Many people regard the SunTour Superbe Pro (5200) as the finest friction derailleur of all time. It was light, strong, extremely effective and constructed to fantastic tolerances from the finest materials.

No detail was overlooked, from the aluminium hanger bolt and pulley bolts to the sealed bearing pulley wheels to the stainless steel pivots with Allen heads that were removable so that the gear could be completely disassembled.

I was never totally taken with the aesthetics of the plain vanilla silver version, but I love this black and gold version. It is oh-so-John-Player-Special, redolent of Emerson Fittipaldi, Colin Chapman, the glamour of Formula One and, of course, lung cancer.

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1. •Brand: SunTour
   

2. •My category: SunTour - the Superbe story
   

3. •Country: Japan
   

4. •Date of introduction: 1984?
   

5. •Date of this example: 1985 (two letter date code is BJ)
   

6. •Model no: 5200 (SunTour box)
   

7. •Weight: 181g
   

8. •Maximum cog: 23 teeth (Sutherlands 4th edition)
   

9. •Total capacity: 26 teeth (Sutherlands 4th edition)
   

10. •Pulley centre to centre: 52mm
    

11. •Index compatibility: friction
    

12. •Chain width: 3/32”
    

13. •Logic: top normal
    

14. •Pivots: two pivots, front sprung and rear unsprung
    

15. •Material: aluminium (including the hanger bolt and the pulley centre bolts)
    

16. •My theme: A riot of colour
    

0038/B