The 1983 Sachs-Huret Rival and 1985 Sachs-Huret New Success are usually regarded as the first of a new generation of designs that Sachs brought to Huret after their 1980 takeover. These derailleurs used Shimano’s Crane geometry with a dropped parallelogram and two sprung pivots and had a distinctly different look and a distinctly different feel of quality ‘German’ engineering.

This Huret Rival is, however, a kind of missing link. It is manufactured in 1982, after the Sachs takeover in 1980 - but it is clearly branded Huret (with no mention of Sachs anywhere). The parallelogram plates are extremely similar to those on my Huret Success (manufactured in 1979 before the takeover). The finish is more French Citroen-2CV-shabby-chic than German Mercedes-’S’-Class-polish-and-precision.

It quietly asks the question as to whether the Rival design originated with the old Huret design team, and was subsequently tidied up by Sachs designers, or whether the Rival design originated with the new Sachs team, but initially they had to cobble something together from the existing Huret parts bin.

Mildly interesting.

• Derailleur brands: Huret
• Categories: Huret - the Rival story
• Country: France
• Date of introduction: 1981?
• Date of this example: 1982 (stamped 0282, week 02 1982)
• Model no.: 2850-00 (Sutherland’s 6th edition)
• Weight: 249g
• Maximum cog: 30 teeth (Huret) or 28 teeth (Sutherland’s 6th edition)
• Total capacity: 28 teeth (Huret) or 30 teeth (Sutherland’s 6th edition)
• Pulley centre to centre: 50mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: sprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: largely steel with an aluminium outer parallelogram plate and b-knuckle.