DISRAELI GEARS
I have been told that this mystery model is a Russian derailleur manufactured by Perm but I have also been told that it is an equally Russian derailleur manufactured by ZIF! Unrivalling the parenthood of soviet derailleurs can be as complex as Kremlinology in the Brezhnev era - mainly because of the total lack of any need for manufacturers to produce marketing material of any sort to attract customers.
The design certainly incorporates distinctive features that were patented by employees of Perm in 1979 and 1980. However it is pictured in a ZIF instruction book from 1987, and I have a very similar example (which I have yet to photograph) which carries the ZIF logo.
My guess is that both this example and the example with the ZIF logo were manufactured by Perm, possibly from 1980 - with the ZIF logo being a branding exercise.
Aside from this I know nothing. To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant (I can only hope that I have quoted that correctly).
The derailleur itself is a moderately interesting variation on the perennial theme of derivatives of the Campagnolo Nuovo Record. It’s all aluminium, it has rationally placed adjustment screws in the style of a Simplex Prestige and it has an original and rather sophisticated design for its main parallelogram spring. Finally the fit and finish is not the worst to be found in the old Soviet bloc.
I like the vaguely biological logo - half fish, half digestive tract - but I have no idea what it really means. I have a terrible fear that it is an even more terrible copy of Campagnolo’s ‘winged-quick-release-hub’ logo - perhaps as seen through the bottom of a recently-emptied glass of vodka.
The cable clamp nut is an interesting size. I had assumed that this was an amateur addition by an over enthusiastic user, but I have seen another example with this size of nut.