Norm,Your friend is not forever cursed! The later model metal Simplex derailleurs worked as well as any thing on the market at the time. Remember, Greg Lemond won his first TdF using Simplex derailleurs.Unfortunately because of Simplex's infatuation with Delrin plastic and Huret's Alvit derailleurs both company's products have been indelibly marked as low quality items only found on cheap Bike Boom era bikes.I have one of those Simplex brazed-on front derailleurs on my team model 1982 Motobecane Team Champion bikes. It's a well thought out design and more rigid than many of the standard style braze-on mounts. Unfortunately it's an enfant bâtard design and your stuck with hard to find derailleurs.I think that I remember seeing some rare Huret front derailleurs that used that same braze-on mount.Chas. ColerichOakland, CA USA-----Original Message-----From: Norm and Val LafleurSent: Fri, Aug 28, 2009 12:57 pmSubject: [CR] Gitane/Simplex Front Derailleur QuestionThis one is for all you Francophiles out there. I'm working on an 80's Gitanefor a friend and have come across something I've never seen before. It has abraze on Simplex front derailleur that mounts to a boss that looks like a waterbottle boss rather than the usual tab. I'm wondering if anyone ever made an0Aadapter so that a standard braze on front derailleur could be used. Is thisframe destined to use this derailleur for the rest of it's days.Norm LafleurAshfield, MassachusettsUSA