gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » What RD's are you guys using on your TDF's    View previous topic :: View next topic  What RD's are you guys using on your TDF's   Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:13 pm gmany Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Posts: 47 I've got a TDF, plastic prestige RD and a really heavy Campy touring RD. I can use the prestige, but I'm leaning away from the 40 year old plastic and toward putting out the cash for a Super LJ. Does the SLJ have the simplex mount or the Campy mount? Is the SLJ worth it? Is there another RD I should try to get instead? Thanks for the advice. _________________ Garrett Miles Saint Louis, Missouri Re: What RD's are you guys using on your TDF's   Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:31 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area gmany wrote: I've got a TDF, plastic prestige RD and a really heavy Campy touring RD. Greetings and welcome to the Forum if this is your first post. When you say "really heavy Campy" do you mean the 2.1 Lb. all steel Gran Turismo with the Grim Reaper's scythe shaped pulley cage? I have one of these and it's sitting on my desk as a conversation piece! These were some of the worst shifting derailleurs made after 1970. They are so strong that if a chain gets hung up you are very likely to destroy the dropout! gmany wrote: I can use the prestige, but I'm leaning away from the 40 year old plastic and toward putting out the cash for a Super LJ. Does the SLJ have the simplex mount or the Campy mount? Is the SLJ worth it? Is there another RD I should try to get instead? The TdFs came with Simplex Criterium derailleurs not Prestige. The Criterium was the same design but a little better built. I've seen pictures of TdFs with Prestige derailleurs but I don't think that they were original equipment, probably replacements for damaged Criterium RDs during the 1970s bike boom. When properly lubricated and adjusted, Simplex Criterium RDs shifted far better than all but one model Campy derailleur produced before the late 80s. The one model was the 1974 first generation Campy Rally rear derailleur. It was short lived before campy changed the design but it was a great touring derailleur. History lesson: During the bike boom era of the early 70s a lot of TdFs, Peugeot PX-10s and equivalent Motobecane models were sold as vanity/impulse purchases. The owners rode them until the first flat tire (sewups) or their butt hurt from an improperly sized or adjusted bike or saddle. Many of these bikes have been sitting in basements or garages since those days. That's why you can find these bikes on eBay or Craigslist in such good condition (sometimes). The FIRST thing that most TdF owners did was change the saddle, frequently to a Brooks B17 or Pro model. The next thing was the derailleurs: Campagnolo Nuovo Record if they could afford it of Suntour V or VG if not. The proprietary Simplex rear dropouts needed to be modified to fit other make derailleurs. The unthreaded 9mm hole had to be tapped out 10mm x 26TPI (or the common M10x1.0) and part of the rear of the hanger filed away. This was the fast and dirty area of metal removed. Someone did a nice job on this bike. Then there were a few butchered bikes where some idiot with a hacksaw cut off the Simplex gear hanger and mounted another brand derailleur with a "claw" attachment! To answer your question about SLJ derailleurs, yes they work very well and the should fit your dropout without any modifications. The tab on the back side of the derailleur hooks onto the front edge of the hanger. All metal Simplex SLJ 5500. Mostly metal Simplex SX410 (SX610 & SX630 are similar). A word of caution, Simplex made innumerable models of derailleurs in the 70s through the early 80s. http://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g2_itemId=20151 It seems that some eBay sellers call anything with Simplex on it an SLJ! SLJ rear derailleurs were constructed of aluminum alloy. The real ones sell for a lot of money since Japanese collectors fancy them... I better not go there! The lesser SX4xx and 6xx models have metal reinforced plastic pieces in the mid section of the parallelograms. They have steel pulley cages rather than aluminum like the SLJ models. They shift well too. Why useless, unneeded pieces of plastic??? Lucian Juy the founder of Simplex single handedly destroyed the French cycling industry with his fetish for plastic... I wont go there either! Avoid the models with Delrin plastic pivot knuckles at end of the parallelograms. The 30+ year old plastic tend to crack. Lastly, you can mount a lot of different brands of rear derailleurs on Simplex dropouts as long as they have the tab like the Simplex derailleurs. You will need to have the hole tapped out which is an easy job for anyone with some experience. Some mid 70s Shimano derailleurs like the Titilist and Crane work great. Good luck. