<---------- Bike World 12-1973 ----------> Falcon Merckx (1973 TdF winning bike)
Date: 03/14/2010
Views: 1072
Shift Levers
SHIFT LEVERS:
Simplex SLJ - shift control levers - retro-friction type design - down tube mount - clamp-on fitment - first edition 1973 to 1981 "solid" style aluminum alloy levers with Simplex "starburst" logo - post 1974 and pre 1978 with the "torpedo tube" spring housing extrusions at the bottom of the levers - "slotted" mounting bolts - Clear anodized finish - chrome plated steel clamp with Simplex "starburst" logo - model SLJ (Super Lucien Juy) 5007... [Generally acknowledged as the best all around down tube friction shifters ever marketed to the general public, these are the post 1974 second iteration of their earliest style which notably feature "torpedo tube" spring housing extrusions along the bottom of the levers as well as the distinctive Simplex “starburst” logo on each of the lever handles. They are also the very type and style that Bernard Thevenet rode to victory in both the 1975 and 1977 editions of the Tour de France - although for the sake of clarity, it should perhaps be pointed out that his 1975 PY-10 was equipped with a whole host of distinctively Gold anodized equipment (...including Simplex SLJ retro-friction shift levers) whereas by 1977 all of those same components were finished having a more traditional Clear anodized Silver hue as seen here. For model year 1977, those Peugeot PY-10 CP bicycles which were made available to the public at large on a custom order basis were provisioned exclusively with Simplex SLJ shift control levers to the best of my knowledge.]