Curiously enough, the UO-8 that started this thread appears to have been equipped with the Simplex criterium model RD. I note that it has the metal side plates that make _all_ of the difference in shifting performance by removing the flexiness of the pure delrin model.
Makes me wonder if Simplex had never produced the Prestige but had instead used the criterium model as their inexpensive offering, whether they might still be a player in derailleurs today. They sure got a bad rap because of the Prestige (and some of the exquisitely junky bikes on which they were stock equipment).
Charlie
Charles T. Young
Honeybrook. PA
<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Friday, June 27, 2003 7:14 PM Subject: Re: [CR]ebay outing: UO8
> The OU-8 wasn't a racing bike, but it wasn't junk either. This was my
first
> quality bike, and I loved it, once I replaced the Simplex Prestige
> derailleurs with Shimano. If you put aside snob appeal, the OU-8 was a
good
> sport bike and a more than adequate tourer, better and lighter than
anything
> made in high volmue in the US at the time, with the sole exception of the
> Schwinn Paramount. At the time the UO-8 arrived in the US, most Americans
> thought an "English Racer" was a high performance bike.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Houston, TX
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Wayne Davidson" <wayne.collect@xtra.co.nz>
> To: "CR BIKE LIST" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Friday, June 27, 2003 1:13 AM
> Subject: Re: [CR]ebay outing: UO8
>
>
> > Hi, I love emailing people that lable junk bikes as Racing bikes asking
> > them details as to frame size, componets & weight etc, and guess what,
> > you never get a reply, but I always have a chuckle to
> > muself.......regards wayne davidson Invercargill NZ......