rootboy 

I agree. Besides, I don't want a Sun Tour on my French bike, even though the VGT was a superior derailleur. I really should get a LJ 5000 for it, but can't afford one.

Sixty Fiver

The last UO8 I built up got a Huret Svelto initially and then, because I wanted better range, went with Suntour.

Mr IGH

What's wrong with an Huret Alvit? They shift almost as nicely.

rootboy 

Huret won't fit on my dropout. Alvit ? Talk about a piece-O-junk! ...heh heh...

wrk101

Well deserved on the plastic ones. They went one step too far to cheapen up their product. Other derailleurs from that era were so much better, even the low end ones. Many of us who grew up in that era had them crack, self destruct, or whatever. I did, and I would not touch one.

:andrew

Yeah, I admit when I put this bike together I was hesitant to buy a new Simplex RD after hearing people say they are trash on here. However, I decided that I would like to keep the bike original or at least French, and if it is meant to have an inferior derailleur so be it. With that being said though, if it explodes then I will probably use something else. I have several Huret derailleurs laying around and a Suntor VGT.

Chombi

The "hate" for Simplex plastic DRs is just a form of self deprecation from Francophile C&Vers. It's could also be feeble attempts to exude the same attitude they saw in great French cyclists whom nothing seemed to be good enough.
I bet that despite the regular demonstration of pure hatred in this forum the black plastic,........deep inside the minds and hearts is the gigantic urge to name their first born son,..........."Delrin".

Chombeau.........

rootboy 

.....hee hee hee. I wonder if you'd receive a "cease and desist" order from Dupont once they found out your son's name. Delrin. Kinda has a nice ring to it. Sounds better than "Alloy".

PDXaero

I am totally naming my next cat Delrin.
Or maybe my next Llama

rootboy 

These Simplex/Crappola threads can be tiresome and I certainly don't want to find myself in the position of defending those goofy plastic derailleurs. I guess in the grand scheme of things derailleur, they weren't much good, to be sure. But I find this strident animosity strange. But, that's what opinions are for I guess. One of the first upgrades I did when I bought my PX-10 in 1971 was put a Campy NR on it. Would I rather be shifting my Nuovo Records? I guess. But I ride my French bike with the cheesy plastic derailleurs and have just as much fun. Almost.

Shaneferd

My Lucien Juy bomber, soon to be tickin'
NOS SLJ Prestige Delrin plastique in CycloTourisme fashion.
Wouldn't dare to drop the tandem on 'em.
Can't wait to spread these gears!

auchencrow

Some people dislike them because:
- they're plastic
- they're French
- they break.

I do not deny any of these things - but I like them anyway.

- The RD's shift well -(not as good as a Vx or Duopar, but better than most.)
- The jockey wheels like to crack, but are replaced easily. (I believe I have used Suntour wheels in the past, IIRC.)
- The US-spec plastic Prestige shifters are pretty awful. I think much of the hate actually comes from these. (I probably wouldn't think much of a Cyclone either, if it was mated with these shifters.)

PS - The earlier comment on using Triflo to inhibit UV degeneration of the FD sounds good, but I think many are already too far gone.

Sixty Fiver

The Alvit is a hideous piece of work.

This on the other hand...

thook

That is exquisite. I'd sleep with it every night underneath my pillow and reinstall it every morning for the ride.

JohnDThompson 

Simplex made a whole range of derailleurs, but the ones people in North America are most familiar with are the Delrin-bodied "Prestige" units. When new, these worked extremely well when paired with decent shifters. Unfortunately, most of them came of low-end bike-boom bikes and had Simplex's plastic shifters as well. These shifters were too flexible for precise shifts.

Over time, the plastic in the derailleur bodies would become brittle, and road grit would erode the pivots causing sloppy derailleur action. These problems all contributed to Simplex's poor reputation, particularly in the years after SunTour's sturdy and precise derailleurs became available on bikes at similar price points.

Simplex's detractors should keep in mind that many TdF champions won on Simplex equipment, even the much-maligned "Prestige" derailleurs. Simplex's dual-spring design was copied by Shimano in their early "Lark" and "Eagle" derailleurs, and is now ubiquitous in modern derailleurs.

JohnDThompson 

Same here; works like a champ:

thook

I installed a Prestige GT/RD on a friend's Dawe's months ago. Works remarkably well even on a wide Schwinn 5spd freewheel.........even after his years of practicing the outdoor storage method.

satbuilder 

Criteriums held together better than Prestige, at least that's my experience. Jockey wheels weren't good on either. Front units were subject to cracking. I have no experience with the metal units, but have heard they are every bit as good, some say better, than same period Campy high end stuff.

I have been able to get 2 spares for the stock Criterium on my Mercier, and before too long will have to bite the bullet on some Bullseye wheels.

rootboy 

Ah, but that's no fair JohnDT. That's one of the GOOD Simplex derailleurs.

rootboy 

YES. Beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful rear derailleur ever made?
Uh oh, better be careful with proclamations like that.

Picchio Special

The Allvit (check your spelling) was definitely not a "piece-O-junk." When it was introduced in 1958, it was a good design - it simply outlived it's useful lifespan. It's easy to disparage, based on the fact that Schwinn used it beyond it's genuinely useful lifespan. But it functioned quite well compare to other wide-range derailleurs when it debuted.

conspiratemus1

That's true: my UO-8 in 1972 started shifting (and braking, and pedalling, and steering) a whole lot better after I bought Tom Cuthbertson's "Anybody's Bike Book" which started my life-long love affair with bike maintenance. I actually quite liked the red plastic Simplex rear derailleur -- it was buttery smooth until it broke and I toured on them -- until the Suntour V-GT's came along. But the front push-rod thing was really nasty (photo in Randy's post #5 above.) If it got gritty the rod would just seize up and never again retract far enough to get a reliable shift onto the small chainring. The first time I saw a proper parallelogram FD that rose to meet the larger chainring, and that you could actually clean, I was sorely impressed.

rootboy 

I know. Thanks. I've got nothing against them. Just throwing out a jab there , in the spirit of the thread. Should have used a winky face I guess.

conspiratemus1

...or "Allvit"

JohnDThompson 

I've often thought that "Allvit" was a contraction of "Allez vite"