>Recently, a Nivex touring derailleur sold on ebay.
>
>The derailleur has a lower "jockey wheel" that looks similar to a
>cyclo (in side view) in that there are large disks on the side,
>presumably to retain the chain. The Nivex jockey wheel side disks
>appear to be fixed. A normal sized jockey wheel appears to rotate
>between the plates. On a cyclo derailleur the disks are part of the
>jockey wheel and the whole assembly rotates as the chain moves
>through the derailleur.
>
>The disks on the Nivex seem to be separate from the jockey wheel.
>
>Can anyone on the list confirm if the Nivex lower disks, rotate? Thanks.
>
>Todd Teachout
>Hercules, CA
The Nivex derailleur on ebay
370330518189
probably had been modified by Alex Singer. The original lower cage, which was made from thick pressed steel, has been cut off before chrome-plating (original Nivex derailleurs had a black finish). This makes the derailleur much more elegant.
To keep the chain on the lower jockey pulley, two discs have been added. As mentioned before, they don't rotate, and basically just form chain guards, just like the cage around the lower pulley on modern derailleurs.
The 1962 Alex Singer in "The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles" uses such a Nivex derailleur, but with the then modern Simplex pulleys.
The e-bay deraileur also does not appear to have original Nivex pulleys, as those had the small teeth on which Nivex had a patent. You find the same teeth on many late 1930s Super Champion derailleurs, which are engraved "Nivex patent." Some have thought that these were made by Nivex, but in fact it's just that the pulley shape was licensed from Nivex.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
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Seattle WA 98121
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