The early Shimano 600 derailleurs were revolutionary in a number of ways. They were part of a full groupset - a new phenomenon for a mid level price point, they were designed for Campagnolo drop-outs (gone was the homage to Simplex), and most important of all, they were well finished and looked ruthlessly composed and modern. I can well remember marvelling at the sheer glamour of mid-range bikes kitted out in the full 600 groupset - they looked so much better than their peers clad in a mishmash of Weinmann centre pulls, SR cranks and SunTour V series gears.

This example is a long pulley cage version of the very first generation which, I have been told, have 6000 model numbers (which makes sense - but I have never seen these numbers in a catalogue). The distinguishing feature is that the ‘600’ on the outer parallelogram plate is in large script.

All in all, a pretty damn fine derailleur - even if it did not change quite as well over a wide ratio freewheel as a SunTour Vx GT.

• Derailleur brands: Shimano
• Categories: Shimano - the Ultegra story, Shimano - the Deore XT story
• Country: Japan
• Date of introduction: 1974
• Date of this example: 1975 (two letter date code is ZE)
• Model no.: 6001?
• Weight: 250g
• Maximum cog: 34 teeth (Sutherland’s 6th edition)
• Total capacity: 34 teeth
• Pulley centre to centre: 75mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: sprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: largely aluminium, steel pulley cage plates