New-Old-Stock Suntour GPX 6/7 Speed Shifter/Derailleur Set...Retail Boxed

Description

New-Old-Stock Suntour GPX 6/7 Speed (Index Shifting Capable) Shifter/Derailleur Set...Retail Boxed
Thank you for your interest in this item and please visit our store for other offerings. We have very reasonable shipping terms and combine orders to save money (for customers) on shipping costs. We also maintain customer friendly return/refund/exchange policies.
Product Description:
This offering is for a new-old-stock (and still retail boxed) Suntour GPX shifter/derailleur set. With respect to the shifting capacities and other notable specifications, we have included the following...
Rear Derailleur:
Index shifting compatibility:
6/7 speed (with Suntour branded or compatible shifters and freewheel/cassette)
Friction shifting compatibility:
several options (most 5/6/7 speed freewheels/cassettes)
Front capacity:
double chainring w/13T (max) difference
Rear capacity:
index/friction...23T/26T
Total capacity:
26T (combined front chainring and rear sprocket difference...also known as chain wrap)
Weight:
215 grams (per our digital postal scale)
Other notes:
The pulley cage length is the technical specification having the most direct impact on rear derailleur capacity limits. This particular model has a relatively short cage length...measuring 48 mm from the center of the jockey/guide (top) pulley to the center of the tension (bottom) pulley. The cage length is slightly shorter than Shimano's designated "short cage" length of 50 mm, so this Suntour rear derailleur should compare (in terms of capacity limits) to similar Shimano branded models with the short pulley cage. The primary benefit to a shorter pulley cage is less weight (although, in all honesty we are only talking about grams here, so probably not a noticeable savings for most of us). The downside, as most already know, to a shorter pulley cage is lower capacity limits, which limits these derailleurs to double crankset road bikes with a relatively narrow gear range on the freewheel/cassette.
Having said the above, Suntour specified different capacity limits for this rear derailleur when in friction mode vs. indexing mode. Our experience, however, has been that friction mode capacity limits are attainable in indexing mode when care is taken to practice good shifting habbits. In other words, avoid poor chainline gear combinations that place unnecessary stress on the drivetrain.
Front Derailleur:
Compatibility:
marketed as road bike model during the 6/7-speed cassette/freewheel era
Capacity:
double chainring with 16T (max) difference
Mounting bracket:
clamp-on (28.6 mm)...so should be compatible with many vintage steel tubed road bikes that require a clamp-on unit
Cable pull:
bottom (so cable routing must enter from below the unit)
Design:
conventional/bottom swing
Weight:
98 grams (per our digital postal scale)
Other notes:
The derailleur cage (or chain guide) should be wide enough to accomodate most wider chains found on vintage road bikes having standard spaced 6-speed drivetrains (126 mm rear spacing) or even standard spaced 5-speed drivetrains (120 mm rear spacing). This is critical when considering most newer front derailleurs are designed with narrower cages to accomodate narrower chains.
Shifters:
Index shifting compatibility:
6/7-speed (with Suntour branded or compatible freewheel/cassette)
Friction shifting compatibility:
Several options (most 5/6/7 speed freewheels/cassettes)
Mounting bracket/spacers:
Braze-on model w/hybrid spacers (refer to discussion below)
Weight:
112 grams (including mounting hardware and cables/housing...just as pictured)
Other notes:
The left-side shifter is designed for friction-mode only (although it does incorporate Suntour's ratcheting design, so the shifter makes a series of small "clicks" as the lever is pulled through the gears), so it should be compatible with most double/triple cranksets. The right-side shifter has three adjustments/settings that allow for 6 or 7 speed index shifting or friction-based shifting (although, the right-side shifter does not incorporate the same ratcheting design when switched over to friction mode).
This is an extremely rare and very good quality derailleur set from the late 80's (and among the first to incorporate Suntour's index shifting (Accushift) technology). We should also note our Suntour catalogs make a clear distinction between their sport/recreation components and their competition-level components, and without exception the Suntour GPX components are included among the latter...and in the same company as Suntour's Superbe Pro and Sprint groupsets. We are not saying the GPX components are the equivalent of Superbe Pro, because they are not...but they are in the discussion as Suntour competition-level components designed for the additional stresses brought about by competitive cycling.
As for condition, our limited stocks are retail boxed and show fairly well...with only minor shopwear noted.
Down tube spacer discussion...
These shifters will bolt onto most down tube braze-on bosses, because the adapters/spacers included with these shifters represent a hybrid design. The spacers are attached to the levers and have a partial half-moon shape to them, so they will mount onto a vintage steel down tube, which typically measure 28.6 mm in diameter. Additionally, these adapters/spacers have a fairly significant flat profile that flanks each side of the curved (half-moon) profile. As a result, they will also mount onto an oversized (aluminum, carbon fiber, etc.) down tube, which typically has down tube shifter bosses with half-moon spacers/adapters already attached (as part of the bosses)...creating a flattened profile at their mounting point (with the shifters). The one additional mounting specification worthy of mention is the square-shaped mounting platform noted in the last picture in the sequence to the left. This square-shaped platform measures 12 mm x 12 mm and should also be recognizable at the base of braze-on bosses (on a frame downtube) to ensure this shifter set will seat properly once the mounting bolts are tightened. So in general, these hybrid adapters/spacers are capable of mounting on a variety of different down tube shifter bosses (keeping in mind the specs noted above), which is a nice feature given that shifter adapaters/spacers are sometimes a difficult find.
Terms and Conditions:
You may visit our store by clicking on this
"Store Home Page"
link and please note the product categories on the left side of our
"Store Home Page"
.
We have also moved our
"Terms and Conditions"
to a separate page within our Ebay store. You may navigate to this page by clicking on the link on the left side of our
"Store Home Page"
(below the product categories) or you may click on one of our
"Terms and Conditions"
direct links herein.
Note to international customers regarding shipping...
We apologize to those that feel some of our international shipping charges are too high. We only charge actual shipping rates, but once an order exceeds a certain amount, we hesitate to use the least expensive US Postal Services First Class International service. We feel this way, because this service is not trackable or insurable...so more risk of loss. We prefer the US Postal Services Priority Mail International service for more expensive orders, because this service is trackable at USPS.com and insurable...so less risk of loss. Unfortunately, this service is more expensive, especially for smaller/lighter packages, relative to the First Class International service. We are sorry about these higher shipping costs, but hopefully our notes help to explain why this is the case.
Note to international customers regarding customs...
We also apologize to those that feel their country import taxes, duties and brokerage fees are excessive. As a small US business, we are required by customs' laws to declare each order as a retail sale. Additionally, the declared order value must be equal to total store purchases and/or winning auction bids (less any shipping costs, as these are not considered in the declared value). As a result, each customer will be responsible for paying his/her own country taxes, duties and brokerage fees, which will be collected upon delivery. Again, we apologize for these additional costs, but we cannot afford the penalties and fines that come with breaking customs' laws...so we have to strictly abide by them.