Nuovo Gran Sport design gap ?

Not sure to call it a gap in design or a flaw or just "old-style"... but just realized how weird is the design of the jockey weels support on nuevo gran sport RD...

Notice the rounded sides are inwards ! - opposite as all the rd's I know where the rounded shape is facing outwards the jockeys.

I've was close to dissasemble it all when had a look at velobase and found this is as per design ...

Quite interesting. Does any one know any reason for this ??

Do you mean the cage? - apologies if I've missed the point.
Having a steel cage on the Gran Sport kept the cost down, and I guess shaping it like that is a bit more attractive than the usual pressed steel cages. Maybe it offers a bit of structural rigidity too.

A couple of other mech's did it as well, Roto etc
http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Rot ... lleur.html

yes, sorry, I was refering to the cages. But mind the original gran sport, it's "as usual" design (rounded shaped facing out)

I suspect the original was a much more costly affair to produce, the cage being forged or cast as opposed to pressed - and all that luscious chroming/polishing..

I've a lot of affection for '70s GS though, unpretentious and functional (with great bearings!). A very satisfying groupset

Lovely stuff.

Exactly. And the price-point pressed steel cage plates on the Nuovo Gransport being 'inside out' makes functional sense at the expense of aesthetics, because you don't want the rivets of the moving chain fouling on the sharp edges of the plates.

Nobody bought them BITD as they were way more expensive than Jap offerings at the time. Viking brought out a fully GS equipped bike, the Severn Valley, but I guess they bought the kit in bulk?

The front mech was OK. Almost indistinguishable from the earlier NR mechs without the holes in the cage. I've seen more than one 'seventies' retrobike with an '80s Nuovo Gransport front mech mis-identified as an NR.

Thanks. Good to know ! Makes sense as this was mounted in a Colnago Sport from the 70's I recently bought, with universal brakes ....

TT'er Sue Fenwick certainly loved her Raleigh Gran Sport, and did pretty well on it!
If you click back 6 pic's there's a nice colour photo of them both in action.
http://www.ttlegends.org/women-cyclists ... 24734&t=tc