In your opinion, what is the best looking rear derailer?
Likes For johnnyace:
08-08-21, 09:59 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Kips Bay, NY
Posts: 2,062
Bikes: Ritchey Swiss Cross | Teesdale Kona Hot | Haro Extreme | Specialized Stumpjumper Comp | Cannondale F1000 | Shogun 1000 | Cannondale M500 | Norco Charger | Marin Muirwoods 29er | Shogun Kaze | Breezer Lightning
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 523 Post(s)
Liked 770 Times
in
406 Posts
Short cage DX is a looker too
08-08-21, 03:56 PM
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Menomonee Falls, WI
Posts: 1,539
Bikes: 1984 Schwinn Supersport, 1988 Trek 400T, 1977 Trek TX900, 1982 Bianchi Champione del Mondo, 1978 Raleigh Supercourse, 1986 Trek 400 Elance, 1991 Waterford PDG OS Paramount, 1971 Schwinn Sports Tourer, 1985 Trek 670
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 507 Post(s)
Liked 696 Times
in
377 Posts
They are all pretty ugly, so I go with what’s the best shifting rear derailleur. Of course we are talking CV friction.
Tim
Tim
08-08-21, 07:21 PM
#29
Señor Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Pac NW
Posts: 5,536
Bikes: Old school lightweights
Mentioned: 71 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2295 Post(s)
Liked 2,947 Times
in
1,604 Posts
Originally Posted by Kapusta
Nothing else in this thread even comes close to this.
.
08-08-21, 07:47 PM
#30
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 4,744
Bikes: 1986 Cannondale SR400 (Flat bar commuter), 1988 Cannondale Criterium XTR, 1992 Serotta T-Max, 1995 Trek 970
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1535 Post(s)
Liked 1,490 Times
in
940 Posts
Originally Posted by tkamd73
They are all pretty ugly, so I go with what’s the best shifting rear derailleur. Of course we are talking CV friction.
Tim
Tim
It is very nice looking, especially for ‘87. It is really not that far off in looks from the RD-7703 above.
John
08-08-21, 07:56 PM
#31
Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 9,758
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2812 Post(s)
Liked 1,968 Times
in
1,306 Posts
Originally Posted by HTupolev
Knock-offs usually don't look nicer than the derailleurs they copy, but this one is an exception. Not that the Crane GS looks bad by any stretch, but Shimano's properly-designed b-knuckle isn't quite as pretty as Campagnolo's exploding b-knuckle (at least prior to it exploding), and I'm not quite sure what Shimano was going for with the sorta-drilled-esque tensioner cage plates.
One extra-beautiful thing about Shimano's 600 Arabesque derailleurs is that its knock-offs are beautifully weird.
One extra-beautiful thing about Shimano's 600 Arabesque derailleurs is that its knock-offs are beautifully weird.
08-08-21, 08:35 PM
#32
Senior Member
Originally Posted by veganbikes
Yeah I believe SunRace did a knock off as well
Likes For HTupolev:
08-08-21, 09:09 PM
#33
Senior Member
+1 Huret Jubilee. I had one on my old Raleigh Super Course from 1975. Beautiful design, light weight and great shifter. Piece of cake to adjust.
Simplicity....
Simplicity....
Likes For drlogik:
08-08-21, 09:11 PM
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Ellay
Posts: 213
Bikes: 2002 Eddy Merckx Team SC Resto-Mod; 2019 Ibis Hakka MX; 2017 Spot Brand Ajax Belt Drive
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 104 Post(s)
Liked 134 Times
in
78 Posts
I love the classic Campy, Suntour and Simplex mechs shown in this thread. But just to mix it up, here are a few interesting ones that I think look pretty cool:
Rotor Uno
Mavic Mektronic -- kinda weird looking, but also pretty cool. The French seem to be good at this type of thing - like a Citroen or something. Deserves props for being (I believe) the first electronic derailleur:
Paul Powerglide. These usually came in gaudy anodized color combinations (very 90s), but it's a really cool looking chunk of metal IMO:
Hard to find a good picture of this one, but I always thought the Gripshft (later SRAM) ESP 9.0 carbon rear derailleur looked nice. I had one of these on my MTB in about 1996 I think.
