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

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".)

MikeYankee wrote:
> 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.

--
The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely. http://www.mseries.freeserve.co.uk

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 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

MSeries wrote:

> 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!