The Simplex Prestige found on Peugeot UO-8 and other lower end bike boom models had the spring loaded upper pivot, but unfortunately had a cheap stamped steel jockey cage, which flexed too much and led to the lack of feedback you speak off. Ruined an otherwise good design. Campy Valentino and (at least in some years) Nuovo Grand Sport had similar crappy jockey cages with the same result. But Campy sold a higher percentage of high-end NR's in the US, while Simplex sold a high percentage of lower end models. Thus the myth of poor Simplex shifting was born. I fell victim to this myth myself in 1973 when I (in retrospect) foolishly replaced a perfectly good Simplex Criterium on a new LeJeune F-70 (equivalent of PX-10E) with an all-alloy Simplex Super LJ as an original dealer upgrade - this must have been one of the first years for the SLJ. Because the plastic Prestige on my former Peugeot UO-8 had shifted badly, I thought the plastic OE Simplex Criterium on the LeJeune would do likewise, and I never gave it a chance. Only years later when I bought a used PX-10 did I didcover that the plastic Criterium, with its proper forged jockey cage shifted splendidly.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 12:10 AM Subject: Re: [CR]Derailleur NR vs Simplex
> In a message dated 2/18/04 7:00:31 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> lists@PeterWhiteCycles.com writes:
>
> > For rear derailleur shifting precision, Simplex wins hands down. Neither
> > Campagnolo nor Huret had anything that shifted nearly as well as
Simplex.
> > For front derailleurs, I liked Huret the best.
> >
>
> Wow,
> I never had that experience at all. The nylon Simplex derailleurs I used
gave
> NO feedback through the lever and I removed them as fast a s I could
because
> they were JUNK compared to my Nuovo Record. Perhaps you might add which
exact
> Simplex it was that you liked.
> Stevan Thomas
> Alameda, CA