Originally Posted by
JohnDThompson
Yeah, the Simplex front derailleur braze-on is incompatible with anything else. You can find the derailleurs on eBay every so often. Maybe try ebay.fr to get closer to the source?
The good news is that if you find one, they're actually a good performing derailleur.
If you choose your chainring sizes carefully, you may be able to mount a Campagnolo front derailleur above or below the braze-on, but chances are, it's going to be in the way for common chainring sizes.
Hmm, it's good to hear that the Simplex FD is a reliable mechanism. I've read claims that issues with a helicomatic freewheel were solved by switching out stock simplex derailleurs for other models. Info about the helicomatic freewheel is hard to find at all; do you have any experience with 'em? Thanks for your advice!
Originally Posted by
tiger1964
Any hope for fabbing an adapter? I don't have any bikes new enough from braze-on. My first thought was cannibalize the dead Simplex and chop it up to use the "base" for attaching a Campy; otherwise a chunk of angle aluminum?
I think this goes beyond my skillset in metal-working!
