Front derailleur / mech question

Front mechs and derailleurs are the same thing ! The specifications regarding number of teeth relate to the ability of the mech to throw the chain from one ring to another, this is more crucial if you are using indexed shifting for the mech where you have very limited, if any, fine adjsutment (trim). Price usually reflects the quality of the component rather than its function. I would be surprised if a Deore XT one doesn't meet your requirments, these are not VERY expensive and are generally pretty good. More exotic (expensive) models will generally work better, be easier to set up and be lighter though as I say with indexed shifting the shifter plays a crucial part as do the chainring spacing. It never used to be this complicated and for those of us without indexed front shifting, still isn't.

Goat said:

OK. I'm still trying to find a front derailleur to fit my
Giant hybrid 24-speed. You remember the old M330 is worn
out and no longer in production, it seems.

The more I look at the range available, the more
confused I get!

Having established, with your help, that I need a top (or
dual) pull, top swing for a 31.8mm fitting, I now find
myself worrying about the following:

What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
"DERAILLEUR"?

Nothing. Both are short for "derailleur mechanism".

Quoted message said:

What difference do the chainset teeth numbers make? The
larger toothed wheel thingy attached to my pedals is a bit
larger than usual: an extra 2 teeth, I think (44T ?)

That's smaller than many. My road bike has 52/42/30.

The absolute numbers don't matte much when choosing a front
mech. What does matter is whether it's a double or triple
chainset (yours is a triple), and the difference in teeth
between the largest and smallest chainring. This latter
measurement is the capacity of the front mech - some handle
more tooth difference than others.

Quoted message said:

What do you get for your extra pennies? I've seen new
derailleur / mechs on offer from about 10 pounds to over
70 pounds. What is worth the extra dosh?

Construction quality, weight, smoothness, longevity. All of
these are independent of, but usually correlated to the
price of the mech.

Quoted message said:

My local bike shops are thicker than I am (honest!).

Move somewhere else, then.

--
Mark.

Goat said:

What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
"DERAILLEUR"?

"Mech" is British slang for derailleur. Easier to spell,
type and say.

Quoted message said:

What difference do the chainset teeth numbers make?

The curvature of the front mech cage has to suit the ring
sizes and cope with the differences between rings. And of
course the larger the ring (the greater the number of
teeth), the higher the gear is.

Quoted message said:

The larger toothed wheel thingy attached to my pedals

...Call that the "outer chainring"...

Quoted message said:

is a bit larger than usual: an extra 2 teeth, I think (44T
?) What do you get for your extra pennies?

Slightly higher gears. Front mech should cope if carefully
adjusted, with a bit of luck.

Quoted message said:

I've seen new derailleur / mechs on offer from about 10
pounds to over 70 pounds. What is worth the extra dosh?

Expensive ones tend to be lighter and look prettier. They
don't necessarily cost much more to manufacture, or work
better, but having a widely priced range of products is a
way for the manufacturer to grab money from all sectors of
the market. I think of it as a form of socialism, actually:
You pay what you can afford but everyone gets the same
thing! :-)

Very cheapest ones /might/ not work quite so well, and
/might/ not last as long. I say "might" because even bottom
of the range Shimano nowadays seems to work well to me, and
I can't see what's not durable about it.

~PB

Mark Tranchant said:

The absolute numbers don't matte much when choosing a
front mech. What does matter is whether it's a double or
triple chainset (yours is a triple), and the difference in
teeth between the largest and smallest chainring. This
latter measurement is the capacity of the front mech -
some handle more tooth difference than others.

With the proviso that MTB front mechs are designed to work
with smaller rings - typically up to 44 T - while road mechs
are happier with big rings around the 52 mark. The profile
of the cage differs according to the type of mech, so MTB
mechs won't shift well on road chainsets and vice-versa.

--

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Goat:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
"DERAILLEUR"?

The only difference is that calling it a mech rather than a
derailleur makes you sound more like a 'proper' cyclist. 😉

Quoted message said:

What difference do the chainset teeth numbers make?

Basically, they work in the opposite way to the cogs on the
rear wheel - ie the bigger wheel for going faster, the
smaller wheel for going uphill.

Quoted message said:

The larger toothed wheel thingy attached to my pedals is a
bit larger than usual: an extra 2 teeth, I think (44T ?)

