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Rene Herse Neo-Retro Nivex 11-speed Rear Derailleur, a design from the ’30s?!

Rene Herse Nivex Rear Derailleur on bikePhoto c. Rene Herse
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More news from Seattle’s Rene Herse Cycles. Back in early November, I covered another modern throwback with the Rene Herses collab with OPEN Cycles. But, they’re at it again with the release of a new rear derailleur, that Jan Heine of Rene Herse Bicycles, says is the “ultimate rear derailleur“. If you’re looking for the perfect analog experience, this new rear derailleur may be for you.

The Nivex Rear Derailleur pulls inspiration from the 1930s Nivex (known by some to be the Godfather of the modern parallelogram rear derailleurs of today) but had to be designed from scratch, to handle the modern cassettes of today.

Rene Herse Nivex Rear Derailleur
Photo c. Rene Herse

What’s the deal w/ the Nivex Rear Derailleur?

Rene Herse Nivex Rear Derailleur laying down

Using a desmodromic design, the new Nivex Rear Derailleur’s shift cable moves the derailleur in both directions for “lightning-fast, consistent shifts across the gear range”. The design eliminates the need for a return spring, which could mean lighter action. There is a compensator lever that is said to keep the chain tension constant and helps prevent chain slap.

According to Jan, the Nivex has been “tested over 10,000’s of miles, including Paris-Brest-Paris, Oregon Outback, and Unbound XL. This is the final version and it won’t be changed any time soon”.

Rene Herse Nivex Shifter

You can get the Nivex Shifter in either indexed or friction flavor. Because the rear derailleur doesn’t use a return spring the indexing on the shifter is designed to be softer. The website says that the indexing “serves as a guide for the lever, but it doesn’t take away the analog feel”. The shift lever is designed to mount to a standard shift lever boss.

The derailleur and the shifter have been designed to be durable and rebuildable. Parts are available from the time of launch. The new Rear Derailleur is comprised of “more than 50 custom-made parts”. Both the derailleur and the shifter are hand-made in small batches.

Important to know: 

  • The Nivex Rear Derailleur requires a special braze-on under the chainstay for mounting.
  • It cannot be mounted to derailleur hangers on the frame’s rear dropout.

It says on the Rene Herse Website that the Nivex can be retrofitted to existing bikes. Braze-on the Nivex derailleur mount and a cable guide large enough for two cables under the bottom bracket (a simple loop of wire will do).

Retail and tech specs

Nivex Rear Derailleur retail: $729

Nivex Shift Lever: $ 249

Tech Specs:

  • Max. rear cog size: 30-tooth
  • Capacity: 35 teeth
  • Optimized for the following cassettes:
    • 9-11-speed: 12-28 to 11-30
    • 6-8-speed: 13-26 to 11-30
  • Use 10 or 12-tooth lower pulleys to optimize chain length and tension
  • Weight: 176 g
  • Made in Seattle and Taiwan

Get more details o the new Nivex Rear Derailleur, plus check out the other goodies from Rene Herse below.

ReneHerseCycles.com

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24 Comments
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Dockboy
Dockboy
1 year ago

This is a super cool derailleur. A very niche design, but lightweight, pretty, and competitively priced (compared to Dura-Ace or Record setups).

Incognito Rouler
Incognito Rouler
1 year ago

Damn, looks lovely, wish I could justify paying 7 bones for it.

807193FE-E8B2-4903-880A-AB128B34C500.jpeg
Will Ferrule
Will Ferrule
1 year ago

Jan Heine > Grant Petersen.

Ezekiel
Ezekiel
1 year ago

Too heavy, and brutalistic in appearance. Will stick with my ’72 Huret Jubilee.

I do love this thing, though! Glad it costs a cool grand and requires frame modifications. It suggests a real commitment to serious values, just not monetary ones.

redbarn
redbarn
1 year ago

comment image

BigC
BigC
1 year ago

I hope Jan starts producing wooden rims to innovate over carbon, and starts machining wingnuts to reclaim reliability in the realm of so called “quick release” axles. BTW – I heard a rumour that RH’s new mantra is #innovatebackwards…but without the hash.

Jan Heine
Jan Heine
1 year ago
Reply to  BigC

Others are already doing the modern take on wingnuts. They are called thru-axles. Quick releases are so 1970s. 😉

Craig
Craig
1 year ago

Ha ha. I knew Jan Heine would produce a modern rendition of this at some point. He couldn’t help himself. This is a case of, “I want to, and I can, so I will”. It’s kinda cool really.

TypeVertigo
TypeVertigo
1 year ago

Cool design, reminds me a bit of Rohloff IGHs with the push-pull cabling arrangement. Would be nice if it could accommodate a 34T largest cog.

Dockboy
Dockboy
1 year ago
Reply to  TypeVertigo

You could always adapt the braze-on point to fit the bigger cog.

Dominic
Dominic
1 year ago
Reply to  TypeVertigo

it’s supposed to cover a 35t gear spread

Julien Meissonnier
1 year ago

Well, what’s the big deal… every other “modern” derailleur is a design from the 60’s after all (Suntout, 1964 patent horizontal parallelogram)…

keisurz
1 year ago

more ‘naked’ than the suntour’s rendition from the 90’s, eh… and no surprise, using (seems like) a non indexed shifter to pull 6-11 (on another site 12) speed.

Astro_Kraken
Astro_Kraken
1 year ago

It makes it harder to change flats so using Jan tires are not recommended

Roberto
Roberto
1 year ago

This looks very cool. Fine art for bikes. $700+?? Kinda steep

nooner
nooner
1 year ago

Max. rear cog size: 30-tooth
Looks like I’m out on this Retro trinket..

luis raventos
1 year ago

Wow! A terrible 90 years design with an ultra-expensive sales price! Impossible to go wrong

Will
Will
1 year ago

I don’t understand the use case for this – if you want an old derailleur, why not restore an actual old one? Or if you want reliable, simple shifting, why not do bar end shifters?

Tim
Tim
1 year ago
Reply to  Will

You want a highly functional conversation piece and can afford it.
As for function, the cable runs in one continuous loop from shifter to derailleur and back, so the cable pulls during both up and down shifts. This is in contrast to ordinary derailleurs, where the cable pulling moves the derailleur in one direction and a return spring pulls it in the other. Also, because the cable is in one continuous loop, there’s no need for housing and ergo there is no housing to foul up, even in muddy conditions. That’s the theory, anyway.
Personally, I like it but don’t have the money for it.

DynoHub
DynoHub
1 year ago
Reply to  Will
The old ones go for silly money, Nouveau Nivex is for people who can't
afford DuraAce.

Search fo

Gerald
Gerald
1 year ago

Sorry. The site didn’t want me to upload the photo of the White Industries rear derailleur. I only ever saw one and it was on display in a bike shop.It operated througha grip shift that was a work of art as well.

Tim
Tim
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald

Yes, it also had the same looped cable arrangement- the cable started in the shifter, went to the derailleur, where it wrapped around a pulley, then came back to the shifter.

Burnout
Burnout
1 year ago

you must grow a mustache and have a calf tattoo to drive this derailleur

Al_NYC
Al_NYC
1 year ago

Maybe at 1/10th of that price.

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