noglider 

Aha, suddenly, I understand. If I'm right, Hirose removed the return spring so you didn't have to push hard against it when shifting down. And the two cables pulled in opposite directions.

1pc@atime

I sorted out a few so far but there's still 3/4 of the bucket left. The same guy dropped off a few boxes of misc freewheels and two boxes of older Suntour derailleurs too.

non-fixie 

My favorite kind of boxes!

BTW, those Huret front derailleurs are nice as well. I have them on quite a few bikes. They can handle a big tooth count difference up front, and the flat cage means they work well with those lovely narrow classic French cranks, such as the Stronglight 49D.

tiger1964 

I have a -- probably unused -- Hurst Luxe Competition -- not sure where I would ever use it, purchased many decades ago. Looks like jewelry compared to an Allvit but I've read somewhere (in "The Dancing Chain", perhaps?) that is shifts worse than an All it. No idea why! Geometry looks so similar.

bulgie 

Yeah it's essentially an Allvit without the "cover" except for one real difference: Unlike an Allvit where the two lower parallelogram pivots attach to the two-sided 'backbone" on both ends, on the Luxe the pivots attach to the backbone on one end only, so they're cantilevered out, which might result in the pivot axes getting out of parallel with each other or out of perpendicular to the center plane of the bike.

I have not noticed that however. I've used a couple Luxe mechs and they seemed to work the same as an Allvit, to me. Berto had calibrated equipment for testing derailers though, so maybe he was able to measure the difference. The backbone of the Luxe, though one-sided, is made of much thicker steel, so it's pretty rigid. In fact though the Luxe looked lighter and maybe was marketed as a lighter option than the Allvit, it was actually heavier. At least according to the Cyclo-Pedia catalog. I haven't weighed them.

I have a couple of Luxe ST (Super Touring?) long-cage mechs that I pulled out of the trash and straightened. They bend rather than breaking if the bike falls over, and shift fine after straightening. During the early-'70s Bike Boom, I worked at a shop that sold Raleighs. The Super Course came with that long-cage Luxe, so we saw more than a few that got bent. During that time we were so busy assembling and selling new bikes that we knowingly sold people new derailers rather than spending the 10 minutes or less it took to straighten one. Hey don't blame me I was in high school and not the one making the rules.

I bought an SC new in '71 (still have it!) and it came with that mech, but it was one of the first things I replaced, with a short-cage Suntour V-Luxe, in my desire to make a racing bike out of it.

1pc@atime

I did some more digging in the buckets and sorted out all the Huret derailleurs. Surprisingly there's nearly an equal number of Schwinn vs Huret branded Allvit derailleurs. All but one of the bent Allvits are Schwinn models. In the Schwinn lot there's about five different versions, between those marked Sprint, and various model numbers and a couple of super size models.
There's a few TDC freewheels, a couple of Atom models,and about 15 or so French made Atom and Maillard freewheels.
About 1/3 of the Allvit derailleurs are on par with the one pictured, every one has some sort of mark on it, none have perfect chrome.
The mangled Schwinn models will provide enough parts to fix most if not all of the Huret versions.



Atom Freewheel, made in Italy


T.D.C. Freewheel


Allvit derailleur after a quick cleaning.

One of the better one's as far as road rash


There's quite a few of these mixed in, they're all stamped steel, a few have missing or broken jockey wheels but there's enough spares to make 10 or more of these in either 'Huret' or 'Sachs-Huret' trim.
What model were these?



20t Regina Extra Single speed Freewheel Rear is stamped 'FF'.

non-fixie 

That is the Eco. They look cheap, they were cheap, they appeared on cheap bikes. But they shift well. Not for showing off, but very easy to live with.

JohnDThompson 

Huret made several derailleurs based on that design. The "Eco" was the lowest price, using steel and plastic construction. The "Challenger" was the same design, but done in aluminum. The "Success" was also the same basic design, but done in titanium and aluminum. The Duopar used the same parallelogram design, in either aluminum or titanium, depending on how much you wanted to spend, but added a second parallelogram and longer cage to better track wide range clusters. They all worked quite nicely, with the Duopar excelling at wide range touring gearing.

1pc@atime

The only plastic I see is the rivet cover on top and the two jockey wheels.
I've got a fairly clean Peugeot U018 here from 1972 with a broken Simplex Prestige derailleur, one of these will likely become its upgrade.
I was going to build it with an three speed hub but really don't have any need for that bike so it'll get a quick fix and get sold.




