To celebrate the coming of the Olympic Games to London in 1948, the Cyclo Gear Company first released the 1946 Cyclo Olympic derailleur, then the 1947 Super Olympic, and finally this model, the 1948 Super Olympic with an improved cage.

The Super Olympic was a basic, single pulley, pull-chain design. You can see the baleful influence of post-war raw material shortages in the quality of the steel sheet and the finishes used. Both the design and the construction were soon superceded, and the Super Olympic was only produced until 1950.

I have disengaged the spring in the photograph, in order to allow the derailleur to take up a more ‘natural’ arrangement.

• Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
• Country: UK
• Date of introduction: 1948
• Date of this example: unknown
• Model no.: unknown
• Weight: 284g including hanger plate
• Maximum cog: 21 teeth (Cyclo Catalogue - 1949)
• Total capacity: 8 teeth?
• Pulley centre to centre: not applicable
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 1/8”
• Logic: low normal
• B pivot: sprung
• P pivot: none
• Materials: steel