Dear List,
I have developed a bad habit of starting threads that inadvertently begin off-topic, and then head even farther afield. I must say, I'm foggy on the exact date of manufacture of these derailleurs. So my apologies in advance if I've done it again.
I purchased one of these derailleurs on eBay a few months ago. In the interim, I've joined the CR list, read every back issue of BQ, and generally become a more informed person. But -- happily -- the more one learns about bicycles, the more one wants to know, and so I have developed some questions about my derailleur.
First: does it, like the Simplex SLJ, have a spring in the upper pivot? I bought this thinking it would go on my yet-to-be-built Velo Orange randonneur, so it's not yet in use. But I have bolted it onto one of my other bikes, and it doesn't seem have an upper-pivot spring. It behaves like my NR derailleur. But it would seem odd for it not to incorporate this innovation since these seem to have been manufactured at least into the late 1980s, and since, being French, Mavic certainly would have been very familiar with the SLJ. (At the very least, Greg LeMond would have told them about it, I suspect!) Although, if this was made strictly for closely-spaced racing freewheels, perhaps the extra chain up-take wouldn't have been important.
Second (and related): the washers that my 801 came with seem different from those that come with most others. I've been watching several subsequent eBay auctions, and most washers (when included at all) have two tabs to support the sides of the derailleur body around the pivot. Mine have no such tabs. Does it seem not to have "spring action" in the upper pivot because I have the wrong washer?
My derailleur and its washers are photographed here,
http://www.flickr.com/
And the seemingly proper washer is photographed on the listing for eBay item 190190848318
I'm also curious in general about this derailleur. It seems to have a good reputation, but there isn't very much written about it. How similar is it to the SLJ? Or is it derived from the SR derailleur? Or does it have an entirely independent existence?!
Thanks,
Adam Hammond
Toronto, Ontario, Canada