Rotor Uno
Mavic Mektronic -- kinda weird looking, but also pretty cool. The French seem to be good at this type of thing - like a Citroen or something. Deserves props for being (I believe) the first electronic derailleur:
Paul Powerglide. These usually came in gaudy anodized color combinations (very 90s), but it's a really cool looking chunk of metal IMO:
Hard to find a good picture of this one, but I always thought the Gripshft (later SRAM) ESP 9.0 carbon rear derailleur looked nice. I had one of these on my MTB in about 1996 I think.
Likes For mattcalifornia:
08-09-21, 07:03 PM
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Humboldt County, CA
Posts: 639
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 293 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 276 Times
in
189 Posts
1st generation Suntour Superbe:
Fresh out of it's red & gold 1980 box... still had the hanger bolt twist-tied to the derailleur. Gorgeous satin finish, little stipples under the black anodizing on the label area, the lettering on the pivots is super sharp and crisp... hell, even the spring is pretty. (It's one long piece of wire, with a neat-o little pentagonal "pad" bent into it where it bears on the parallelogram body... durned thing probably took forever to bend.)
And it shifts even better than it looks.
--Shannon
PS: Also, the Mavic SSC was a knockout.
Fresh out of it's red & gold 1980 box... still had the hanger bolt twist-tied to the derailleur. Gorgeous satin finish, little stipples under the black anodizing on the label area, the lettering on the pivots is super sharp and crisp... hell, even the spring is pretty. (It's one long piece of wire, with a neat-o little pentagonal "pad" bent into it where it bears on the parallelogram body... durned thing probably took forever to bend.)
And it shifts even better than it looks.
--Shannon
PS: Also, the Mavic SSC was a knockout.
Likes For ShannonM:
08-10-21, 12:57 PM
#36
High Performance Noodler
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 12,443
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Mentioned: 56 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6491 Post(s)
Liked 6,187 Times
in
3,492 Posts
Originally Posted by rwh
I still can't get past the obvious herpes jokes, but it is a beautiful machine.
08-10-21, 01:09 PM
#37
Sunshine
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 14,286
Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo
Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7814 Post(s)
Liked 4,772 Times
in
2,762 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferRosa
How 'bout Victory?
.
.
08-10-21, 01:10 PM
#38
Sunshine
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 14,286
Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo
Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7814 Post(s)
Liked 4,772 Times
in
2,762 Posts
08-10-21, 08:25 PM
#39
Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 9,758
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2812 Post(s)
Liked 1,968 Times
in
1,306 Posts
Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Close the thread- the winner was finally mentioned!
08-11-21, 03:43 AM
#42
Me duelen las nalgas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 13,221
Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel
Mentioned: 195 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4386 Post(s)
Liked 2,418 Times
in
1,568 Posts
Another vote for the Campagnolo Nuovo Record. Preferably 1976, if only because that's the year I started cycling "seriously." All I could afford at the time was a Motobecane Mirage with decent Suntour and other components, one step up from rock bottom (Huret, I think, on the Nomade, which I also had briefly)... while lusting over the Campy goodies in the magazines and stores.
It just looks right... as long as you need only a corncob freewheel with five cogs and don't plan to shift much in a hurry.
I enjoy this summary from the excellent Disraeli Gears site:
In terms of form and function, I must be partial to both the Suntour GPX Accushift and Shimano 600 (6401) Tricolor rear derailleurs, because I use both. They're cosmetically similar: blue/grey accents, mostly smooth lines, rounded edges, shrouded pulleys. Pretty simple, reliable, subdued good looks.