Other than a few missing jockey wheels most of these are in decent shape overall.
I'm debating on taking a few buckets over to my buddies shop and just running them all through his spray washer. It'll clean them up in a big hurry.
(I used to work with a guy who used to clean his bike parts in the dishwasher when his wife wasn't home, it worked quite well until she caught him cleaning a bucket of used chains one day). It was actually surprising how well it did work Things came out spotless clean no matter how greasy they went in. The hot water made all the difference.
For now I stick to an old pickle jar full of mineral spirits in the garage, or on occasion my pressure washer with the part screwed or wired to a board,

tiger1964 

Perhaps I need to install it on a bike and see what I think.

It would be interesting to see the results if someone with machine tool skills, or maybe 3D printing skills, made replacement "shovel" in aluminum and used the Allvit internals. An aesthetic improvement and weight loss? Does a Jubilee cage bolt right up?

unworthy1

Never thought of using a pressure washer but as you say if you secure it to something (I'd think a screen of heavy mesh so the fluid could spray thru a little and not ricochet back), why not?
Your story of the guy secretly using the family dishwasher reminds me exactly of a story I've told way too often of a friend (we'll only call "Brian" to protect his ID) who taught me a great deal about automotive repairs and maintenance when I was high school age.
Brian (secretly) used his family's dishwasher for auto parts cleaning and also was very impressed with the results, but always ran a "clean-out" cycle to eliminate any greasy evidence.
One day his Mom came home earlier than expected and caught him in the act, I watched (an innocent bystander?) as she hit the roof and chased him down the quiet suburban streets screaming and brandishing some makeshift weapon, might have been a kitchen appliance.
I need to get my memory upgraded!
He survived but he never got the same level of cleanliness for his automobile projects ever again!

1pc@atime

It doesn't take a ton of pressure to clean most bike parts, the grease on a derailleur or any other part is not cooked on like most car parts. A bit of soap and some pressure and its gone. I set the pressure wand on about 6" fan spray and hit the parts about foot away at an angle. I use an old electric pressure washer so its only making about 1000 psi or so at that point, which is still enough to really damage wood or yourself but a pair of goggles or face shield is all I use. I'm not sure a screen would hold up, or if it would do the same job. I use a few shots of dish soap and warm water. I'll either soak the part in mineral spirits or gas first, then spray it down with soap, then warm water and its good to go.
Taking a whole bucket over to my buddies shop though is a lot easier, I just dump the whole bucket into a wire bin and hang it on the rack and hit the start button. in 20 minutes the parts come out grease free. Its basically a giant dishwasher made to clean transmission cases and engine blocks.

non-fixie 

Exactly. I recently put a Challenger on my Merckx, and while it shifts the same as the Eco, it does look better.

1pc@atime

Got an early morning surprise today, more parts in buckets and boxes


Suntour and Raleigh scripted Suntour derailleurs.



Box of misc speedometers



Suntour VX, AR, and Cyclone misc box


Box of misc Schwinn, probably Varsity parts, a couple of Allvit (GT500) derailleurs, cables, etc.


Bucket of Mafac breaks and what looks like the remnants of a few old Peugeot UO-8's

oneclick 

This sounds good, but there is no way to lock the bearing adjustment - other than squeezing the two cones together when you tighten the fitting screw.
Which of course upsets the adjustment, so it's either too loose and the wheel rattles, or it's too tight and the wheel won't turn.

unworthy1

looks like 1pc@atime hit the jackpot, or maybe it hit HIM?!?
but I also got hit with a surprise: on a walk in my neighborhood came across a discarded Motbecane "Grand Touring" frame/fork with what looks like maybe 197X headbadge (plastic pentagon shape) and...would you believe: Huret drivetrain!
This is a Moto model I'm not familiar with and won't get around to researching or cleaning up for a few days, but the RD is a Huret Allvit with what appears to be a longer-than-typical cage, so maybe this is a "GT" Allvit (?), also has Huret FD and friction shifters...no brakes, no crankset (but a cotterless spindle), no saddle but does have a pillar seatpost, HS, stem, bars and brake levers (Mafacs I've never seen before).
This (yellow) frame is too tall for me and I have no friends who can fit it and want an old French bike, so might become a donor to the co-op (but if there's interest in any of the parts, LMK)

dddd

Pressure-washing the Allvit derailers may cause the long pivots in the cast arm to seize up from corrosion, but perhaps a generous application of WD 40 might chase out the water before it does harm.

