Les Spécialités Huret, the Louison Bobet Derailleur — L’Officiel du cycle, 30 March 1957

A note in L’Officiel du cycle, 30 March 1957, “Les spécialités Huret”: the derailleur maker of Nanterre, in business since 1930, its accessories and speedometers, and the “Louison Bobet” derailleur for three to five speeds, drawn. The heading and caption are transcribed as printed; the text is summarized in Ebykr’s words.

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LES SPÉCIALITÉS HURET

Le dérailleur “ Louison Bobet ”

[Ebykr summary; the article’s text is not reproduced. A short trade note on the Établissements HURET, derailleur specialists since 1930, whose range also takes in many accessories: wing nuts (papillons), nuts (écrous), chainrings (plateaux) and hubs (moyeux), as well as chain tensioners (tendeurs), rear-view mirrors (rétroviseurs) and speedometers (compteurs de vitesse) for cycles, cyclomoteurs, scooters and motorcycles. Racing, the note says, has been the best proving ground for the efficiency and sturdiness of the firm’s derailleurs, offered in a range suited to every use: everyday work, cyclotourisme, sport and competition. The special “Louison Bobet” derailleur pictured is the one fitted to the bicycles of the champion of that name, on which it won many victories. It works with three, four or five sprockets, with spreads of 14 to 25 teeth on the freewheel and of eight teeth between the two chainrings of a double. Like the “Tour de France” model, it lets the rider remove and refit the rear wheel in any gear without touching the chain, thanks to its automatic swinging action (basculage automatique). The Nanterre works, with modern equipment, also make all the small parts, from the simple shift lever (manette) to tensioner spares. They also produce speedometers, either clamped to the handlebar (the note says its picture shows one, although the drawing printed is the derailleur) or triangular and built into the headlamp (phare), the drive being linked to the counter by a flexible cable.]

[One line drawing in a ruled frame: a close view of the “Louison Bobet” rear derailleur mounted at the rear dropout of a bicycle, with the multiple freewheel sprockets, the chain, the quick-release lever of the wheel, the control cable in its housing curving down to the mechanism, the coiled spring around the pivot and the two jockey wheels of the chain cage. The derailleur body carries the name “Huret” in script, cast lengthwise on the arm. No artist’s signature or monogram is visible in the frame or below it; two small stray marks follow the caption at its right.]

[The rest of page 20 carries two advertisements (the TM “Antivol automatique” lock and the Lachèvre “Sonnclair” bell) and the note “La Scotorette Captivante”, not part of this record.]