Cyclo Standard derailleur

The Cyclo Standard was the definitive touring derailleur for many decades. It started life as the French 1923 ‘Le Cyclo’, designed and manufactured by Albert Raimond. The design of the mechanism was said to have been inspired by machine guns that Raimond examined during the First World War. In 1932 the British Cyclo Gear Company was established by Raimond and Louis Camillis, and the Cyclo Standard was its first product.

The Standard mounts under the chainstay and is controlled by two cables. The cables rotate a sleeve with a helical groove in it on a shaft with a pin sticking into the groove. One cable pulls the sleeve one way, the other pulls it the other way. As the sleeve rotates the helix drives the sleeve along the shaft. The pulley cage is attached to the sleeve, with the top pulley concentric with the shaft. Chain tension is provided by a spring attached to the eye on the arm that is just above the guide pulley. The other end of the spring is attached to a clamp on the chainstay just behind the bottom bracket.

The Cyclo Standard was heavy and was fiddly to set up, but once properly installed, it was strong and reliable. It can make a decent claim to being the first derailleur that was a practical, commercial, mass-produced product.

You saw these derailleurs in use on tandems in the UK well into the 1970s.

Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Country: UK
Date of introduction: 1932
Date of this example: 1949? (the arm is stamped ’49’)
Model no.: unknown
Weight: 398g including mounting bracket but excluding chain tension spring and chainstay clip
Maximum cog: 26 teeth (Cyclo Catalogue - 1949)
Total capacity: 34 teeth?
Pulley centre to centre: 75mm
Index compatibility: friction
Chain width: 1/8”
Logic: operated by two cables with no ‘normal’ position
B pivot: none
P pivot: sprung
Materials: steel

Cyclo Standard derailleur additional image 01

Browse associated documents.

French Patent # 615,017 - Cyclo

Publisher: L’Institut national de la propriété industrielle
Date: French application April 1926
Derailleur brands: Cyclo, Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Le Cyclo, Cyclo Standard

French Patent 615,017 - Le Cyclo thumbnail

Cycling 02/01/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: January 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-01-02 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 20/03/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: March 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-03-20 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 27/03/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: March 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-03-27 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 03/07/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: July 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-07-03 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 27/07/1931 - BSA ad scan 1 of 2

Publisher: Cycling
Date: July 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-07-27 - BSA advert 01 thumbnail

Cycling 21/08/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: August 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-08-21 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 04/09/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: September 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-09-04 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 18/09/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: September 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-09-18 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 16/10/1931 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: October 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-10-16 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

Cycling 11/12/1931 - The Rest of the Wheel Fare scan 1 of 2

Publisher: Cycling
Date: December 1931
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1931-12-11 - The Rest of the Wheel Fare 01 thumbnail

Cycling 27/07/1934 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: Cycling
Date: July 1934
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cycling 1934-07-27 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

UK Patent # 457,480 - Cyclo Gear Company

Publisher: UK Intellectual Property Office
Date: application filed May 1935
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

UK Patent 457,480 - Cyclo Standard thumbnail

Cyclo Gear Care, Maintenance & Fitting Instructions

Publisher: Cyclo Gear Company
Date: 1935?
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cyclo Catalogue 362 page 17 - scan 18 of 42

Publisher: Cyclo Gear Company
Date: My guess is that 362 means February 1936
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: none

Cyclo Catalogue 373 page 18 - scan 20 of 60

Publisher: Cyclo Gear Company
Date: March 1937
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: none

The Cyclist 03/1937 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: The Cyclist
Date: September 1937
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

The Cyclist March 1937 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

The Cyclist 09/1937 - Cyclo ad

Publisher: The Cyclist
Date: September 1937
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

The Cyclist September 1937 - Cyclo advert thumbnail

BSA - catalogue 1938 scan 2 of 3

Publisher: BSA
Date: January 1938
Derailleur brands: BSA
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

Cyclo Catalogue 382 page 19 - scan 21 of 60

Publisher: Cyclo Gear Company
Date: February 1938
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: none

National Clarion Cycling Club - Handbook for Season 1938 scan 4 of 4

Publisher: National Clarion Cycling Club
Date: September 1938
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard

National Clarion Cycling Club - Handbook for Season 1938 scan 4 thumbnail

Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader 05/1939 - Cyclo Gear Company ad

Publisher: Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader
Date: May 1939
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard, Cyclo Oppy, Cyclo Star

Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader May 1939 - Cyclo Gear Company ad thumbnail

Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader 05/1939 - Derailleur Gear Specifications page ii - scan 1 of 2

Publisher: Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader
Date: May 1939
Derailleur brands: Constrictor, Osgear, Cyclo Gear Company, Super-Inax, Enfield Cycle Company
Derailleurs: too many to list

Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader May 1939 - Derailleur Gear Specifications scan 1 thumbnail

Cyclo catalogue 399

Publisher: Cyclo Gear Company
Date: September 1939
Derailleur brands: Cyclo Gear Company
Derailleurs: Cyclo Standard, Cyclo Oppy, Cyclo Ace, Cyclo Star, Cyclo Witmy, Cyclo Poly