>I love the shifting on my 1974 Fiorelli with all Nuovo Record as
>well. Despite a 14-28 five gear cog, a stiff chain makes this a very
>precise and quick shifter. I never understood why Frank Berto rated
>this derailleur as only "fair" in overall performance.
Frank Berto favors derailleurs with neutral shifting on all gears. As much as we all like Nuovo Record derailleurs, for their beauty and simplicity and heritage, they must be overshifted and then moved back slightly to perfect the take-up on the rear freewheel. And, this takes your hands off the bars for a few extra moments on every shift.
To have neutral shifting on all gears, it is necessary to implement something like Huret Allvit or Suntour VGT derailleur which follow the profile of the rear freewheel. Early Suntour GT derailleurs even had an adjusting bolt to tilt the slant pantograph to match the profile of the freewheel.
Modern (off-topic) indexing derailleurs shift very early, and frankly I do not like using them in friction mode. When trying to adjust the chainline I frequently shift by mistake.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA