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From: peters@cubsvax.UUCP (Peter S. Shenkin)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Touring derailleurs, specifically the Duopar
Message-ID: <355@cubsvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 10:53:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: cubsvax.355
Posted: Thu Aug 22 10:53:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 02:20:54 EDT
References: <>
Reply-To: peters@cubsvax.UUCP (Peter S. Shenkin)
Organization: Columbia Univ Biology, New York City
Lines: 46
Summary: Suntour XC is very sturdy & reliable.

In article <> wagner@uw-june.UUCP writes:
>							...You see, Huret
>made a fatal design error in the Duopar:  the inside (closer to the spokes)
>cage plate is NOT attached to the jockey wheel axle...
>
>Anyway, as the tour went on I found myself constantly bending and 
>re-bending the cage every time it would mangle itself....  
>
>***************** THE IMPORTANT LESSON STARTS HERE *******************
>
>Pretty soon I remembered what it was that I liked about the Shimano
>derailleur:  it's nearly indestructible.  Shimano makes the only long
>cage derailleurs that I know of that have both cage plates attached
>to both pulley axles.  The result is a very strong cage.  Suntour
>cages, as you probably well know, are open on one side to allow easy
>chain removal from the cage.  (The derailleur I had before the Shimano
>was a Suntour Cyclone, whose cage also bent.)  This is even true of
>their so-called mountain bike derailleurs...
>
>I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences with touring
>derailleurs.
>

REPLY STARTS HERE!

I just got back from a 9-day, 400 mile tour of Yosemite -- heavily loaded
bikes, lots of hills, etc.  My bike has a Suntour XC rear derailleur, and
contrary to the above assertion, it DOES have solid cage plates attached
to the pulley axles.  It behaved reliably throughout the trip.  The
design is simplicity itself, and is eminently field-servicible, though
I didn't have to do any service.  Like similar simple designs, you have to
be prepared to overshift and correct a bit.  My shifters are on the down
tube, so it's not a problem for me;  I don't know how the overshift
characteristics compare with the Shimano Crane.  I believe the XC is
"above" the Mountech in the Suntour line (Mountech Doesn't have solid cage
plates), since the next bike "down the line" from mine has Mountech.  (I
have a Univega Gran Tourissimo.)

There were seven of us on the trip.  One of us, Brian, had a Suntour LeTech,
a movable jockey-pulley design.  His last one only lasted a year, and he
carried a spare.  Any attempt to dissassemble it results in tiny parts flying
out in all directions.  According to him, the most common cause of failure is
that the spring holding the jockey pulley wears out.  Says it shifts 
beautifully under load, so he loves it.

Peter S. Shenkin   philabs!cubsvax!peters   Columbia Univ. Biol. Sciences