In a message dated 2/1/2004 3:01:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, Harvey Sachs writes: And, there was another "hook," the humble Sears, Roebuck catalog. My '61 had Campy derailleurs, and here is the language from the '65 catalogue (the only one I found at the Smithsonian's microfiche collection):
"Our finest...smoothest shifting. $94.50
Thanks, I was wondering if somebody was gonna mention them. The first bike I ever saw with a front and rear derailleur was neither Raliegh nor Schwinn, it was a Sears. It was in the 1964 catalog and I was about to turn 11. I was lobbying for a bike for my birthday and my folks asked me if that was the one I wanted... I said "YES!!!" but it turned out they didn't make one small enough for me... so I ended up with Stingray.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA