What a fine thing the Zeus Cosmos is!

Launched in 1988 (?) the Cosmos was Zeus' attempt to be ruthlessly modern. It used a drop parallelogram - but was just slightly more primitive than a 1964 SunTour because, rather crucially, it lacks a slant parallelogram. Perhaps it is more appropriate to compare it to the 1971 Shimano Crane - which also lacks a slant parallelogram. But in this case the Zeus is slightly more primitive than the Crane because, equally crucially, it has an unsprung b-pivot. In the slightly disturbing words of The Poni-Tails, the Cosmos was clearly born too late - somewhere between 17 and 24 years too late...

But you have to love its surreal porridge of contradictions. It has a fantastic plain, detail-free look. Omitted details even include a cable adjuster. But, with the outer pulley cage plate Zeus have chosen to retain a function-free glimmer of 1982's 'Aero' look. The adjustment screws use cool, modern, 2mm Allen keys. But the cable clamp bolt is a, thoroughly retro, 8mm hex. After a decade of catastrophically failing b-knuckles from Simplex and Campagnolo, the Cosmos' b-knuckle is the thinnest and most daintily delicate that I have ever seen. The finish is a lovely anodised lustre, but with impractically fragile painted lettering. And, of course it weighs a, highly impressive, 173g.

I can't remember exactly what a 'Curates Egg' really is - but the Zeus Cosmos may just be one.

This is a, rather nice, unused example. Enjoy!

• Derailleur brands: Zeus
• Categories: Zeus - the good stuff
• Country: Spain
• Date of introduction: 1987?
• Date of this example: unknown
• Model no.: unknown
• Weight: 173g
• Maximum cog: 30 teeth
• Total capacity: 28 teeth?
• Pulley centre to centre: 46mm
• Index compatibility: friction
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: unsprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: largely aluminium

Ref. 612