RE: [CR]Simplex Retro-Friction: With and Not With Holes ?

Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
Subject: RE: [CR]Simplex Retro-Friction: With and Not With Holes ?
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 11:58:38 -0700
In-Reply-To: <266763.60833.qm@web305.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Thread-Topic: [CR]Simplex Retro-Friction: With and Not With Holes ?
Thread-Index: Acd3dOwnzhzePhcQSjOc5FEZHMiwoQAPkVYQ
References: <MONKEYFOODnNAR1JBjb0000222d@monkeyfood.nt.phred.org>
From: "Mark Bulgier" <Mark@bulgier.net>
To: "Chris Kulczycki" <chris@velo-orange.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>

Chris Kulczycki wrote:
>
> There are at least 4 styles, or shapes, of retrofriction levers:
>
> The first was the type with the star in silver and gold. [snip]

And in the star-logo era there were two mechanically-different variations. http://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Simplex/Retro-shifters_star-logo_2_kinds.jp g (if that's too long, go to http://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Simplex/ and then scroll down to Retro-shifters_star-logo_2_kinds.jpg)

I think the earlier one is the one in the foreground in the photo, with the tail of the spring facing away from the lever, into the added-on "pod". I think they must have realized this pod was ugly and unnecessary, so they went to slotting up into the lever itself, for the place for the spring's tail. The "slot up into the lever" method was retained in the later models.

Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA