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Honda C90 / supercub, the worlds greatest motorcycle.
Patented in 1895, still used today- simple, efficient and (in my experience) reliable.
The derailleur!
As a nipper I once unplugged something and my little hands went round the side of the plug and made contact with the live pin. It gave me quite a belt.
But what really bugs me about them (apart from my dislike of re-wiring them, and every bloody one you look at needs different wire lengths, and some cheap ones not gripping the cable properly) is that when you but a carpentry tool in a decent case, the case is never designed for a UK plug so it's always a right faff to get it back in and shut it.
Long Johns.
The derailleur
Bit of kit nerd time. That style of dropped parallelogram derailleur is a design masterpiece within a design as it were. Suntour introduced it and it, ultimately, led to the abandonment of the previous design of derailleurs and the ability to use far lower gears easily.
This can opener is brilliant.
It opens the can, but the cut is so clean and safe you can run your finger around the edge of the can, and use the top as a lid (if you want to) - it clicks back onto the can, which will then look like it's still un-opened.
Probably not an 'everyday design classic' in the sense the OP had in mind, but it's a sort of 'hidden gem' of design instead.
And the first time you use it, you'll assume it hasn't done anything and is completely useless. But that's only because it's so good; and you will have to adjust your expectations of the whole world ref. can-opening.
Hard boiled egg slicer
Patented in 1895, still used today- simple, efficient and (in my experience) reliable.
The derailleur!
Every time I look at a derailleur I think "surely there must be a better solution for MTB than a fragile lump of metal dangling inches from the ground?" Why can't there be some sort of slack taker-upper inline with the lower chain and lifting it, a horizontal derailleur?
I suppose the fact that there isn't is a testament to its design.
Why can't there be some sort of slack taker-upper inline with the lower chain and lifting it, a horizontal derailleur?
Somebody designed this a couple of years ago, and tucked it behind an additional little triangle at the cassette end of the chain stay. I can't remember what it was called or the company who made it, I'm sure somebody will recall it and post below.
The main drawback of course being that it isn't retrofittable to any frame designed for a standard derailleur.
I suppose the fact that there isn't is a testament to its design
And that before the recent 12, 13, 14 & dinnerplate blocks, electric gears, etc changes derailleurs were fairly cheap bits of kit so there wasn’t any incentive to change?
derailleurs were fairly cheap bits of kit
Deore.
12 spd can be had for what, under £30 ?!?
The U-bend.
Following on from Chewy's vegetable peeler a few days ago, which is the dogs for carrots,parsnips etc, we mustn't forget this too:
Was it this one?
No, more modern than that, which looks like something Henri Desgrange would have objected to. 😁
A bit of hunting found this. Lal bikes Supre Drive.
https://share.google/o5zeKGJVhKHbiUlYT