You really know how to hurt a guy Dbakl. heh ,, yeah, the whole idea was based on not 'drewing" the frame at all. Sometimes I think it would have been a whole lot easier just to drew it! Seriously, though, thanks for the hints n' tips.
I did have a bit of a mis-aligned cage but I think most of the trouble was the derailleur sitting at near 90 degrees thus seriously affecting chain wrap, and, it seemed the pusher portion of the cage couldn't influence the chain enough...if that makes sense..to shift cleanly up through the cluster. Plus, my jockey pulley is farther away from the cluster given the dimensions of the Simplex dropout being slightly different from the Campy, which was exacerbating the problem.

However, I've improved the performance considerably. necked down the stop boss nub on the derailleur a bit more and got the angle to about where it would sit on a Campy dropout, almost, and it's cleaned up the action quite a bit.

Thanks Kurt but, then I wouldn't be hand-crafting a fix myself.
And I'm not sure I'll ever need more than one of these . HA!

You can also fine-tune the jockey wheel position by altering chain length. A couple more links will let the cage rotate a bit farther, bringing the jockey pulley up. Obviously, this approach has its limits...

rootboy, try moving the wheel back in the dropouts. If that doesn't help, remove the adjustment screws and pull the wheel all the way back.

Good idea. Always trust a guy with a bigole mustache!

Good tips fellas, thank you. I was dealing with numerous issues apparently, but it's much better now. I did add two chain links dbakl and ctmullins, thanks, and it helped. And removing the Simplex dropout clamp spacer thingees is an interesting idea Noglider, thanks. Hadn't thought of that. It alters the caliper line up on the rim a bit but I can adjust for that. Don't want to go all the way back as I think it affects the wheel base too radically, but I may slightly alter those stops to throw the axle back another 3/16 or so. Which couldn't hurt. Thx.

Eight years and some months later, and I finally did it. I didn’t file away too much just yet, out of caution. But based on what I have now, I think I’m going for some more angle.




I also mounted a set of Soma long cage plates, just for fun.

More angle. This actually shifts fairly well. Not great, but not bad. Might yet need a bit more filing.

^ Sure is long housing, though. And the ferrule doesn't fit in the derailleur. Maybe use some trimmed, lined brake housing instead.

Agreed. Delete the ferrule. The modified angle of the dangle is perfect though. Good thing hacking into the Triomphe; it's B stop was never right to begin with.

-Kurt

Of course you guys are right. I thought the same thing right about the time you were posting, when reviewing my photos again.

So today I found a section of brake housing the right length, and went about replacing it.

But since I’m removing the derailleur cable anyway, might as well do a wee bit more filing for a wee bit more angle.

And while the chain was off, I noticed my cranks were spinning notchy, so I pulled them to inspect the bottom bracket.

Turns out the spindle bearing surfaces were seriously galled, so I binned the spindle and went looking for another.

Then I took some measurements, and discovered that this is one of those weird early Nishikis with the English threaded 70mm shell.

Huh?

Nobody sells English threaded 70mm bottom brackets.

After a bunch of searching and reading, I found a 70mm Shimano 600 spindle the right length. But it won’t arrive until late next week.

So I can’t reassemble to see if the additional filing and the shorter cable housing improved things.....

Domino effect. Been there, done that. Yesterday, I needed a 113mm bottom bracket to replace a 107. I had lots in stock...117...118...124...126...but no 113.

Hence why the house is basically a big box full of spare bike parts...

-Kurt

Actually, I remembered a trick I learned decades ago from a LBS owner. I have a couple of too-long BB spindles in my stash. Totally wrong chain line when installed. But if you turn them the other way, so the too-long section is on the non-drive side, then it works fine, except your left pedal is too far out, which isn’t a huge deal, at least for the short term.

So while I’m waiting on the correct spindle, this one will serve.

Reassembled and briefly tested, and I think this will do.




Ever so slightly more angle, probably imperceptible to y’all, but I know it’s there.

And for reference, here’s a shot of the filed-down stop:

Lol, honestly this Triomphe is essentially disposable! I got it for cheap due to a mis-labeled auction listing. And I have Victory and Super Record (as well as a few period Shimano and quite a few period SunTour mechs too) in my big box... (Pretty sure I need a twelve-step program....)

And the bike is a knockabout mixte for casual/trail use, a genre that doesn’t really care about sheen....

I will mention how very happy I am to have IRD 7-speed freewheels with modern shifting ramps. This breathes new life into old derailleurs. Units that struggled to shift straight cogs work great with ramped cogs, which means I can indulge my irrational drop-parallelogram fetish without suffering for it!