I have a 1977 Schwinn Superior that I have been fixing up. I'm trying to use as much french stuff as I can. I have Mafac brakes, Nervar crank and thought Simplex derailleurs would fit the build. Question is will a vintage '72 Simplex Prestige/Criterium derailleur thread into a Huret dropout? or will it only work on Simplex drops.

Simplex derailleurs were never meant to thread into anything. The Simplex dropout bosses aren't threaded, and I'm pretty sure that the Huret boss is too big in diameter for the Simplex mount bolt. Why use a Prestige anything, though? They're crap.

Why don't you put on a Huret?

That would make the most sense.... There's a few Huret Challengers on eBay right now (Most times there are honestly), they look sharp and shift crisply. Nothing wrong with Huret.

I'll check out the Hurets. Just always liked the look of the Simplex derailleurs.

So Simplex drops arent threaded? Never knew that. I know Campy NR. Its what I've had for ever. Just trying to find something interesting and french to put on this bike.

If you get creative with the mounting bolt, you can mix and match derailleurs and hangers. I ran a SunTour Cyclone II on my Peugeot PKN-10, then switched back to the original Simplex when I gave the bike to my son.

The Challenger and DuoPar are solid units and perform very well.

Older Simplex dropouts used an unthreaded 9mm hole. The derailleur was secured in place by a bolt that threaded into the pivot shaft from the inside of the dropout. Many of these dropouts were tapped by shops or consumers to 10mm x 1.0mm to accommodate threaded mounting bolts, and this did not interfere with using an old style unthreaded Simplex derailleur either.

Later Simplex dropouts used standard 10mm x 1.0mm thread and the derailleurs threaded into the dropout in the typical fashion.

Unfortunately, Huret dropouts and hangers are decidedly different from what everybody else uses:

The Huret Success works really well too. Way beyond anything it was spec'd for back in the day.

The Simplex Criterium is not crap. The one that came on my PX10 lasted at least 10 years and it always shifted well, certainly better than a Campy Nuovo Record. I just traded one away that came from the factory with ball bearing pulleys.

My dead grandmother shifts better from within her tomb than an NR. I dunno, I just never liked any of them.

As always, send me all those crappy shifting Campy and Simplex derailleurs. Never did I hear about the poor shifting quality of Campy derailleurs until I happened upon this forum. Of course I am stuck in the mid '70s and consider most bikes and parts made after this time period as new garbage. And well, you know how things are made in Japan. Some upstart called Shimano thinks it can rival Campagnolo, Please!

ooowee...watch out Big C-Ring. Dem's fightin' words in some circles. But, I'm with you. However, Nuovo Record derailleurs had a reputation for imprecise shifting even back in the mid 70's, but it didn't matter. We got used to slightly over-shifting and then coming back a bit. Besides, they lasted as long or longer than any other derailleur made, not to mention being beautiful.

That's because you never road with me. Back in the early 80's I used to ride with the manager of Alberto's and Turin. I'd challenge them to shift in the middle of a climb. Their NRs would grind and mash whilst my Crane flicked effortlessly to the next gear.

Are you sure you didnt have just a little assist from Plankton?

Agreed. The Success is essentially a Challenger made out of titanium. Great derailleur, but they've been fetching pretty heady prices these days.

The best thing you can do to improve the shifting of Campy NR/SR derailleurs is to pair them with Simplex Retrofriction shift levers.

I like retrofrictions too, but how would they make those derailers shift better?

Typical Simplex RD's will not work with Huret hangers due to the casting thickness:



-Kurt

The retrofrictions are much more precise.

Slant parallelogram ftw.

Do the Simplex shifters have a different cable wrap diameter compared to the Campy shifters? I remember the smaller diameter Dura-Ace shifters seems to make Campy NR derailluers shift even worse than Campy shifters did.

The Simplex retrofriction shifters have a relatively small diameter. Maybe one man's "more precise" is another man's "even worse".