I know of three basic types of Super-Rapid derailleurs. One is the Super-Leader Route, a direct-pull system with a cable roller. The second is Super-Rapid Record with its slanting sliding rod. And this is the third type - a rather conventional twin-pulley design with a toggle chain. I have guessed that this third basic type is also chronologically the last version.

This third type shares a lot of features of the Super-Leader Route. The pulley wheels, the pulley cage and most of the sliding rod mechanism are shared between the two.

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This is an unused example of this Super-Rapid derailleur. It has the following features:

• The braze-on mounting arm is steel.
• The aluminium nut, through which the toggle chain emerges, has a rounded top.
• The cylinder that holds the sliding rod is aluminium and 40mm long.
• The pulley diameter is 33mm.

Note that the mounting bracket of this derailleur is fiercely angled forward. This would position the guide pulley a long, long, way from the freewheel sprockets - which I can only see as a bad thing.

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• Derailleur brands: Super-Rapid
• Country: France
• Date of introduction: 1942?
• Date of this example: unknown
• Model no.: unknown
• Weight: 185g excluding chain tension spring
• Maximum cog: unknown
• Total capacity: unknown
• Pulley centre to centre: 69mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 1/8" or 3/32”?
• Logic: low normal
• B pivot: none
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: aluminium large nuts and cylinder with a steel mounting arm, sliding rod, pulleycage and pulleys