Derailleur for Shimano triple crankset

[wildgunman]

I'm having a particularly maddening time figuring out the right setup for a bike I'm putting together. I have a 1995 Fuji Team bike frame with a 28.6mm downtube and no braze-on connector.

I also have a new Shimano 105 Triple Crankset. The rear derailleur is from a single group, but the front derailleur is a 34.9mm. So, obviously I need a new derailleur. Oh, the rear is a 9-speed.

What specific derailleur do I need to purchase? Do I need to buy a braze-on one and a separate clamp or are there places that still sell 28.6? Lastly there seem to be different types of triple derailleurs out there. What the heck is a flatbar derailleur?

Sorry if these questions are a little dumb.

 

[John M]

I'm having a particularly maddening time figuring out the right setup for a bike I'm putting together. I have a 1995 Fuji Team bike frame with a 28.6mm downtube and no braze-on connector.

I also have a new Shimano 105 Triple Crankset. The rear derailleur is from a single group, but the front derailleur is a 34.9mm. So, obviously I need a new derailleur. Oh, the rear is a 9-speed.

What specific derailleur do I need to purchase? Do I need to buy a braze-on one and a separate clamp or are there places that still sell 28.6? Lastly there seem to be different types of triple derailleurs out there. What the heck is a flatbar derailleur?

Sorry if these questions are a little dumb.

Hard to find 28.6mm FDs these days. If you cannot find one, then I would get the braze-on and an adapter clamp. I have this set-up on a bike and it looks and works fine.
You need a triple FD. If you are using Shimano STI shifters, get a Shimano derailleur. If using Campagnolo Ergo or any friction front shifter (downtube or bar-end), then any triple FD should work.

There are shims that can be used to fit the 34.9mm FD to smaller seattubes. This may or may not work well as it could position the FD cage too far from the seat tube to shift efficiently to the smallest chainring. I suggest that the above solution is better.

A flat-bar front derailleur has a cage shape configured to work with the trim built into a flat-bar shifter. The issue is that the MTB front derailleurs don't work that well with the larger chainrings of road cranksets and not so well with drop-bar STI shifters, so the shifter/FD set-up for use with a flat (MTB-type) handlebar on a road bike has been optimized for road cranksets. Get a flat-bar derailleur only if you are using the flat-bar shifters.

Not sure what the phrase "from a single group" means.

You need a long-cage rear derailleur.

Use a 9s chain also since you have a 9s rear and you need 9s shifters in the same brand as the RD and cassette. (there are solutions for mixing brands, if needed)

Good luck.

 

[wildgunman]

Thanks. I have one more question. There seem to be a lot front derailleurs labeled 10-speed. What is the difference between those and the 8-9 speed ones?