The Suntour Competition can make a strong claim to be the first truly modern derailleur. It has a slant parallelogram, it has three dimensional cast knuckles, it has logically placed, clearly labelled, adjustment screws, it fits a Campagnolo end and has an adjustment screw, but most of all it is a wee jewel with the simple composed ‘less-is-more’ look that makes it identifiably the ancestor of today’s Shimano Dura-Ace or Campagnolo Record Carbon.

The 1964 SunTour Gran-Prix may have been the first slant parallelogram derailleur, but it was also packed with eccentric features that have not stood the test of time (like a SunTour Skitter it was low-normal and had only one spring that both operated the parallelogram and provided chain tension, most versions also had an adjustable length pulley cage - as on my first style of Skitter). A Gran-Prix would look mad on a modern bike, a Competition would blend in seamlessly.

• Derailleur brands: SunTour
• Categories: SunTour - the V story
• Country: Japan
• Date of introduction: 1965
• Date of this example: 1970? (the rear parallelogram plate is stamped ‘Maeda Industries Ltd’ but the pulleys are embossed ‘Maeda Iron Works’ )
• Model no.: unknown
• Weight: 256g
• Maximum cog: 24 teeth?
• Total capacity: 24 teeth?
• Pulley centre to centre: 46mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: unsprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: steel parallelogram plates and pulley cage plates, bronze(?) knuckles (they are chromed but not magnetic)