Derailleur Confusion ?

A double front will work with whatever you have on the back, even with 10 speed

You can use any ront derailleur you want. Any brand.

However when going to a triple up front buya triple front derailleur. Any brand even Campy. Triple FD has more throw to go all 3 rings. I have done many doubles to work, but best to buy a triple FD.

Thanks for claring it up, I see many FD's in catalogs state that they are for an 8 or 9 speed.

Forget what catalogs say. Shimano will like you to believe you cannot use any other brand or model.

But you can use any.

On my light bike I have Campy 9s still with a older 80s Mavic FD and it works great.

I may even take out the Mektronic and use an older 80s Mavic 501 rear derailleur and I am sure it will work great as well. Just want to attach an adjusting barell as back then there was only friction shifting.

However, it's my understanding the the correct 3-chainring FD depends on chainring size, both the smallest and largest.

Chainring size? No. triple FD tends to go farther to throw the chain 3 rings.

C-ring size has nothing to do with this.

Size does matter!!! What is the FD for? Moving the chain form one chain ring to the other. Especially with a triple system, the shape of the inner and outer plate of the FD as well as the radius of the cut of the cage on most (if not all) derailleur are designed for a range of rings and some a specific configuration. If you are talking MTB the 8 and 9 speed FD hare set up for 42/32/22 rings and 44/32/22 rings respectively. That is not to say you can’t mix and match them but for the best performance you should not over gear to FD, use a bigger ring that the max teeth that that FD is designed for. On the road if you are running a double chain wheel you could use almost any road double FD (Index system aside), if you look at even the newest road double FD’s they don’t do to much manipulation to the cage because they want them to shift big ring ranging from 50~56 tooth. If you have a newer triple you are best to replace it with the FD one that is set up to shift the stock chain ring combination, 52/42/30 in most cases.

A FD that's suitable for a 22/32/44 accomodates very poorly - if at all - a 26/36/46 setup.

Well here at the shop we slap on any MTB FD on any crank and nnever had a problem for years.

Makes no difference 32/44 or 36/46. Shimano doesn;t make specific FD for the 2 different set ups.

Even set up a few cross bikes with 48 and 50 triples with MTB derailleurs with no problems.

I was told that with my 26/36/46 setup that only the Shimano FD-M735 would work. What other FD's will work with my setup.

Any triple MT FD. Shimano, SRAM or whatever. I have about 4 personal MTBs at home and I never had to buy a specific FD for my cranks.

Even work at a shop on weekends and never had this issue.

SO I scratch my head on why your shop is telling you this

Well, it was either the Harris' Cyclery website or the Barnette's manuals that mentioned FD specifics: like inner vs outer cage height blah blah blah ....

And, my not being a bike mechanic...

Bicycles are not rocket science

Many cranks out there come with either a 42, 44 or 46T front ring.

Shimano or any company makes fD specifics for 46 and then 44 and then 42. They would have to make 3 different versions and on top of that 3 more different versions for the seat tube sizes and then on top of that 2 more veriosns for top and bottom pull!

I did visit the Harris site and saw their notice on the 735 for older 46T

They may be right but I do this for a living and we get tons of repairs and we just slap on any FD we got depending on the customers budget and never had aproblem. Many of the older bikes which we get tons of use the 46T and we slap on lower line Shimano or SRAM FD and never had a problem. They all shift.

SRAM for example made this awesome FD that does both top and bottom pull and it works with any combo. I have 2 of them on bikes. One has a 46T front and the other a 44T front and do not have a problem at all.

Too many shops try to make this confusing when it is not. I am tired of this as customers tend to fall for this and end up spending more money than they want or buy parts they do not need. Shimano wouls love all to believe you can never use any non Shimano part with Shimnao But that is all BS.

D*mn, I shopped all over Denver to get a spare M735 used although in good shape for $25.

Sadly this is what happens. At least you didnt pay like $40 to $50 or more.

Bike parts are very simple. You can mix and match nearly anything.

Too many shops out there have no idea on cycling and end up passing mis information. I know. My buddy hired this excellent mechanic from Helens Cyclery. A huge bike chain in Southern California and this guy barely knows how to fix a flat tire. We are always having to ansewr his questions and re check his work. It is amazing.

He has learned a lot here and is amazed on the information he use to pass to his customers.

Derailleurs are very simple beasts. Shimano and shops want you to think they are super hard so they can charge you like $10 to twist a screw.

Derailleurs functions are simple - to go up and down. Triples tend to have more throw so it may be hard to get a double to go all 3 but it can be done in some cases. All the click spacing and such is made in the shifter.

People argue this with me but all you have to do is walk in our shop here and see out personal bikes and you wil lsee. The impossible is done everyday.

In a few months to win the battle over light machines here I will slap on an older 80s Mavic RD to my older Campy 9s sytem and it will work perfect. Of course online many will tell you it is impossible and send you pages of technical data.

I hate to say it but as I tell many. I am here most of the time. Have a question or concern, give me a quick call. That simple.

hmmmmmmmmm. So do you think I can make my tripple FD work on a Double if I just change the limit screws? The old street tripple front was a 52 and I will install a double with 53 and a 44 if I can find it.

Thanks, Xavier. I certainly did post such a question at the MTB thread at this forum - to which hardly anyone posted. Next time I'll email you directly if not thru this forum.

Here's another question: Can I use a regular clam style FD mount and just bolt on a Braze On FD to it?
In pictures the mount area appears to be the same.
If not can I use a FD with another size clamp on it and just use my old clamp? I have a 1 3/8 tube and I see lots of FD's on ebay that have an 1 1/4 clamp.

You can most defiently make a triple work on a double. Why could you not?

You can definetly use a clpamp and then a braze on FD on any frame. Matter of fact this is what I usually always do on our builds here. That way the customer already has the clamp and in the future all he has to do is buy a braze on FD that are easier to find and many times cheaper.

You CANNOT use a bigger clamp on a small diameter seat tube. You can shim it, but I have not yet seena company make nice shims for this. Just buy a clamp for less than $10 and buy anf braze on FD. Or buy the correct clamp.