Many people regard the SunTour Superbe Pro (5200) as the finest friction derailleur of all time. It was light, strong, extremely effective and constructed to fantastic tolerances from the finest materials.

No detail was overlooked, from the aluminium hanger bolt and pulley bolts to the sealed bearing pulley wheels to the stainless steel pivots with Allen heads that were removable so that the gear could be completely disassembled.

I was never totally taken with the aesthetics of the plain vanilla silver version, but I love this black and gold version. It is oh-so-John-Player-Special, redolent of Emerson Fittipaldi, Colin Chapman, the glamour of Formula One and, of course, lung cancer.

• Derailleur brands: SunTour
• Categories: SunTour - the Superbe story
• Themes: A riot of colour
• Country: Japan
• Date of introduction: 1984?
• Date of this example: 1985 (two letter date code is BJ)
• Model no.: 5200 (SunTour box)
• Weight: 181g
• Maximum cog: 23 teeth (Sutherlands 4th edition)
• Total capacity: 26 teeth (Sutherlands 4th edition)
• Pulley centre to centre: 52mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: unsprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: aluminium (including the hanger bolt and the pulley centre bolts)