Early in the 1970's Bike Boom, boatloads of ten-speeds from Raleigh, Peugeot, Motobecane, Dawes and other European makers came to these shores. You may have had one of those bikes; perhaps you have one now.
If it was made before 1975, chances are that its derailleur was made by Campagnolo, Huret or Simplex. The latter company supplied the derailleurs for most Peugeots until the early 1980's, as well as for some models from the other bike-makers I've mentioned. My Peugeot PX-10 came with the Simplex Criterium; the entry-level U-08 came with the company's "Prestige" mechanism.
In design and function, the Criterium and Prestige were the same. The Prestige had a red-badged parallelogram while the Criterium had silver badge and cute red plugs in the pivot bolts. Most interestingly, though, the parallelogram and knuckles on the Prestige were made entirely of Delrin plastic, while the Criterium's parallelogram had a steel reinforcement.
Because of the materials used, Simplex derailleurs were often perceived to be "cheap" or of low-quality. Actually, given the standards of what was available at the time, they shifted reasonably well--not as well as anything SunTour made, but at least as well as most of Campagnolo's offerings. The chief objection to those plastic Simplex derailleurs was, aside from aesthetics, their durability. When I worked in bike shops, I saw many on which the plastic had worn at the pivots and joints, leaving them with sloppy shifting. In all fairness, though, I must admit that I didn't see as many broken ones as I expected, and I think stories of Prestiges or even Criteriums that exploded under normal pedaling pressure were exaggerated.
From the time the first all-plastic (except for the cage plates and bolts) Simplex derailleurs were introduced in 1962, increasing amounts of metal were added to the higher-level models. Lucien Juy probably figured that racers and tourists rode more miles and under worse conditions than recreational riders did, so more durable derailleurs were necessary for them. (While a Prestige would wrap up the amount of chain necessary for a triple crankset, it wasn't torsionally rigid enough to last very long in such use.) By 1975, he had come full-circle: His "Super LJ" was constructed entirely of alloy and intended to compete with the Campagnolo Nuovo Record, Huret Jubilee, SunTour Cyclone and other top derailleurs of the time.
(This state of affairs may have made Simplex the only component manufacturer whose professional-level wares were heavier than its entry-level stuff, or anything in between!)
Before carbon-fiber frames gained widespread popularity, Simplex derailleurs were among the few components to be made of plastic. Another is one that, unless you were riding during the '80's, or have a bike from that period, might surprise you.
Stronglight cranks and headsets came on many of the same bikes that included Simplex derailleurs. I never had any problems with the ones that came with my PX-10E; in fact, I have a soft spot for the Stronglight "93" crankset. (The only reason, I believe, it's not popular today is its proprietary bolt circle of 122mm.) The headset was ugly but at least it was smooth-running, sturdy and didn't require any special tools.
Later, Stronglight made what some regard to be the best headset, ever: the A9. (The "Delta" is the A-9 with more seals and more smoothly curved cups.) I had one on my Mondonico Criterium; it was as well-made as anything I've ridden. Many 30-year-old A9s are still in use today and people pay premium prices for them on eBay. It's the headset I'd still be using if it weren't for Chris King.
Although it was the lightest headset available at the time (and lighter than most headsets available today), someone though a lighter version was necessary. So was born the B10, which shared the A9's tapered roller bearings but replaced the alloy cups with ones made out of--you guessed it--Delrin.
(The B10 sometimes bore the name of Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault on its locknut.)
I never used a B10 myself, and I never installed one. However, it came on some of Trek's touring machines during the 1980s, as well as other bikes. Not surprisingly, they ran as smoothly as the A9s--at least for a while. Accounts vary on how long. But because roller bearing headsets are tightened with more force than ball-bearing headsets, owing to the tolerances of the roller bearings, tightening compresses the plastic cups more than it does to alloy ones. From my limited experiences of working on B10s, I found they were more difficult to adjust so that they turned smoothly without play.
I heard a few accounts of cups that broke. If they were true, I wonder how many were the result of failure during a ride or of over-tightening. Or both.
B10s, apparently, were not in production for very long. On the other hand, Simplex made plastic derailleurs for more than two decades. That could be the reason why we see more extant Simplexes than B10s. That, and the fact that during the Boom, many people bought ten-speed bikes, rode them once or twice and relegated them to basements and garages for decades afterward. Then again, the same could be said for some of the Treks that came with plastic headsets: People bought them for tours they planned but never did, or they actually did their planned tours and, afterward, their lives took them away from cycling. Or thet simply found they didn't like bicycle touring.
In any event, it seems that--unless you count carbon bikes and parts as plastic--there have been few, if any, attempts to render major bicycle parts in the material during the past three decades or so. Could it be that carbon bikes are really a disincentive for parts manufacturers to make plastic components and accessories to be used on non-carbon bikes? Or is it--as rumors have it--that plastic derailleurs, headsets and other parts really disintegrate under you as you ride, or break at the worst possible moment?
