Front derailleur for 46-36-26?

That Ultegra FD is almost certainly not original...maybe someone's
attempt to "upgrade" the bike.

I've seen the appropriate RSX front derailer on eBay from time to time;
a friend had one on a Cannondale and it seemed to work just fine. On
the other hand, I use a 105 triple on my 48-36-26 setup and it works
great (of course, I'm using DT shifters, so that may make some
difference).

Hmm. Is the Ultegra a triple front derailer? Some folks try to get
away with doubles, and that doesn't work well.

If nothing else works, you could try changing her over to a DT shifter
in front...

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Floyd Sense said:

My daughter presented me with a problem that I need some advice on. She
rides a Trek 1220 (several years old) that has always had problems with
shifting. More than one shop has tried to solve it with poor results. This
bike uses Shimano RSX indexed shifters/brake levers, a 46-36-26 chainwheel
setup, 14-30 7-speed rear cluster. The seat tube diameter is 34.9mm (1
3/8"😉. It's currently fitted with an Ultegra front derailleur, made for a
braze-on mount, and it's mounted via a clamp that fits the seat tube
diameter. The Ultegra derailleur is obviously the wrong choice here because
it's optimized for much larger chainrings and has to be positioned too far
up the seat tube to prevent excessive chain rub. That results in unshipping
the chain 90% of the time when shifting from the middle to outer chain ring.

So, what I need is a front derailleur for either braze-on mounting or that
fits a 34.9mm tube, and is optimized for the smaller chainring setup.
Anyone know of such a derailleur? (bottom pull).

_ You're in luck. The revival of the 110 BCD or compact crankset
has made deraillers with Shimano Road indexing and the correct
radius available again. IRD makes a derailler that should work
well for what you want.

http://tinyurl.com/74gps

_ Since it's not "officially" a triple front derailler, you might
want to install a chain watcher as well, but this should solve
the middle/big ring shifting problems.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Floyd Sense said:

My daughter presented me with a problem that I need some advice on. She
rides a Trek 1220 (several years old) that has always had problems with
shifting. More than one shop has tried to solve it with poor results.

This

Quoted message said:

bike uses Shimano RSX indexed shifters/brake levers, a 46-36-26 chainwheel
setup, 14-30 7-speed rear cluster. The seat tube diameter is 34.9mm (1
3/8"😉. It's currently fitted with an Ultegra front derailleur, made for a
braze-on mount, and it's mounted via a clamp that fits the seat tube
diameter. The Ultegra derailleur is obviously the wrong choice here

because

Quoted message said:

it's optimized for much larger chainrings and has to be positioned too far
up the seat tube to prevent excessive chain rub. That results in

unshipping

Quoted message said:

the chain 90% of the time when shifting from the middle to outer chain

ring.

Quoted message said:

So, what I need is a front derailleur for either braze-on mounting or that
fits a 34.9mm tube, and is optimized for the smaller chainring setup.
Anyone know of such a derailleur? (bottom pull).

Floyd Sense
Angier, NC

I use an older Shimano XTR front deraiileur with a 46-36-22 chainring
combination, and a 12-32 cassette. Works beautifully. I would expect any
Shimano MTB front derailleur to work about as well.
--
mark