Both work equally well, once the Suntour drivetrain is tweaked. After piddling with the GPX RD for the first year, fussing over minor issues, I realized the main problem isn't the derailleur but the original Suntour chain (awful, the crudest built chain I've seen on a modern bike) and Alpha freewheels. Switching to a KMC Z72 chain and SunRace MFR30 or MFM30 freewheels resolved all my shifting complaints. And I replaced the draggy original sintered bearing pulleys with excellent but affordable Tacx Delrin sealed bearing pulleys, which I even prefer over Shimano Centeron.
And I have some Dura Ace 8 and 10 speed stuff, but for some reason haven't installed 'em yet. That was my 2020 project but all I wanted to do was ride my bike, so the DA stuff is still in a box waiting for that round tuit.
It just looks right... as long as you need only a corncob freewheel with five cogs and don't plan to shift much in a hurry.
I enjoy this summary from the excellent Disraeli Gears site:
Frank Berto caustically comments that the Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur shifted poorly, but was so well constructed that it would keep on shifting exactly as poorly - forever.
In terms of form and function, I must be partial to both the Suntour GPX Accushift and Shimano 600 (6401) Tricolor rear derailleurs, because I use both. They're cosmetically similar: blue/grey accents, mostly smooth lines, rounded edges, shrouded pulleys. Pretty simple, reliable, subdued good looks.
Both work equally well, once the Suntour drivetrain is tweaked. After piddling with the GPX RD for the first year, fussing over minor issues, I realized the main problem isn't the derailleur but the original Suntour chain (awful, the crudest built chain I've seen on a modern bike) and Alpha freewheels. Switching to a KMC Z72 chain and SunRace MFR30 or MFM30 freewheels resolved all my shifting complaints. And I replaced the draggy original sintered bearing pulleys with excellent but affordable Tacx Delrin sealed bearing pulleys, which I even prefer over Shimano Centeron.
And I have some Dura Ace 8 and 10 speed stuff, but for some reason haven't installed 'em yet. That was my 2020 project but all I wanted to do was ride my bike, so the DA stuff is still in a box waiting for that round tuit.
Likes For canklecat:
08-11-21, 05:35 AM
#43
Senior Member
Originally Posted by datlas
Campagnolo C Record
08-11-21, 05:55 AM
#44
Zip tie Karen
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
Posts: 7,003
Bikes: '13 Motobecane Fantom29 HT, '16 Motobecane Turino Pro Disc, '16 Motobecane Gran Premio Elite, '18 Velobuild VB-R-022, '21 Tsunami SNM-100
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1459 Post(s)
Liked 1,532 Times
in
801 Posts
After reading this thread, I'm concluding that derailleurs are like feet...
08-11-21, 06:21 AM
#45
Industry guy
Function or style?
This is a great one for style points.
This is a great one for style points.
Likes For 100bikes:
08-12-21, 01:57 PM
#47
Senior Member
Originally Posted by datlas
Campagnolo C Record
Likes For kcjc:
08-12-21, 02:49 PM
#48
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 756
Bikes: S-Works Stumpjumper HT Disc, Fuji Absolute, Kona Jake the Snake, '85 Cannondale SR900
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 217 Post(s)
Liked 215 Times
in
141 Posts
I like pretty much all the SunTour Cyclone/GT series, and even though Disraeli Gears can't stand its beefier pulley cage arm or whatever, I dig it, and it just looks like what nicer bikes had when I was a kid, before Shimano indexed became ubiquitous. 
08-12-21, 03:52 PM
#49
Riding after dark
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: on the trails
Posts: 66
Bikes: Raleigh Tripper (coaster brake), Raleigh One Way, '97 Specialized Rockhopper
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 32 Times
in
25 Posts
I'm not big on derailleurs (more of a single-speed fan) but that Campagnolo C Record looks amazing.
08-12-21, 04:30 PM
#50
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 2,230
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1321 Post(s)
Liked 1,124 Times
in
687 Posts
What a blast from the past, I can't believe how many of these beauties that I owned at one point. The Superb was a very underrated product, it shifted incredibly well in its era and was elegant.
