html

When? Ever? It's a very tricky question without narrowing down a timeframe. Both Simplex and Huret at various times produced rear derailleurs that were among the best ever.

The Duopar Eco steel derailluer (originally made by Huret before Sachs enterted the picture) was preceded by the part-titanium Duopar, which was one of the best friction shifting derailleurs ever made. I believe the Duopar was introduced circa 1975.

Keep in mind that when Simplex began using delrin for its rear derailleurs in 1962, plastic was the new wonder material, not the cheap substitute it became. Plastic was cutting-edge, not lesser-grade. Initially, the entire range of Simplex derailleurs went to delrin, though the company quickly began adding metal back into the designs. During the bike boom, Simplex produced some very fine derailleurs (Super LJ) but the company was already known for the poor-performing models speced on so many lower end bikes - which is of course what the majority of boom-era bikes were. By that time, most upper-level bikes used Campagnolo, and it's what most racers associated with quality.

I agree. I suppose the stem of my comment was that Simplex Delrin type NOS derailleurs of that era can be had today for 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the Huret Jubilee. More expensive = better quality, right? I know, I know... Bike component history from that era is quite an interesting animal is it not? I read your account of Simplex falling into the reputation for "poor performance" and I think of the trip-up SunTour experienced toward the mid-80s and how unfortunate it was that a couple bad products and ill-timed moves crippled them forever. Sigh.

Depends on the time.........A few notables as mentioned earlier. Huret Jubilee (drilled cage later version please), Huret Duopar (awesome touring RD) Simplex SLJ (5500 & 6500? Great friction shifting) and I'll add one.......... Any of those nifty Mavic 8 series SSC RD's. I have an 851 and it's a thing of beauty and light to boot! Oh ya! And early Simplex JUY ( I think that's what they are called, the "oil bath" ones?) are really pretty. I can't speak as to how well they work but ya gotta love the looks.

Is that a gold slj 5500 group posted above? I'd do some serious horse tradin' to get my hands on that!

+1

+2

and if we look a little bit earlier, the Simplex was way superior over the Campa Cambio Corsa or Roubaix.

Just about any of the Simplex drop parrellograms would make a nice derailleur.

Ohhh....Ahhhhh: Niiiiice

You can still find Simplex SX 610's for fairly reasonable prices. It shifts better than any 70's derailer that I know of.