so, i have a 21 speed mtb.
my deal is even when buying the bike i knew i didn't want to use 21 speeds.
i stay in 2 on the left, and go all the way from 1 to 7 on the right though. so i use 7 gears. for the biggest steepest hills 1 is good enough for me (i like to feel some burn and get a decent workout), and for flats 6 and 7 is fine. and of course the other gears for in between.
which brings me to my question:
can i just take off my front derailer and leave the chain in the second position up there? or is there something special i'd have to do after taking the derailer off? it's really serving no purpose.
the only thing it seems to do now is get in the way just a little bit when i'm in 7..when in 7 my chain rubs slightly against that front derailer...it bugs me...
thanks in advance for your assistance!

no reason to just leave it be

thanks for taking the time to read my question. that doesn't really answer what i'm asking though

You could remove the front derailleur. You might as well remove your big and small chainrings too since you never use them (as well as your front shifter obviously). You won't be able to use them once you remove the derailleur anyway (unless you stop and switch chainrings manually). I'd just take-off the derailleur and chainrings and then shorten the chain accordingly since you won't have to accomodate the big chainring anymore. This would help to avoid having the chain fall off of the chainring.

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Rebellion with no point or purpose is worse than conformity.

thanks!

Agree, if you're happy with just the middle, you can save some weight and solve the rubbing front derailleur problem by taking off the shifter, derailleur, 1/3 chainrings, and a few links.

But there is a downside, cadence. Going up a steep hill you are going to be pedalling slowly, and getting out of the saddle early. That's not as efficient as switching to the small chainring and keeping your cadence more even. Or vise versa (if you ever want to fly down a hill, your gonna be pedalling pretty damned fast or just coasting).

But if that isn't important to you no biggie!

jgar, i think that taking the front derailleur off is quite a legitimate option for you if u dont use it. But my thinking is that if u like to feel the burn on the hills and keep it in the middle ring up them, then why not use the big ring on the flat or downhills and feel the burn there aswell. This will extend your drivetrain life as u will spread the load over a wider range of gears and get just as good of a workout as before. When the gears do eventually wear out then maybe u could just replace the middle ring and take the whole front shifting system off once it is worn out. Thats what i would do anyway. Hope that is helpful.

thanks for the replies. you're definitely giving me some things to think about.

True but have you ever heard of this thing called a single speed that's all ther rage now? Still more flexibility than that!

i rode a single speed when i was a kid. and not nearly as far per trip and on as many hills and such as now. i definitely want at least 6 or 7 gears now at the least. i'd have to REALLY build up my strength and stamina to do what i do now on a single speed. whew, it's tough to even imagine...
i like to feel some burn going up some hills to get a decent workout, but these are usually short distance hills. some quite steep but none over about 0.25 miles in length probably.
i actually enjoy coasting down the big hills, and letting my momentum carry me up some onto the next hill in one 'rollercoaster like' section i ride. so i usually don't pedal down hills...i pedal to get speed going into them sometimes but not all the way down...
that's how i have fun with it. biking to me is fun, and it's a way to get some exercise too. i don't plan on doing any competitive biking..the longest rides i normally do are roughly 10 miles i'd say.
that's been at least 3 or 4 times a week lately, and some other days with shorter rides like today. but today i made sure to hit plenty of hills and went at a faster pace so i'd still get some good exercise and fun in

p.s. ~ as far as 'getting out of the saddle' goes. i don't generally do that. i usually climb hills sitting.