Tag Archives: vintage rear derailleur

1962 Cycle Competition Cyclotourisme by Daniel Rebour

Posted on by
2

I purchased this 1962 Daniel Rebour Cycle booklet from Jan Heine about 5 years ago.  Back then I carried it with me whenever I took public transportation to work (TriMet) so I could peruse its French language pages and stare longingly upon its Daniel Rebour drawings at my leisure. While I have never taken a French language class, I studied Spanish extensively in my youth and was at one time fluent in that language.  That made it easier to have a rudimentary comprehension of what I was engrossed in while bumping along toward downtown Portland on the bus. Eventually I realized that I didn’t want the pages of this rare vintage publication to become dog-eared, so I set the booklet aside in my special bin for special stuff not to be messed with.

Unusual through the frame cable routing for rear centerpull Mafac brakes.

I have consulted this little tome a few times since then when I needed some background information on components and bicycles produced in the early 1960’s.  Recently, I dug it out because I had remembered an odd through the frame cable routing for a rear centerpull (Mafac) brake.  And even more recently, I wondered if this little booklet contained any information about French Cyclo rear derailleurs.  I figured probably not, as these derailleurs were becoming obsolete by the late 50’s.  And, I was right about that.  But, I once again was drawn into this publication, which is organized by bicycle component categories:  Frames and tubing (Le Cadre); Bottom Brackets (Les Roulements); Cranksets (Le Pédalier); Chainrings (Les Plateaux); Pedals and Toe Clips (Pédales et Cale-Pieds); Wheelsets (Les Roues); Tubular Tires (Les Boyaux); Derailleurs (Les Derailleurs); Brakes (Les Friens); and the remaining chapters on saddles, handlebars, and accessories.

Sunglasses in your kit – 1962!

Mudflap with 3 point attachment.

Classic Rene Herse 3 arm crankset.

A 1961 Goeland.

Daniel Rebour’s treasured drawings are featured in a number of print publications.  One of these is Frank Berto’s The Dancing Chain.  I frequently consult Berto’s book for insight and guidance on setting up vintage derailleurs.

Daniel Rebour contributed significantly to our understanding of vintage bicycle components.  He left a legacy that all cyclists benefit from, especially those of us committed to preserving the legacy of vintage bicycles, and we are all the better for it. I am grateful for his contribution.

Simplex Grand Prix Rear Derailleur

Posted on by
7
Simplex Grand Prix Dural

Simplex Grand Prix Dural

I thought I was looking forward to setting up this 1940’s Simplex Grand Prix Dural rear derailleur on the Mercier Meca Dural I have been restoring.  But, like everything else with this project, things didn’t go very well.

simplex-1939-03-version-2-filtered

Simplex 1939 catalogue courtesy of disraeligears.co.uk

With many resources available on the web, including a 1939 Simplex catalogue from disraeligears, plus a different Simplex catalogue I found from Peter Brueggeman, it looked like the technical resources would give me everything I needed to get this derailleur set up properly.

simplex-instrux

1939 Simplex (Fonteyn) catalogue, courtesy of http://www.peterbrueggeman.com/

These Simplex bell crank actuated derailleurs were offered from the 1930’s – 1950’s. Their mechanical function is the same across all the various models: Grand Tourisme, Rigidex, Luxe, Light Tourist, and Grand Prix (the model I am installing).  The only difference among the models is the length of the pulley cage, and the materials used.  The higher end, more lightweight models use “duralumin” – an aluminum alloy, the same stuff blimps are made of – while the lower end models are made from steel.

2017-01-08-002

The Claw

The Mercier Meca Dural I am working on did not come with a special Simplex dropout, as shown in the 1939 Simplex catalogue.  So, that meant I needed to use “the claw” to mount the derailleur to the chainstay.

2017-01-08-017

This seemingly harmless derailleur mount is actually possessed by Satan.  First of all, the claw did not fit over the threaded cylinder of this Simplex derailleur.  I tried gently pushing it on, but with the resistance I felt, decided not to force it.  Instead, crazily, I decided to disassemble the derailleur so that I could place the claw over the threaded cylinder, avoiding damage to the cylinder threads.  Or so I thought.

2017-01-07-001 2017-01-07-004

The nut at the back of the upper pulley engages the whole cylinder.  But, it was adjusted so tightly against the pulley cone that I could not release the nut.  After hours of experimentation on a different Simplex derailleur of this era (the Rigidex model) I finally found a way to hold the pulley cone with a Campagnolo crank bolt tool wedged against the pulley cage.  Unfortunately, this same technique did not work with the Grand Prix Dural derailleur, because its pulley cones had very small indentations, and any tool I tried could not hold the cone while releasing the nut.

However, one illumination finally hit my brain:  the claw doesn’t require disassembly of the cylinder – instead it is just tapped into place.  After I tried tapping the claw onto the steel Rigidex derailleur I realized this was true.  I never needed to disassemble the derailleur to attach the claw.  Satan at work…

2017-01-08-001

Once I had the claw on the derailleur it was time to mount it to the chain stay.  Of course, it didn’t fit at all.  So, it was necessary to modify the upper steel clamp of the claw’s mounting bracket.  I put the upper portion in my vise and with a wrench, opened it up quite a bit, so that it would fit on my chain stay. Hurray for steel, which is so forgiving. There is a set screw on the upper bracket which is used to keep the bracket from moving sideways under tension.

2017-01-08-012

Simplex shifter

2017-01-08-011

Cable routing

2017-01-08-010

Original housing for the derailleur

I decided to use the original shifter housing for this derailleur.  The creamy white color looks nice with my red brake housings, and to my eye looks better than the steel housing which came with this derailleur when I purchased it recently in eBay.

2017-01-08-022

The bell crank of this derailleur houses the set screw for the cable tension.  If you don’t really anchor this down, the cable will move around.  So, the set screw requires a lot of pressure to hold the cable in place.

2017-01-08-005

Yet another issue was the length of the spring which attaches to the upper pulley and a chainstay braze-on.  The supplied spring was too short, so I have modified a small wire from another derailleur, and will adjust this properly once I have determined the correct chain length.

2017-01-08-006

This rear wheel had a 4 speed freewheel which I was unsuccessful at removing. Even after re-spacing the axle to position the freewheel correctly in this bike, I was sad to learn that the rear derailleur I chose for this project is for 3 speeds, not 4.  I was not able to move the derailleur far enough over with the claw adjustment to  just to use the lower 3 gears on this freewheel. So, this bike will be geared higher than I would have liked.

simplex-05-filtered

I hope other restorers and enthusiasts continue to share their technical resources – these are invaluable even if the devil is in the details.