This derailleur is a 1975 Huret Svelto rebranded as a product of Sachs. Note that, at this point, Sachs did not yet own Huret. I have been told that this model was called Sachs Sport - but I have not been able to find any documentary evidence for this.
As for any other Huret Svelto, this is a relatively low-end, steel, stamped out product. However it is respectably well made and finished, and, by 1976, was a well established and well honed design.
I believe that this derailleur was fitted on Sachs products like Hercules town bikes (German Hercules not British Hercules) and, in some cases, Hercules and Sachs mopeds.
There is a vast and bewildering range of different variants of the Huret Svelto. Some key features of this particular example may be:
- The horizontal part of the b-knuckle has a straight line based shape.
- The front of the vertical part of the b-knuckle has a squarish shape.
- It has a silver Huret style hanger with nothing stamped on it.
- It has a Sachs branded plastic decorative clip-on plastic part on the upper parallelogram plate and unbranded disc on the b-pivot bolt.
- The bottom parallelogram plate is not stamped with anything.
- The p-knuckle is about 30mm wide and has a Sachs logo.
- The pulley cage plates are the fourth style of plates used on Huret Sveltos, with an increased centre to centre distance of 50mm and a lot of wrap-around at the tension pulley.
- Only the guide pulley has a ball bearing race. Both pulleys have 'teeth'.
- It does not have a cable adjuster.
- The adjustment screws have Phillips heads.
Note that, in the photo above, the p-pivot spring is not engaged, to allow the derailleur to take up a more 'normal' shape.
- Derailleur brands: Sachs, manufactured by Huret
- Categories: Sachs - before the takeover of Huret
- Country: Germany - Bundesrepublik Deutschland, manufactured in France
- Date of introduction: 1975
- Date of this example: 1976 (stamped 0976 - week 9, year 1976)
- Model no.: unknown
- Weight: 243g including hanger plate
- Maximum cog: 28 teeth (source: Huret)
- Total capacity: 32 teeth (source: Huret)
- Pulley centre to centre: 50mm
- Index compatibility: friction
- Chain width: 3/32”
- Logic: top normal
- B pivot: unsprung
- P pivot: sprung
- Materials: steel with alluring plastic decor
