Yeah, I messed up putting in the link...Here it is. Thanks Bianchigirl.

https://www.rivbike.com/products/show...ube-kit/17-101

They fit right on Campagnolo compatible bosses without additional hardware.

John, the braze-on Spidel levers I have use a different diameter boss. The screws are different and the boss size is different, too. Perhaps the person who sold them to me removed them from a clamp, but I was told they were for braze-on bosses.

They should go right on. There *may* be one extra keyed washer or such to go on, but it should be included. The Shimano bar-end shifter pod that you show with the shifter is made to the same specs as a standard DT shifter boss.

I have about half a dozen sets of retrofrictions here, a couple clamp-on and the rest braze-on. Some are marked "Simplex" some are marked "Spidel," some are even unmarked, some are the old "sunburst" logo, some are the newer teardrop shape. FWIW, all the braze-on sets I have fit on Campy style bosses.

BTW, the non-marked ones were supposed to be Mavics...not sure on how true that is, but I did buy one at eBay last year advertised as such. Not really concerned if they are Mavics as long as they are retrofriction and they work...I'm sure that they did at least come from a Simplex factory.
I'm on my third set with three bikes already and I'm sure I'll get them again for some future classic project bike.......if there are still some to find out there.

Chombi

Hmmm...while everybody is talking Retrofriction, when did they first come out? Anybody got a timeline?

The Spidel shifters I bought look like the shifters you have on the white frame. Here's a link to a thread I started a while ago.

OH I feel compelled to mention that I may own one of the ugliest pair of retrofriction (actually I think they may be more like micro ratchet) shifters ever made.

Early 1970s, around 1973 IIRC.

Ah, yes. The Huret ratcheting shifters. I have a set of those as well. They are ugly as sin, but they work just like the SunTour "Power Shifters" -- that is "very nicely."

Friction shifting will always work if assembled correctly. If levers are slipping it is because there is an error in assembly. Period!

I personally despise the Simplex retrofriction shifters as they require what I feel is an inordinate degree of motion to shift. When fitted with a Mavic SSC derailleur with a 6 block, the arc of motion that was required exceeded 135°. Both types of Campagnolo retrofriction levers I tried worked in less than 100°, in keeping with what I have on all of my other bikes. I suppose it is all a matter of getting used to the action.

I recall reading that they came out the year following the release of the first Super LJ derailers.

Do you know why yours are slipping? If they have a screw in the middle, they might just need tightening.

I had a pair of Campag SR shifters that kept loosening, and others that didn't. However, once I discovered Simplex Retrofriction levers I changed all my bikes to them. I also have a pair of SunTour Power Shifters that were on my Dawes Atlantis and which never slipped. They ratchet on pulling back but are simply friction on the return. I'd recommend them, too.

[QUOTE=Dawes-man;10358886]Do you know why yours are slipping? If they have a screw in the middle, they might just need tightening.

I had a pair of Campag SR shifters that kept loosening, and others that didn't. However, once I discovered Simplex Retrofriction levers I changed all my bikes to them. I also have a pair of SunTour Power Shifters that were on my Dawes Atlantis and which never slipped. They ratchet on pulling back but are simply friction on the return. I'd recommend them, too.



Slippage is due to the screw loosening even after I tighten them. I'm hoping the ratchet would keep me in gear better.

They're certainly not much to look at.

Yes, but perhaps the beauty of the Simplex Retrofriction is their simplicity. Personally, I like their understated elegance.

BTW, what shifters is this happening with?

I was talking about the Suntours in the post previous to mine.

You should have said. I would have agreed with you.

OMG!! They look like adorable bunny ears!!!!

We need to have "The ugliest C&V components survey" asap! It could be very interesting.
I'm ready to vote for "Ofmega Pink Plastic rear derailleur".

Chombi

Hey guys... I just picked up a pair of the Simplex retro friction shifters and was wondering if they normally will bolt straight to common friction DT clamps? My Super Course has (I think) the original Simplex shifters/clamp...will the retro frictions bolt straight to these or will I need a new clamp???

TIA
-Mark in St. Louis

HEAR HEAR! Though I have not seen that Pink RD, I'm not a fan at all of the starfish crank.

EDIT: OK, phallic as all get out

not necessarily that ugly but keeping with the phallic theme, I present "The Pecker"

Oh man, I really like those Ofmega plastic deraileurs. The design is sharp & they function as good as any mechanical of that vertical paragraph design. I have a black one on my indoor training bike. I have a NOS pink one on my night stand. It looks like some type of kinky sex toy. I never paid much attention to Ofmega in the 80's but the company made some great stuff.