If it was made before 1975, chances are that its derailleur was made by Campagnolo, Huret or Simplex. The latter company supplied the derailleurs for most Peugeots until the early 1980's, as well as for some models from the other bike-makers I've mentioned. My Peugeot PX-10 came with the Simplex Criterium; the entry-level U-08 came with the company's "Prestige" mechanism.
 |
| Simplex Criteriun |
In design and function, the Criterium and Prestige were the same. The Prestige had a red-badged parallelogram while the Criterium had silver badge and cute red plugs in the pivot bolts. Most interestingly, though, the parallelogram and knuckles on the Prestige were made entirely of Delrin plastic, while the Criterium's parallelogram had a steel reinforcement.
 |
| Simplex Prstige |
Because of the materials used, Simplex derailleurs were often perceived to be "cheap" or of low-quality. Actually, given the standards of what was available at the time, they shifted reasonably well--not as well as anything SunTour made, but at least as well as most of Campagnolo's offerings. The chief objection to those plastic Simplex derailleurs was, aside from aesthetics, their durability. When I worked in bike shops, I saw many on which the plastic had worn at the pivots and joints, leaving them with sloppy shifting. In all fairness, though, I must admit that I didn't see as many broken ones as I expected, and I think stories of Prestiges or even Criteriums that exploded under normal pedaling pressure were exaggerated.
From the time the first all-plastic (except for the cage plates and bolts) Simplex derailleurs were introduced in 1962, increasing amounts of metal were added to the higher-level models. Lucien Juy probably figured that racers and tourists rode more miles and under worse conditions than recreational riders did, so more durable derailleurs were necessary for them. (While a Prestige would wrap up the amount of chain necessary for a triple crankset, it wasn't torsionally rigid enough to last very long in such use.) By 1975, he had come full-circle: His "Super LJ" was constructed entirely of alloy and intended to compete with the Campagnolo Nuovo Record, Huret Jubilee, SunTour Cyclone and other top derailleurs of the time.
(This state of affairs may have made Simplex the only component manufacturer whose professional-level wares were heavier than its entry-level stuff, or anything in between!)
Before carbon-fiber frames gained widespread popularity, Simplex derailleurs were among the few components to be made of plastic. Another is one that, unless you were riding during the '80's, or have a bike from that period, might surprise you.
Stronglight cranks and headsets came on many of the same bikes that included Simplex derailleurs. I never had any problems with the ones that came with my PX-10E; in fact, I have a soft spot for the Stronglight "93" crankset. (The only reason, I believe, it's not popular today is its proprietary bolt circle of 122mm.) The headset was ugly but at least it was smooth-running, sturdy and didn't require any special tools.
 |
| Stronglight A-9 |
Later, Stronglight made what some regard to be the best headset, ever: the A9. (The "Delta" is the A-9 with more seals and more smoothly curved cups.) I had one on my Mondonico Criterium; it was as well-made as anything I've ridden. Many 30-year-old A9s are still in use today and people pay premium prices for them on eBay. It's the headset I'd still be using if it weren't for Chris King.
 |
| Stronglight B-10 |
Although it was the lightest headset available at the time (and lighter than most headsets available today), someone though a lighter version was necessary. So was born the B10, which shared the A9's tapered roller bearings but replaced the alloy cups with ones made out of--you guessed it--Delrin.
(The B10 sometimes bore the name of Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault on its locknut.)
I never used a B10 myself, and I never installed one. However, it came on some of Trek's touring machines during the 1980s, as well as other bikes. Not surprisingly, they ran as smoothly as the A9s--at least for a while. Accounts vary on how long. But because roller bearing headsets are tightened with more force than ball-bearing headsets, owing to the tolerances of the roller bearings, tightening compresses the plastic cups more than it does to alloy ones. From my limited experiences of working on B10s, I found they were more difficult to adjust so that they turned smoothly without play.
I heard a few accounts of cups that broke. If they were true, I wonder how many were the result of failure during a ride or of over-tightening. Or both.
B10s, apparently, were not in production for very long. On the other hand, Simplex made plastic derailleurs for more than two decades. That could be the reason why we see more extant Simplexes than B10s. That, and the fact that during the Boom, many people bought ten-speed bikes, rode them once or twice and relegated them to basements and garages for decades afterward. Then again, the same could be said for some of the Treks that came with plastic headsets: People bought them for tours they planned but never did, or they actually did their planned tours and, afterward, their lives took them away from cycling. Or thet simply found they didn't like bicycle touring.
In any event, it seems that--unless you count carbon bikes and parts as plastic--there have been few, if any, attempts to render major bicycle parts in the material during the past three decades or so. Could it be that carbon bikes are really a disincentive for parts manufacturers to make plastic components and accessories to be used on non-carbon bikes? Or is it--as rumors have it--that plastic derailleurs, headsets and other parts really disintegrate under you as you ride, or break at the worst possible moment?
