I couldn't agree more. The self-lubricating properties of Delrin (their nam e for Nylon maybe?) made it a silky-smooth shifter. Only problem was, as so on as any road dirt got caught in the crevices, it self-destructed. For som eone who rode a bike one or twice a week and in good weather it probably wou ld last for years. But back then I had no car and put at least 30 miles a d ay on my PX-10 in all kinds of weather... it took me a year to wear out the front derailleur and a bit longer to trash the rear one (which wasn't even a Prestige, it was the better Criterium). After I switched to the SLJ's (an d Bullseye pulleys) I never had another problem.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA USA
http://bhovey.com/
----- Original Message ----- From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos To: Bob Hovey ; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 1:44 PM Subject: Re: [CR]Simplex SLJ Timeline?
There wasn't anything not to like about the SLJ's. One wonders whether if Simplex had abandoned the ill-fated experiment with plastic five years earl ier if perhpas they might have survived. I still think the plastic Criteriu m RD was better than Campy NR, but the public image was never favorable, at least not in America.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Bob Hovey <bobhoveyga@aol.com> wrote: > > CRers, > > Can anyone help me pin down when the Simplex Super LJ changers where > introd > uced > and what year they stopped being made? > > Bill Talbot, enjoying our extended riding season here in, > New Hartford, CT USA > > --
Ahh, the memories.... I recall putting SLJ front and rear ders on my PX- 10 in fall of 1973, soon after I returned to school. It was the very first tweak that began my fervent retreat from the 'stock' PX-10. I'm really n ot sure how I found out about them... I have a copy of "The Second Two Whee led Travel: Bicycle Camping and Touring" that has Rebour drawings of the rea r deraillerur, but it was published in '74 so I don't think I saw it there
first (but come to thing of it, the copy I have now is a replacement fro m a listmember, so mebbee my original was an earlier edition).
Anyway, my memories of this derailleur are very favorable. I found sever al reasons to like it better than the Nuovo Record which was also under consideration for purchase at the time. It had an upper spring, it was a
bit easier to adjust (limit screws were next to each other and facing th e same diredction), easy to clean (one pivot was removable, allowing the f ront plate of the paralelogram to open). Visual design and finish quality wer e impressive... as stated in Two Wheel Travel, it was the kind of thing yo u wanted to hold in the palm of your hand a while. The front derailleur wa s also quite nice. I do regret not getting the levers tho.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA USA
http://bhovey.com/
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