DISRAELI GEARS
Founded in 1895 in Schweinfurt, Fichtel & Sachs (F&S) was one of the great European bicycle component companies. In the 1970’s F&S decided to use the ‘Sachs’ brand for their derailleurs, perhaps to differentiate them from their hub-gears which were still branded ‘Fichtel & Sachs’.
In 1980 F&S bought a controlling interest in Huret, and gradually changed the ‘Huret’ brand into ‘Sachs-Huret’.
Then in 1987 Mannesmann, a giant German engineering conglomerate, bought the F&S group and restructured it. Mannesmann was very unimpressed by the quality of marketing in the European bicycle industry, and, for clarity, decided to change the brand back to plain ‘Sachs’, with the Huret name (and the F&S group’s other French brand names) disappearing from about 1991. Finally in 1997, Mannesmann sold the Sachs Bicycle Components unit of the old F&S to SRAM. SRAM dropped the ‘Sachs’ brand from 1999, but continued with some of Sach’s designs under the ‘SRAM’ brand name.
In terms of derailleurs, the early years of the Sachs brand were inextricably tied up with Huret. Sachs appears to have ‘own-branded’ both the Huret Svelto and the Huret Eco at various times. The design of Sachs’ own Super Sport owes much to the baleful influence of the Huret Allvit, albeit after being hit with a bizarro ray. Then, of course, Sachs bought Huret, squaring the circle.
By the mid 1980s, however, the post-Huret models were something quite different. They had up-to-date geometry, were solidly engineered, were well finished and oozed German competence, rather than flaky French genius. They were even packaged like consumer products rather than being sold in brown paper bags or wrapped in greaseproof paper. But it was all to no avail. Sachs derailleurs were now very good, but Shimano were better, and most tellingly of all Shimano had got motoring with their integrated groupset idea. Sachs were never able to completely obliterate the obstinately individualistic French character of the various different components of their new empire, their groupsets were always a collection of parts rather than an integrated whole. Finally Sachs, along with the rest of Europe, did not really ‘believe’ in the mountain bike until too late. It took SRAM, with their US background to really break into the volume original equipment market.
There is some history of Sachs on the SRAM website.
see also German Patent # 2,314,555 - Sachs 1973
see also German Patent # 2,314,555 - Sachs 1973
see also US Trademark # 1,243,517 - Sachs 1979
see also US Trademark # 1,243,517 - Sachs 1979
see also US Trademark # 1,219,895 - Sachs 1980
see also US Trademark # 1,219,895 - Sachs 1980
see also US Trademark # 1,219,897 - Sachs 1980
see also US Trademark # 1,219,897 - Sachs 1980
see also New Cycling 05/1981 - '81 Derailleur Collection
see also New Cycling 05/1981 - '81 Derailleur Collection
see also Sachs-Huret Commander - indexing instructions 1981?
see also Sachs-Huret Commander - indexing instructions 1981?
see also Sachs-Huret Commander - instructions 1981?
see also Sachs-Huret Commander - instructions 1981?
see also US Trademark # 1,446,060 - Sachs-Huret 1982
see also US Trademark # 1,446,060 - Sachs-Huret 1982
see also Sachs-Huret - sticker 1983?
see also Sachs-Huret - sticker 1983?
see also Huret Derailleurs - Speedometers - 06/1984
see also Huret Derailleurs - Speedometers - 06/1984
see also French Registered Design # 845832-002 - Huret 1984
see also French Registered Design # 845832-002 - Huret 1984
see also La Bicicletta 1990 Dec - Sachs ad
see also La Bicicletta 1990 Dec - Sachs ad
see also Bicisport 1992 Mar - Sachs ad
see also Bicisport 1992 Mar - Sachs ad
see also Bicisport 1992 Mar - Vitus 992 Dural
see also Bicisport 1992 Mar - Vitus 992 Dural
see also Bicisport 1995 Milano Colonia - Sachs
see also Bicisport 1995 Milano Colonia - Sachs
see also US Trademark # 2,244,162 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,244,162 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,244,164 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,244,164 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,258,427 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,258,427 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,278,673 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,278,673 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,248,618 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,248,618 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,258,499 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark # 2,258,499 - Sachs 1996
see also US Trademark Application # 75237164 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237164 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237225 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237225 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237297 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237297 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237407 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75237407 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75336944 - Sachs 1997
see also US Trademark Application # 75336944 - Sachs 1997
see also SRAM - Spare Parts List 1999 1998
see also SRAM - Spare Parts List 1999 1998
see also SRAM - Spare Parts List 2000 1999
see also SRAM - Spare Parts List 2000 1999
see also Stronglight - Catalogue 2001
see also Stronglight - Catalogue 2001
see also MARS Product Line - 2002
see also MARS Product Line - 2002
see also SRAM 25th Anniversary 2012
see also SRAM 25th Anniversary 2012
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