I just wanted to thank everyone who helped me with the nice old (1975 ?) PX-10. I eventually took Mr. Feldman's advice and installed a Shimano Crane GS on the tapped (it looks factory-tapped, if that's possible) but unground Simplex hanger (since I have no Simplex derailers that would work).
I did have to install a Simplex push-rod front shifter on the front, with a piece of cable housing, since that is what was required by the Simplex cable guide (otherwise the cable would have scratched up the seat tube). I thought Aaron (my 15-year-old son) would find the front shifting to be wretched, but he likes it just fine (52/45 Stronglight 93) !
Oddly, perhaps, Aaron has expressed an affinity for the old PX-10. He says he has trouble telling me exactly how, but the bike just "feels good". "Finally a classic bike that fits me !", he said. He certainly is fast on it, though I think he is still a bit faster on his steel Specialized Allez with 8-speed Ultegra STI. In general I find that riding a "classic" costs me about 1 or 2 mph average over my Ti-mobile. That doesn't mean that I don't still prefer the classics I own for other reasons than raw speed.
He rode the Peugeot to school the other day. He thinks it looks "cool".
Glenn Jordan
In a message dated 11/1/01 2:25:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, feldmanbike@yahoo.com writes:
> A Simplex dropout that has been tapped but not ground for a stop will take
> an old Shimano Crane or Titlist just fine. Those derailleurs had a
> self-contained pivot stop/upper spring assembly that didn't need a
> specifically placed stop on the derailleur tang of the frame.
> DF
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <Gjvinbikes@aol.com>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 11:17 AM
> Subject: [CR]Mid 70's PX-10 rear derailer + mystery hubs
>
>
> > After yesterday's morning ride, a friend asked me over to his house to
> show
> > me a bike he had rescued from the dumpster. When I offered to buy it
> from
> > him, he gave it to me. He's the one that sold me the shop-built Proteus
> and
> > has a small Roberts he'd like to sell someone, someday. He rides a
> > Lightspeed...