November 21, 2010
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The name of first rear derailer made of duralumin didn’t come from the name of heavy
industry machinery but from the name of bird.  A certain bicycle novel tells this in its story
and in fact I had misunderstood the name as this for years until I read it.  The story also tells
that the name was a reflection of the symbol of Japan Air Line, Japanese national flag air
carrier, at that time.
The fact that the derailer was taken as a material for novel indicates the significance of birth
of this derailer.  It was a starting point of Dura-Ace production and the hope of Japanese
bicycle engineers who suffered from Campagnolo complex.  That’s why I have been
interested in this derailer and collected a several models.  These are nothing special in terms
of its performance in today’s criteria, but it is good enough to use on touring bikes with
moderate gearing.
 
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The one on Taurus is the model of last generation with the plastic seals on pivot bolts and the
guiding sprockets made of steel.  The shock and noise from Crane at shifting are larger than
that from its rivals at that time, but its work is very sure and accurate.  Contemporary
Dura-Ace brags its unconscious stress-free shifting quality, but I love the noise and feeling of
analogue shifting operation of Crane, too.