Robert Sasher wrote: I am looking for a solution to fix or to buy some pulleys for my Simplex Criterium derailleur the one with the bearings. I have one good pulley and just the bearinged body. any help would be appreciated.
Charles Colerich replied: You can probably substitute any standard set of pulleys that are close to the same width as the original Simplex ones. If need be, you can use a washer or two to correct the width.
Lance Evingson added: New sealed pulleys from Performance, frequently on sale, 11t pulley at Performance Bike.
My 2 cents: My Simplex Criterium derailleur from 1977 PX-10 is the sleeved kind, not ball bearing. When one of the jockey wheels broke a few years ago, I went to bike shops all over town and no one had anything that would fit. I finally scavenged some Simplex wheels off another derailleur. This experience led me to believe nothing but Simplex would fit Simplex. Is this in fact not so?
I also noticed just now that Velo-orange sells 11-tooth sealed bearing nylon jockey wheels that they claim will fit Simplex. Has anyone tried them?
http://www.velo-orange.com/
As a side note, the replacement jockey wheels I am now using on my PX-10 are from a lower-level Simplex derailleur of more recent vintage, but I feel they represent an improvement over the originals. It's hard to describe, but the original wheels had a discontinuity (sudden change of shape) where the fatter, hub-section of the wheel joined the flange. The wheel broke right at this point. The replacements, I was glad to see, have a different cross-section which transitions from hub to flange in a smooth curve. So if all else fails, this approach will work.
John Hurley
Austin, Texas, USA