Lark or Sprint?
 

It's the ultimate derailleur question, perhaps unanswerable by all but the wisest, and yet I shall ask:

Shimano Lark (black, circa 1967) in very good condition, or Schwinn Sprint (Huret, 1964) that looks like hell but is more or less functional?

The Sprint is original hardware on my wife's '64 Collegiate, "Goldie." The Lark came off a parts bike and may, depending on your answers, end up on her bike. Originality isn't terribly important; superior functionality in a grocery/community garden/library environment is.

According to what I see on the Disraeli Gears site the '67 Lark used 2 cables in a push-pull arrangement: Shimano Lark-W derailleur (1st style)

In that case I'd say stick with the Sprint (rebadged Huret Allvit). But since you don't care about originality and those Sprint derailleurs can sell for quite a bit on eBay to people who *do* care about originality I'd say sell it, buy something new and cheap that works better and pocket the difference: Shimano SIS RD TY18 Rear Mountain Road Bike Bicycle Derailleur 6 Speed MTB New | eBay

Here's the one we're talking about: Lark Black (2nd style) I guess I dated it incorrectly in the original post.
Condition is very nearly as pictured.

The Sprint is in no condition to fetch a decent dollar. It was a Portland bike. Chrome is pitted and rusty, innards are tired but still not giving up the ghost.

In that case I'd go with the Lark! Keep the Sprint if you ever intend on selling the bike, or sell it separately as even beat-up ones sell pretty well: Schwinn Derailleur Sprint 66 Stingray Fastback Bike Muscle Bicycle Shifter | eBay

If I am doing it to have a bike to ride, sorry, none of the above. Instead I would pull out a Suntour V with a claw hanger.

The early V GT showed up on a lot of early 1970s bikes. The quick cage design is really nice. Common co-op fodder.

http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/..._style%29.html

I'd say go with the Lark, but keep the Sprint if you decide to sell the bike. I had a Suburban that had the Shimano built GT100 (a big piece of crap) and ended up using a Shimano Eagle to finally get the bike rideable (a teacher gave me a beat up Texas Ranger 5-speed for parts).

Agreed -- SunTour beats everything else of that vintage by a wide margin. There is a reason everyone else copied the slant planograph just as soon as SunTour's patent expired.

That's cheating, but not a half-bad idea. Going to the co-op tomorrow. Maybe I'll pick one up.
Now c'mon... make the tough choice! :lol: