Simplex Retro friction Shifters Part 2

According to velobase the next available version of retro friction shifters were produced by Simplex for Gipiemme in 1982.  These shifters are the ultimate version of retro friction shifters.  Not only were they the lightest version (70 grams) of retro friction shifters, but also easily the most attractive.  Looks and weight aside, these shifters are almost totally sealed.  The entire spring mechanism is held within the shifter body, therefore making  the shifting mechanism almost impossible for dirt and grime to infiltrate. 

Profile view of Gipiemme Crono Sprint retro friction shifters.

Often referred to as "coke spoon" shifters, given their elegant, spoon like shape, these shifters were likely able to shave extra weight by incorporating shaved down contours and less bulky shifter stops than on the "tear drop" style, which can be seen in the photo below.  The production of these shifters appears to have been quite limited as they were only available for a very short period of time.  Likely the cost associated with the extra nice polishing and more intricate shape made these shifters too expensive to continue producing. 

Profile comparison of Gipiemme Crono Sprint and 3rd generation Simplex SLJ shifters

Also around this time, Simplex began producing a newly styled version of their shifter lever.  Simplex removed the original "S" encircled with a star and replaced it with a "tear drop" shaped handle embossed with the company name.  The reason for this change was more than likely to reduce the weight of the shifters.  

Exploded diagram of the 3rd generation, "tear drop", retro friction shifters.

The earliest example of these levers I could find was in a french Peugeot catalogue from 1983.  These new style shifters appear on what I believe was Peugeot's introduction of the carbon fiber frame (PY 10 FC), which would give further credence to the idea that the design change was a weight saving measure.

Image of Phil Anderson from a 1983, french Peugeot Cataglogue showing the "tear drop" style retro friction shifters.

Aside from the change in looks, the shifter was still identical internally to the second generation shifters.  The weight was reduced by 20 grams, from 95 to 75 grams.  These shifter were still available in clamp-on and braze-on models.  During this time Simplex also produced these shifters for Spidel, Mavic and Gipiemme.  Spidel shifters had their name embosed on their shifters.  Mavic and Gipiemme shifters were identical, varying from the Simplex shifters by the fact that they were unbranded.  The unbranded shifters were available in both silver and a black anodized version and were included in various Mavic and Gipiemme groupsets starting around 1984.

1984/85 Mavic groupsets including "tear drop", unbranded retro friction shifters.

The "tear drop" version of retro friction shifter were likely produced until the late 80s when Simplex began their demise by bankrupting for the first time around 1985.  There was one more version of the retro friction to come, which was produced by Mavic and included in their ZAP groupset.  The Zap groupset was first introduced at the 1992 Tour de France and later publicly available in 1994.  Only the left shifter was retro friction.

The last retro friction shifter released by Mavic (821) as apart of its ZAP groupset.  Only the left lever in this set was retro friction.

This concludes the history I was able to dig up on the retro friction shifter.  If I come across any more info I'll make an updated post with corrections and/or new info.  Next post will likely be on my selection of brakeset.

Simplex Retro friction Shifters Part 1

With this posting I am trying to compile all the info I could find on the history of the Simplex retro friction shifters.

above; All of the retro friction levers I am aware of

Simplex introduced retro friction shifters in 1972 and continued producing them for a number of different brands until 1995 when the company went out of business.  During their production, they were manufactured under 4 different brands, Simplex, Spidel, Gipiemme and Mavic.

The first available retro friction shifters were the bar-end version in 1972 and were a part of SLJ groupset

First generation clamp-on SLJ shifter exploded diagram

The first generation of these shifters were available in two of Simplex's groups, LJ and SLJ.  These shifters were available as either braze-on, clamp-on or bar-end.  These shifters differed only by the material the shifter bodies were made of.  The internal parts were identical for both models.  The LJ model was made using delrin, a black plastic that was also used in the LJ group's derailleurs.  The SLJ model and its group derailleurs were made of aluminum.  Both of these shifter were marked with a Simplex 'S' surrounded by a star.  The feature that makes these first generation shifters different from other incarnations was an extra nub at the bottom of the shifter.  This nub held the spring mechanism in place.  The nub was removed on all future versions of the shifter, as the spring was later mounted pointing up the shifter body handle.

This appears to be either a dealer or commercial add for the LJ groupset featuring the delrin retro friction shifter.

Second generation SLJ retro friction shifters were nearly identical to the first generation.  They shared the same logo and lever handle shape, but the nub that held the spring was removed as the spring was re-positioned into the shift lever.  This change likely took place by 1975.  The levers did not change again until around 1983 when the shifter handle was re-designed.  Simplex also made a re-branded version of the LJ shifter for Gipiemme that bore a less impressive logo.  Both the LJ and SLJ levers were also included in groupsets sold under the Spidel name, however, the shifters were not re-branded as the derailleur in these groupsets often were.

above; the SLJ shifter without and the LJ shifter still with the nub

Also available during the both the first and second generation of the SLJ shifters was a gold anodized version, which was likely produced to match the anodized versions Mafac 2000 and competition brakesets and levers.  Shown below is a photo of a boxed, nos, gold, anodized SLJ groupset and  more diagrams of the second generation retro friction levers.

NOS, boxed, anodized, 1st generation Simplex SLJ groupset

Part 2 of this post will show the final versions of these shifters.