Front derailleur cage width, 8 vs. 9 speed???

MikeYankee said:

Question for you Shimano gurus out there: Is the cage width the same for 8 and 9 speed [road]
front derailleurs?

Pretty soon I'll have to replace an Ultegra front derailleur that's showing play after 21,000
miles on an 8-speed bike. Can I just put on a new 9-speed unit, or do I need to scrounge an 8? (If
the 9-speed cage is narrower I'm concerned it may be hard to set up without getting chain rub on
my slightly wider 8-speed chain.)

Thanx!

Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".)

I don't know the answer to your exact question but I would be very surprised if a 9 speed front mech
failed to work. I have used 9 speed 105 triple front mech on a (3x)7 speed bike. I have used 7 speed
front mechs on (2x)6 speed bikes. Neither of these bikes have indexed front changing though so there
is lashings of trim available to me. You using double or triple ? My Ultegra double seems to have
plenty of trim.

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The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely. mseries.freeserve.co.ukmseries.freeserve.co.ukOpen ↗

mike-<< Pretty soon I'll have to replace an Ultegra front derailleur that's showing play after
21,000 miles on an 8-speed bike. Can I just put on a new 9-speed unit, or do I need to scrounge an
8? >><BR><BR>

a 9s front der will work fine..

"qui si parla shimano, also'

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

MSeries said:

I don't know the answer to your exact question but I would be very surprised if a 9 speed front
mech failed to work. I have used 9 speed 105 triple front mech on a (3x)7 speed bike.

And I've used 7sp FDs on 9sp bikes!