Kurt Sperry wrote:
>
> I keep hearing how the Gran Sport wasn't the first parallelogram rear derailleur, or even that the Gran Sport was a copy of a Simplex design. Does anyone have a photo of a verifiably pre-GS parallelogram rear derailleur of any brand? I can't recall having seen an parallelogram-type earlier than the GS, although from past experience I wouldn't be the least surprised if someone had produced and marketed one. Probably in the 1890s!
The Dancing Chain (Frank Berto section of book): "Either Nivex or J.I.C (both French companies) made the first parallelogram rear derailleurs in the late 1930s, ten years before the Campagnolo Gran Sport." On page 149 both the Nivex and J.I.C are pictured.
Dates of each company's first use of parallelogram design in their derailleur: Campagnolo Gran Sport parallelogram design - 1951 Huret Alvit parallelogram design - 1958 Simplex Juy Export 61 parallelogram design - 1961
As can be see in the photos below, only the Campagnolo and Simplex look anything at all alike.
Nivex (1946) photo:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Campagnolo Gran Sport (1951) photo:
http://www.geocities.co.jp/
Huret Alvit (1958) photo:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Campagnolo Gran Sport (1960) photo:
http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/
Simplex Juy Export 61 (1961) photo:
http://www.geocities.co.jp/
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
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