Re: [CR]Questions about the Mavic 801/851 (SSC) rear derailleur

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing:Columbus:SLX)

Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:11:25 -0500
From: "David G. White" <whiteknight@burlingtontelecom.net>
To: classic rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: [CR]Questions about the Mavic 801/851 (SSC) rear derailleur
References: <D870529B-19DE-4EDD-A391-9D3819FF1B91@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:


Adam,

I have a parts breakdown drawing and instruction sheet for this derailleur I will email to you off list. Hope it helps.

Best,

David

David G. White Burlington, VT

Adam Hammond wrote:
> 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/photos/expenguintamer/2225412775/
>
> 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