Vivo is/was based in the magnificently named Plainview on Long Island, New York, USA. The dominant figure in the company appears to be one John L. Calendrille Jr., who is referred to at different times as the President of the company or the Director of Product Development. He is also registered as the inventor on Vivo’s various patents.

During the 1990s, perhaps in 1995, Vivo produced a set of rubber boots for covering derailleurs and marketed them as ‘Grunge Guards’. As you may have guessed they were an inelegant, but effective, way to keep mud out of your precious gear mechanisms.

I believe that, in 1996, Vivo released the Vivo Enduro rear derailleur, that included an all enclosing rubber boot. It was essentially a CNC mountain bike derailleur fitted with a perfectly tailored, and much more minimalist, Grunge Guard. Unlike the Grunge Guards, I rather liked the look of it at the time.

In about 2000 Vivo appears to have launched two new models. The first was the Vivo V1, this was extremely similar to the Vivo Enduro, but produced at a lower cost to attract a larger market. This derailleur seems to have been produced in some quantity. The second model was the Vivo V2. This was another mud-sealed, CNC machined, beauty, matching the quality and price of the Vivo Enduro, but with a radical straight cable routing. I don’t know if the V2 ever went into serious production.

In 2002 Shimano appears to have bought a set of patents from Vivo relating to their neoprene mud shield technology and, possibly, the straight cable routing of the Vivo V2. This prevented Vivo from making any further derailleurs wearing the distinctive rubber boots. John Calendrille apparently said that it was unfortunately, but unavoidably, true that he would earn far more money by selling his patents to Shimano than he ever could by manufacturing and selling his derailleurs.

Before the Interbike show in 2009, someone leaked that Hayes (who are famous for their brake systems), would show an innovative derailleur called the Vivo V5 Enduro. Hayes denied the rumour and the derailleur never appeared on their stand at the show. However, the plot thickened, and it appeared that Vivo may have been talking to Hayes, and may have been the source of the leak, despite nothing having been agreed. If this was true I imagine that Hayes were less than delighted with the whole malarkey.

The Vivo V5 did appear on a Vivo web site dating from around 2012. It was a tidily finished, but fairly conventional model with in-board cable routing in the style of a Suntour Cyclone Mark-II (3500). But, again, I don't know if it ever made it into any kind of production.

After his struggle with the Vivo V5, John L. Calendrille Jr. seems to have changed tack, ditching the Vivo brand and becoming a derailleur-designing-gun-for-hire. As with Hayes in 2009, he seems to have a penchant for working with manufacturers of brakes and convincing them to add a line of derailleurs to their offering.

First up was Box, which is owned by Lee Chi of Taiwan - a manufacturer of brakes in serious volumes. John L. Calendrille Jr.'s name appears on a number of patents associated with the Box derailleurs.

And then, within an indecently short period of time, John's name starts appearing on patents associated with TRP derailleurs. TRP is the 'racing' brand of Tektro, which is another, and even larger, Taiwanese, manufacturer of brake systems.

I can only imagine that it would be entertainingly challenging to work with Hayes, Lee Chi and Tektro, all within a short period of each other and all without coming across any conflicts of interest. Although I have to say that, at first glance, the Vivo V5, the Box One and the TRP DH7 derailleurs all look surprisingly different from each other.