Publisher: Boy’s Life

Country: USA

Date: October 1968

Derailleur brand: Shimano

Derailleur: Shimano Lark black (1st style)?

We like to think of Shimano in terms of Dura-Ace and XTR, or at the very least in terms of 105 and Deore LX - but the truth is that Shimano got its breakthrough into the world derailleur market supplying gears for bikes like the Sears Screamer.

Check out the unusable handlebars, the unreachable brake levers, the hellish (and variable) fork geometry, the absence of a front brake and the equally disturbing presence of two rear rim brakes. Thank god that the dangerously positioned gear lever “shifts the derailleur gears slickety-split”.

But I do like the look of the Shimano Lark, the candy apple paint job and the golden glitter handlebar tape.

If you click on the area within the dotted lines you can see an expanded picture of the derailleur.