compact cranksets

tirreno said:

Ive heard that for the majority of people with a standard double, going to a compact involves only the purchase of a new crankset (same BB, derailer). Is this also the case if the derailer is a braze on type or will the lack of downward adjustability make it harder/more expensive to install a compact?

Usually there's enough room in the slot to go down a little. You can also file the slot to be a little longer - we're not talking about much.

I don't know how standard the braze-on location is but it worked fine for my bike (Eddy Merckx steel, Campy Veloce FD, FSA Gossamer compact)

tirreno said:

I've heard that for the majority of people with a standard double, going to a compact involves only the purchase of a new crankset (same BB, derailer). Is this also the case if the derailer is a braze on type or will the lack of downward adjustability make it harder/more expensive to install a compact?

Agree w/ DiabloScott. My Aegis has DA braze-on derailleur. All I had to do was drop it to the bottom of the slot when swapping DA 53/39 to Ritchey WCS 110V 50/34. No BB swap needed, since both cranks use Octalink BB.

I'd have liked to lower the derailleur a bit more, and would have done were the slot longer, but it functions fine as is. That being said, I may take Diablo's advice and get out my small round file and see if I can stretch the slot a bit. Tried to get a new braze-on hanger from Aegis, but got no response to my e-mail inquiry; I figured they must get occasional requests for bikes built w/ compact cranks and have appropriate hangers available.