The Ballis Valor used a design patented and manufactured by Novitas Fabrik Elektrischer Apparate A.G. of Zürich, Switzerland in 1932. Its Swiss origins are not so strange - like Mercier, who were the largest user of this design, Ballis was based in St Étienne, which is as close to Zurich as it is to Paris.

It is a simple, robust, touring (rather than racing) design. The cable pull rotates a drum with a spiral surface cut into its inside surface. This spiral acts on a bolt head screwed into the main rod that holds the pulley cage, moving it in and out as the drum rotates. All this is very reminiscent of the contemporary Cyclo designs. However, unlike the double cable, unsprung Cyclo, Novitas opted for a single cable with a spring in the derailleur. This spring pulls the guide pulley outwards - making the derailleur top normal. The derailleur also has rather well shielded moving parts - meaning that the grease was likely to stay in, and the road crap was likely to stay out.

I believe that the Novitas's basic design went through (perhaps) seven development stages:

• The initial version (1934?) had an external pulley cage spring that led from the tension pulley bolt to a fixing on the rear dropout. Initially the pulley cage arm was short (55mm centre to centre) and the tension pulley had large (60mm) flanges. The very first models had a well-finished, countersunk, round hole in the flange that accepts the cable nipple.
• The second version (1935?) had a rather crude, rectangular hole in the flange that accepts the cable nipple.
• A third version (1937?) was largely identical - but had a longer (70mm) pulley cage arm.
• A fourth version (1938?) moved the pulley cage spring so that it led from an eyelet at the top of the pulley cage arm, along the chainstay to a clip. The tension pulley was also reduced in size to 50mm diameter. Finally this version, like all previous versions, had a steel pulley cage arm.
• A fifth version (also 1938?) was identical to the fourth version, except that it had an aluminium pulley cage arm.
• The sixth version (1939?) was an extensive, but only partially successful redesign. The mounting bracket was made of thinner guage steel, the 72mm pulley cage arm was narrower, the cap at the end of the main cylinder became aluminium.
• The seventh version (possibly later 1939?) was largely identical, but the sliding cylinder mechanism was made of moderately accurately machined steel, rather than beautifully finished brass.

These dates are a touch spurious. The 1932 date of the founding patent is not in doubt. The 1934 date for the appearance of the first production derailleurs comes from The Dancing Chain. I have some adverts from 1936 also showing the first or second generation. And at that point my hard data really stops. If you have any 1930s catalogues which have real detail, I would be very interested!

I think this is a, well rusted, example of a Ballis Valor from the second generation described above, because it is has a, fairly crude, rectangular-ish hole for the cable nipple. Some key features are:

• The main mounting bracket is made of 3mm guage steel.
• It has a brass ferrule at the point that the cable passes through the mounting plate.
• The main operating cylinder has a brass internal mechanism and a brass end cap.
• The mounting hole for the cable nipple is somewhat rectangular.
• The pulley cage spring attaches to the tension pulley bolt.
• The pulley cage arm is steel, 18mm wide and 55mm centre to centre.
• The tension pulley flanges are 60mm in diameter.
• The tension pulley has no writing on it.

I obtained this derailleur along with its matching, extremely corroded, lever. You can see photos of this lever if you click on the 'photos' tab and scroll down. It is a large 3-speed indexed lever in which the indexing peg is constrained by slots, causing the rider to 'over-shift' before the lever slips back to the correct position. This is smart, and somewhat similar to Shimano's SIS system. In contrast to modern systems, the cable nipple is at the derailleur, and the cable clamp is incorporated into the lever - well away from road crud. Finally there is a well machined cable tension adjuster at the lever - where it is easy for the rider to access. All good stuff.

The round part of this lever is large - about 45mm in diameter. I believe that when the derailleur was later redesigned, with smaller discs at the tension pulley, the lever was also redesigned to be smaller.

• Derailleur brands: Ballis manufactured by Novitas Fabrik Elektrischer Apparate A.G.
• Country: France, manufactured in Switzerland
• Date of introduction: 1935?
• Date of this example: unknown
• Model no.: unknown
• Weight: 483g including mounting bracket and pulley cage spring
• Maximum cog: unknown
• Total capacity: unknown
• Pulley centre to centre: 55mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 1/8”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: none
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: mainly steel with some brass small parts and an aluminium tension pulley

Ref. 2141