The early Shimano 600 derailleurs were revolutionary in a number of ways. They were part of a full groupset - a new phenomenon for a mid level price point, they were designed for Campagnolo drop-outs (gone was the homage to Simplex), and most important of all, they were well finished and looked ruthlessly composed and modern. I can well remember marvelling at the sheer glamour of mid-range bikes kitted out in the full 600 groupset - they looked so much better than their peers clad in a mishmash of Weinmann centre pulls, SR cranks and SunTour V series gears.

This example is a long pulley cage, black, version of the second generation which have 6100 model numbers. The distinguishing feature is that the ‘600’ on the outer parallelogram plate is in small script - I have never been able to detect if there were any more substantive differences.

All in all, a pretty damn fine derailleur - even if it did not change quite as well over a wide ratio freewheel as a SunTour Vx GT.

The 6100 series of Shimano’s 600 groupset was the first to sell in quantity in Britain. It feels like an old friend!

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1. •Brand: Shimano
   

2. •My category: Shimano - the Ultegra story, Shimano - the Deore XT story
   

3. •Country: Japan
   

4. •Date of introduction: 1976
   

5. •Date of this example: 1977 (two letter date code is BI)
   

6. •Model no: 6101
   

7. •Weight: 250g
   

8. •Maximum cog: 34 teeth (Sutherland’s 6th edition)
   

9. •Total capacity: 34 teeth
   

10. •Pulley centre to centre: 75mm
    

11. •Index compatibility: friction
    

12. •Chain width: 3/32”
    

13. •Logic: top normal
    

14. •Pivots: two sprung pivots
    

15. •Material: largely aluminium, steel pulley cage plates
    

0340/L