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:40 am scozim Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 629 Location: Ellensburg, WA What Chas says. A lot depends on that dropout. I have two bikes with the SX610 and SX630 and they work quite well. These models have been selling for $35 US and higher on Ebay. I lost out on a couple auctions but found a donor 1984 Trek 420L (mixte) loaded with a Simplex SX630 long cage rear derailleur and SJA102 front derailleur (also SJA downtube shifters and helicomatic rear hub ) all for $45 US. Those parts will come in quite handy when the others on my bikes start to give up their usefulness. The newer (1980's) Gitane's may have a threaded dropouts. My Simplex SX630 on my Sprint has been swapped for a Suntour Edge and the Ofmega on my TdF has been changed to a Suntour Blue Line. Scott _________________ 1984 Gitane Sprint 1984 Gitane Tour de France mid-1970's Gitane Olympic Plus many more http://eburgcycling.blogspot.com Yes, it is the Gran Tourismo   Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:01 pm gmany Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Posts: 47 It has some nice details, like red or blue paint in the engravings. But yeah, pretty heavy. Thanks guys, I'll probably set my sights on one of the plastic/metal ones since the SLJ is so much $. Are there any good online sources on wheel building? I've acquired a proper rear hub to replace the schwinn one that was on the bike. _________________ Garrett Miles Saint Louis, Missouri Re: Yes, it is the Gran Tourismo   Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 8:31 pm scozim Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 629 Location: Ellensburg, WA gmany wrote: Are there any good online sources on wheel building? I've acquired a proper rear hub to replace the schwinn one that was on the bike. Check some of the local bike shops or co-ops. The mechanic I bought my TdF from does a wheelbuilding class for $60. Might be the way to go. _________________ 1984 Gitane Sprint 1984 Gitane Tour de France mid-1970's Gitane Olympic Plus many more http://eburgcycling.blogspot.com Wheel Building Book   Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:04 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Wheelpro is an easy to use wheel building book that you can download in a .PDF format: http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php The cost is £9 GBP or under $14 USD. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:21 am Frenchbuilt Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 443 When we bought our bikes we thought that the Simplex "plastic" Criterium Derailleurs were very high tech and modern. The Campy derailleurs had a very old look and along with the high price, we never changed over from the Simplex. I put many thouands of miles on my bike and never had any trouble using only water, dirt and oil for lubrication. The plastic even gave a softer, isolated feel (I think). The same thing can be said for the Stronglight(93) cranks which had a very BBS wheel look which fit the times and again were more modern when compared to the very classic Campy cranks. Leg strength made up for any differences in weight or "qualitie" between Italian class and French design. Just walking around Paris you still see many (but less than 10 years ago) daily "clunker" bikes and most have some sort of Simplex Derailleur under all of the dirt gunk. Thanks, Dan   Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 5:19 pm Kirk Joined: 21 Mar 2006 Posts: 8 Location: Northern California I have kind of an oddball Super LJ on my TdF. It looks like a cross between an SX610 and a SLJ 6600 Aerodynamic and has a Motobecane logo. It's all metal with an aluminum cage and pulley bolts and it says Super LJ on the back. I also have an SX610 on one of my Peugeots and 3 spares in a drawer. I think that the SX610 is highly underrated. It shifts just as well as the SLJ. It's just about 35 grams heavier.   Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 5:46 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Kirk wrote: I have kind of an oddball Super LJ on my TdF. It looks like a cross between an SX610 and a SLJ 6600 Aerodynamic and has a Motobecane logo. It's all metal with an aluminum cage and pulley bolts and it says Super LJ on the back. That's the absolute top of the line Super LJ with a dropped parallelogram. It will shift with the best of them! It was badged for the Motobecane Team Champion bikes. You really don't want THAT thing contaminating your nice Gitane! I have some nice SX610s and SX630s that would look much better on your bike! Kirk wrote: I also have an SX610 on one of my Peugeots and 3 spares in a drawer. I think that the SX610 is highly underrated. It shifts just as well as the SLJ. It's just about 35 grams heavier. I have one that index shifts a 12-28 Shimano cassette using Sachs-Huret 8sp indexing levers! _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 7:11 pm scozim Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 629 Location: Ellensburg, WA Kirk wrote: I also have an SX610 on one of my Peugeots and 3 spares in a drawer. I think that the SX610 is highly underrated. It shifts just as well as the SLJ. It's just about 35 grams heavier. I would agree - I tend to lean to the SX630 and have two, one being a long cage version. I have another bike with an SX610. Other than the disintegrating jockey wheel problem they work quite well. Besides, the SX4** and SX6** derailleurs can be had for a lot less money than the SLJ's. _________________ 1984 Gitane Sprint 1984 Gitane Tour de France mid-1970's Gitane Olympic Plus many more http://eburgcycling.blogspot.com What RD's are you guys using on your TDF's     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.