The Cyclo Benelux Mark 8 Tourist was the touring version of the ubiquitous Cyclo Benelux Mark 7. Like the Mark 7, it shows how the derailleur matured as a product as the market moved from post-World War II austerity to ‘never having it so good’. There is an outbreak of coloured branding and lush chrome. Definitely a product aimed at a increasingly discerning and affluent consumer.

I was surprised at how many of the parts of the Mark 8 Tourist were NOT shared with the Mark 7. The pulley cage and tension pulley are obviously different, but so is the main arm, the b-pivot adjuster plate, a whole host of parts of the sliding rod mechanism and the main spring. There are surprisingly few economies of scale here.

I am aware of three generations of the Cyclo Benelux Mark 8 Tourist, with minor cosmetic differences, as follows:

• The first version (1957?) has an exotic, flamboyant, 3D, rivetted-on, winged logo on the main arm.
• The second version (also 1957?) has a rivetted-on, flat, logo with a red centre oval and blue 'wings'.
• The third version (1960?) also has a rivetted-on, flat, logo, also with a red centre oval, but with no wings, and a thin blue line around the red oval.

As you will see from the dates that I have guessed, I vaguely think that this is the chronological order in which these versions appear - but I am not completely sure. I also think that the images that Cyclo used in its catalogues are not necessarily a reliable guide to dates. I think that old images were frequently reused.

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This is a well used, example of the third version listed above. It is a 5-speed 3/32" or 4-speed 1/8" version.

In some of the photos, I have disengaged the pulley cage spring to allow the derailleur to adopt a more normal position.

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• Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
• Country: UK
• Date of introduction: 1960?
• Date of this example: unknown
• Model no.: Mark 8
• Weight: 331g including hanger plate, but excluding drop-out bolt
• Maximum cog: 28 teeth
• Total capacity: 35 teeth
• Pulley centre to centre: 79mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 3/32” and 1/8”
• Logic: low normal
• B pivot: unsprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: steel, with aluminium flanges on the tension pulley