The Super LJ was used on the Peugeot PY-10's that Bernard Thevenet used to to take two TdF victories in the middle 70's. It may also have been used on the Merciers of Raymond Poulidor in some years. I do know that when I attended the 1974 Worlds at Montreal, Poulidor's Mercier had the then-new Simplex retrofriction shifters normally used with the Super LJ on top team bikes. However, a lot of guys at the time used the Simplex retrofrictions with otherwise all-Campy setups, so I can't be sure Poulidor was using the Simplex RD.
There were no doubt a lot of lesser French riders, including those on smaller teams, using the Super LJ. It was also sold rebadged as Gipiemme, so there were probably also some lesser Italian riders using it, though probably not any of the major Italian stars.
I've made no secret of the fact that I also prefer the SLJ to anything Campy made in that era. In my opinion, the only derailleurs that shifted as well a Simplex "in the day" were the top SunTour models, which lacked the Simplex spring-loaded upper pivot, but incorporated the patented SunTour slant parallelogram. After the SunTour patent expired, nearly all modern derailleurs incorporated both these features.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Houston, TX
skip sinatra <skipsinatra@hotmail.com> wrote: Geetings List Members:
My main vintage ride is a Holdsworth Pro which I first equipped with Campagnolo SR equipment. After reading the archives and other list member opinions, I swapped the rear derailleur to a Simplex Super LJ with retrogrouch shifters. Made a world of difference. This past weekend, I borrowed my brother's late 70's Falcon which is equipped with Campy NR stuff. It was like night and day (granted, i think he needs to replace his chain). So my question is this....what famous racers of the day used Simplex Super LJ, if any? I know Sean Kelly used Mavic SSC, but I'm wondering about the Super LJ. Did anyone use it on the QT? Just curious......
Not quite a Francophile in Frog Level, VA
Skip Sinatra