The difference in practical terms is minimal - the 44
gives you a slightly larger top gear, which means you
might go a wee bit faster downhill. It won't make any
difference going uphill.

Quoted message said:

What do you get for your extra pennies? I've seen new
derailleur / mechs on offer from about 10 pounds to over
70 pounds. What is worth the extra dosh?

More expensive kit is usually better engineered, might
operate more smoothly (not always true), and is probably
made of lighter, more expensive materials, but how much you
spend is entirely up to you and whether you think you'll
really get any benefit from shaving a few grams off the
weight of your derailleur.

I would suggest avoiding the really cheap stuff and go for
the bottom end of the performance range (eg the Shimano
Acera front mech is available as top-pull in the size you
want for £12 from Wiggle). Having said that, when it comes
to front mechs, you don't have to spend much more to get
something higher up the range - and Wiggle have 30% or more
off some higher end models so they end up being the same
price. Also look at BikeMagic for user reviews.

d.

Simon Brooke said:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
"DERAILLEUR"?

None. The system was invented in France, hence
'derailleur'; it was adopted by the Americans, hence
'mech'.

Most "normal" American cyclists wouldn't know what you meant
by a "mech" even you shoved one up their inner ring. "Mech"
is a good old *British* term.

~PB

davek said:

Goat:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
"DERAILLEUR"?

The only difference is that calling it a mech rather than
a derailleur makes you sound more like a 'proper'
cyclist. 😉

As does appending "set" to every bit.

I oiled the springs on my saddleset today, and it's stopped
squeaking, which is a blessed relief. Now the only thing
that's making a noise is my barset, which needs a dab of
grease in the stemset clampset.

--
Keith Willoughby Welcome to the police state -
tinyurl.com3cptbOpen ↗

Mike K Smith said:

Keith Willoughby said:

davek said:

Goat:
> What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
> "DERAILLEUR"?

The only difference is that calling it a mech rather
than a derailleur makes you sound more like a 'proper'
cyclist. 😉

As does appending "set" to every bit.

I oiled the springs on my saddleset today, and it's
stopped squeaking, which is a blessed relief. Now the
only thing that's making a noise is my barset, which
needs a dab of grease in the stemset clampset.

Some exaggeration, surely.

Total exaggeration for comic effect.

Quoted message said:

The set is more than a single component, e.g. a frameset
includes the forks as well as the frame.

The only one that actually makes me laugh is "wheelset"
rather than "wheels".

--
Keith Willoughby Welcome to the police state -
tinyurl.com3cptbOpen ↗

Keith Willoughby said:

davek said:

Goat:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference between a "MECH" and a
"DERAILLEUR"?

The only difference is that calling it a mech rather
than a derailleur makes you sound more like a 'proper'
cyclist. 😉

As does appending "set" to every bit.

I oiled the springs on my saddleset today, and it's
stopped squeaking, which is a blessed relief. Now the only
thing that's making a noise is my barset, which needs a
dab of grease in the stemset clampset.

Some exaggeration, surely. The set is more than a single
component, e.g. a frameset includes the forks as well as
the frame.

The saddleset would include the seatpin, and the barset
would include the stem, in my view.

Does anyone here still refer to their bike as an 'iron'?
e.g. The racing iron needs a respray, so I'll get that done
in September and ride the hack iron for the winter.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Mike K Smith

Does anyone here still refer to their bike as an 'iron'?
e.g. The racing iron needs a respray, so I'll get that done
in September and ride the hack iron for the winter.

Yes, I refer to my best bike as #1RI (number 1 road iron), my old best bike as #2RI. BTW I also refer to a radio as a wireless.

"davek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Goat:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do you get for your extra pennies? I've seen new
derailleur / mechs on offer from about 10 pounds to over
70 pounds. What is worth the extra dosh?

More expensive kit is usually better engineered, might
operate more

smoothly

Quoted message said:

(not always true), and is probably made of lighter, more
expensive materials, but how much you spend is entirely up
to you and whether you think you'll really get any benefit
from shaving a few grams off the

weight

Quoted message said:

of your derailleur.

I would suggest avoiding the really cheap stuff and go for
the bottom end

of

Quoted message said:

the performance range (eg the Shimano Acera front mech is
available as top-pull in the size you want for £12 from
Wiggle). Having said that, when it comes to front mechs,
you don't have to spend much more to get

something

Quoted message said:

higher up the range - and Wiggle have 30% or more off some
higher end

models

Quoted message said:

so they end up being the same price. Also look at
BikeMagic for user reviews.