Those freewheels could bring a good bit of money on Ebay.

barnfind

I had a yellow 1972 Grand Touring a while back, it had a long cage Allvit derailleur, stronglight 49D crankset, a Pivo stem, 27" alloy wheels, and 1020 steel frame.
The headbadges changed a few times in those years, the earlier versions had a raised plastic 5 point, badge that was about 3" long. The next badge was a 5 point aluminum 'home plate shaped badge with the M logo screened onto it. then they moved to the round M winged badges that lasted into the 80's.
In 1973 or 74 they also began using Suntour Derailleurs on that model, so if the Huret is original it likely dated the bike to the early 70's.
The model was a mid grade just below the first model with Reynolds tubes.
In later years they competed with bikes like the Raleigh Super Grand Prix.

There's an earlier post a few years ago here that showed a GT in yellow and several catalog pages:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ank-bolts.html

1pc@atime

If I use the pressure washer I follow it up by blowing all the water out with compressed air, then a healthy shot of Triflow after that.
I've been doing it for years and never had a problem.
A spray cabinet is basically just a bunch of pressure washer nozzles that spray down a part with hot soap and water, but small parts have to be placed in a basket so as not to be washed away in the spray pattern. Most spray washers though are lower pressure, 40 psi or so tops but the addition of heat is what helps it clean so well. I got used to using one years ago while working in a transmission shop. We used a mild caustic solution that would clean even the nastiest aluminum castings and they'd come out looking like new. The cabinet had both a basket for small parts and a tray with vertical rods to secure larger parts to..
When a part came out of there is was 150 degrees or more so it would dry almost instantly. Those chemicals back then were a bit harsh for bike parts other than bare metal, but the newer solvents are much safer and won't hurt anodized parts.
Either way, if I use my buddies washer, I still follow up with a shot of lube right away.

noglider 

Yes, I noticed those Eco/Challenger derailleurs work surprisingly well.

tcs

From the 'big box of parts under the workbench': two Eco Duopars and a Titane.

1pc@atime

I didn't get a chance to go through it all yet but the pile got exponentially larger today. He dropped of four 20 gallon blue tubs full of generator light sets and parts, two tubs of misc aluminum calipers, about 20 large cans full of jockey wheels, bolts, screws, and other misc Suntour derailleur parts, more speedometers, and two banana crates full of more Sunour derailleurs. the two large crates of Suntour derailleurs look like they may be all new derailleurs but all have been robbed of various parts. Some are missing the jockey wheels, others adjustment screws, some are missing the mounting claw or through bolt, a few are missing half the cage, but there's got to be 100 or more in each box. They're either new or new take offs as they are spot clean with no signs of grease or oil.

There's also two 5 gallon buckets of road saddles, nothing particularly good, all hard plastic rail types off mid grade bikes.
There was two buckets of old Shimano Positron derailleurs, Not wanting to store department store grade parts for bikes I'll never own I put them up on CL for $25/ea. They left two hours later all to the same buyer. I also traded 14 'Huffy' scripted 3 speed type saddles to a guy for two dozen Brooks saddles for English three speeds which I really needed.
There's still a few flip top tubs I need to dig through, it got late and I called it quits. So far is all mediocre type parts but the Suntour VX and VX-GT derailleurs are nice, nearly as light and functional as the Cyclone models that came later.
In the Huret boxes, so far I found four nice looking long cage Allvit derailleurs.

I"m seeing quite a few different styles in the Allvit derailleurs, both in the cage style and in the lower pivot and adjuster style. Some have an aluminum lower link and cable attachment point others are just flat steel links like in dddd's pic above. Then there's about 5 different cages styles. i see three length cages, one long, and two short, some with thin stamped cages, some with finished chrome, much heavier cages, and some with huge fender like guards on the cage. The Schwinn models have even more variations in both the scripting, style of the pivot and adjusters, and the cages.

dddd

The photo I posted might be deceiving in that I believe that the main cable-attaching arm on all Allvit variants is of cast "pot metal" sort of casting alloy, which has good self-lubricating characteristics. A casting was used here because the integrally-cast pivot hub allows this component to provide more solid rigidity to the cage with less chance of wear leading to a floppy connection.
The downside to this casting is that the very long pivot axis hole often becomes gummed and/or corroded internally on the pivot bolt, why I cautioned against introducing cleaning water without promptly displacing it with some kind of creeping hydrocarbon liquid.