OldsCOOL

Oh the horror. I'm having flashbacks to my teen years on the Mirage with the Allvit RD.

ironwood

Maxi car hubs are considered among the best ever made

kroozer 

Spidel was made by different French manufacturers to create a French "group". Kind of like Suntour contracted with other Japanese companies to make the Superbe and other groups. Both ultimately went under but made some very nice stuff while they lasted. Mavic produced a racing group for a while but I don't remember the dates. One aspect in which the French beat Campagnolo hands-down was in touring-oriented gear like wide-range cranks and derailleurs.

I always thought French parts were much more interesting before they started copying Campagnolo. The fact that they are not a group like Campagnolo Record makes them funner to mix and match. You have many options for "best French", these are some of the best-known. There were also a lot of other lesser-known but well-made components.
Cranks: Stronglight 49/93/105, TA Cyclotouriste/Professional, Nervar 631
Pedals: Maillard 700, Lyotard 23/460/45/65
Derailleurs: Simplex LJ5500/LJ4000, Huret Jubilee/Challenger/Duopar
Brakes: Mafac Competition/2000/cantilever, CLB Professional
Saddles: Ideale 90/92/2002/2004
Seat posts: Simplex, JPR
Hubs: Maillard 700, Pelissier 2000, Maxi Car
Rims: too many to list
Headsets: Stronglight A-9/Delta, JPR

Camplex

Yeah, there are some individual parts that have been so praised over time that the mythology has been widely accepted... For example, the old needle-bearing Stronglight A9 headsets. I've never ridden on Maxi-Car hubs but like others, I've heard of their reliability and high level of quality. I like the Maillard 700 Professional hubs, and the matching group. I would also echo the sentiment regarding the Super LJ groupset. Front and rear derailleurs + retrofriction levers. They're stylish, functional, reliable, smooth, light, strong, etc.

While I plan on utilizing SunTour bar-cons / drive-train on my next bike, I very much like the feel of the Simplex group. Might be my favorite (hence the handle!) ...

Mavic products from that period are excellent in my experience - hubs, headsets, rims, and drivetrain components. Makes it easy to tout mavic. No surprise there.. They're survivors.

I've had mixed experiences with Mafac products. Dialed-in correctly, I think the center pulls work excellent. I think they can be a bit of a pain to set-up 100% correctly though.... Anything Spidel, I think would represent some of France's best, given their raison d'etre. Of course, the levers...

photogravity

Mostly agree with this, though the Huret Jubilee is one of the finest dérailleurs ever made.

clubman 

My vote for best stoppers ever.

mtnbke

No question, MAVIC SSC.

Sean Kelly won Tour stages on it, Lemond won a Tour on it. Of the early 80s the "erector" set MAVIC SSC group was gorgeous, it didn't have the slant parallelogram rear derailleur of the 840/841/845 to come later, but it shifted fine for what it was. Think Campagnolo Nuovo Record. It used a titanium attachment bolt, but strangely steel pulley cages. Go figure. The sealed bearing hubs are legendary. Light enough for the grand tours, but strong enough for mountain bikes. Yep. The axles on the hubs are the same diameter as Phil Wood touring hubs, but they neck down at the bearings, where Phil Wood's don't.

When Mavic introduced their mountain bike group, they didn't reinvent the wheel. They already had great epic hubs. They simply swapped in a 135mm axle for the 130mm and they had one of the best freewheel mountain bike hubs ever. Most freewheel mountain bike hubs weren't properly supported, and suffered from bent or broken axles. Not the Mavic. Plenty of people ride 140/145 tandem Phil Wood freewheel hubs to this day with no issues. Mavic hubs are almost as strong, but not quite.

The Mavic cranks, brakes calipers, levers, and shifters of both the early and late 80s groups were nice. I prefer the lines and design of the early stuff, but the 640 pedals are my favorites, and I love the Starfish cranks. The early Mavic shifters were simply Simplex Retrofriction shifters rebranded (or rather NOT branded at all) as Mavic. Into the modern era you could still get Mavic road calipers and the reviews on Excelsports and other websites had many cyclists removing Campagnolo skeleton calipers of the Mavics.

In my mind the best french group of the early 80s or the late 80s is the same: Mavic SSC. Both the early group and the later group are special to me. I love MAVIC kit.

pastorbobnlnh 

Phillip, you need to build a bike with your MAVIC gear and post pictures. Most of us don't have much exposure to this equipment and would like to see it in use!

Grand Bois

Campagnolo Nuovo Record used titanium attachment bolts and steel pulley cages?

kroozer 

I agree-- maybe the SSC group was the best (for racing anyway), but I wouldn't know because I almost never see it.

Pars 

Think he was referring to the Mavic SSC erector set RD...

Grand Bois

I get it now.

Chombi

Uhmmm..... I can guarantee that the Mavic 801/851 SSC RD's have aluminum jockey wheel cages.....

I can understand though how one might mistake them for steel as they are they are designed like thin, flat plates.
I had quite a few sets of such and have them currently installed on three of my five C&V bikes....
The pivot bolts look and feel like Ti, but that, I cannot confirm....at least I know they are not steel.
As for performance, Per my personal experience, I would say they are not the best. Maybe just above average, but certainly better than Campy NR. Simplex SLJ5500s and 6600s and their similar variants actually shift much quicker and more precisely, but the Mavics do beat them in the "weight weenie" and "bling" contest.....