One other thing you might consider is the model's size. My
commuting bike came supplied with bottom end Shimano bits
including a C101(I think) front derailleur. It worked
perfectly well for over a year of daily commuting. However
it is quite big and bulky. When I fitted full length
mudguards the rear one had to be jammed up against part of
the derailleur, which left a nasty dent in the guard. Also
when I fitted a bottle cage the derailleur wouldn't shift
into the granny ring until I'd bent the bottle cage to the
left. Now I use a slimmer LX derailleur with no clearance
problems for other add-ons. None of these things may affect
your bike, of course, and in terms of actual shifting I
can't tell the difference between the two.

tony R.

Keith Willoughby:

Quoted message said:

The only one that actually makes me laugh is "wheelset"
rather than "wheels".

You speak my language. 😉

d.

Thanks very much to all for clear advice and reassurance.
What a friendly bunch!

I'm off to wiggle!

Oh, one last thing: Some of the adverts state "compact
chainset only - 44T"

What the h*ll is that all about?

Many thanks to all again.

Goat

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Goat
Thanks very much to all for clear advice and reassurance.
What a friendly bunch!

I'm off to wiggle!

Oh, one last thing: Some of the adverts state "compact
chainset only - 44T"

What the h*ll is that all about?

Many thanks to all again.

Goat

I think it means the mech will not work with chainrings with more than 44 teeth.

Goat:

Quoted message said:

Oh, one last thing: Some of the adverts state "compact
chainset only - 44T"

What the h*ll is that all about?

That's relating to what others have said about the curvature
of the derailleur cage matching the curvature of the
chainring - in other words, the largest chainring you can
use with one of those derailleurs is one with 44 teeth, ie
they're not suitable for road bikes, which generally have
50T (or bigger) chainrings.

(While you're looking at Wiggle, have a peek at the
chainsets - I don't know if 'compact' is an official
designation but it usually applies to chainsets where the
largest chainring has no more than 42 or 44 teeth.)

d.

in message <[email hidden]>, Goat ([email hidden]'😉

Quoted message said:

Thanks very much to all for clear advice and reassurance.
What a friendly bunch!

I'm off to wiggle!

Oh, one last thing: Some of the adverts state "compact
chainset only - 44T"

What the h*ll is that all about?

It won't fit a chainset with more than 44 teeth because the
curve of the cage is too tight. Which, seeing you've got a
44T chainset, is exactly what you want.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke)
jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗ ;; Sending your money to
someone just because they've erected ;; a barrier of
obscurity and secrets around the tools you ;; need to use
your data does not help the economy or spur ;; innovation. -
Waffle Iron Slashdot, June 16th, 2002

MSeries <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Goat said:

Thanks very much to all for clear advice and
reassurance. What a friendly bunch! I'm off to wiggle!
Oh, one last thing: Some of the adverts state "compact
chainset only - 44T" What the h*ll is that all about?
Many thanks to all again. Goat

I think it means the mech will not work with chainrings
with more than 44 teeth.

Isn't it the diameter of the circle formed by the 5 little
bolts on the right crank? they come in two or more sizes,
ISTR that a 44 is the smallest you can get for a standard
crank (ie one which goes up to
53)?

MartinM said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Oh, one last thing: Some of the adverts state
"compact chainset only - 44T"

..........

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I think it means the mech will not work with chainrings
with more than 44 teeth.

Isn't it the diameter of the circle formed by the 5 little
bolts on the right crank?

No, the above statement about 44T is bound to be for
the front mech. Front mechs don't care about the bolt
circle diameter.

Quoted message said:

they come in two or more sizes, ISTR that a 44 is the
smallest you can get for a standard crank (ie one which
goes up to
53)?

Outer BCD of most "road" (standard) cranks is 130mm, which
can take 38T rings (135mm / 39T for Campag). You may have
been thinking of ancient Campag cranks which could not take
rings smaller than 44T.

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Outer BCD of most "road" (standard) cranks is 130mm, which
can take 38T rings (135mm / 39T for Campag). You may have
been thinking of ancient Campag cranks which could not
take rings smaller than 44T.

No, I was thinking of the fact that eg ?Deore chainsets will
not take standard rings, is this correct?