I would hesitate to call Simplex retrofriction levers rare. Prized perhaps but not that rare. Can anyone explain whether the following used, not NOS, levers fetched such a premium price of $103.50?
I've seen these go fairly routinely for under $50 and haven't noticed a big difference based on the branding (i.e. Simplex, Mavic, and unmarked) of the modern cutout models. The older model with the Simplex "S" logo do tend to go for more. Maybe it is just the garden variety eBay bidding frenzy that resulted in this set going so high.
I wonder if we'll see a flood of these hit eBay shortly. I know I'm not parting with the couple that I have because I don't think I've ever experienced better friction shifters than these.
Charlie Young
Honeybrook, PA