Top swing vs. bottom swing f/der, performance?

After five years and two replacements of my finicky XT front derailer, I'm looking at replacement
options again. Is there any advantage to either the top swing or bottom swing design? My current
unit is a top swing. Frankly, I think it's a POS, for several reasons I won't go into. But might the
bottom swing version be better?

Matt O.

 

On Mon, 07 Apr 2003 20:28:12 +0000, Matt O'Toole did issue forth:

> After five years and two replacements of my finicky XT front derailer, I'm looking at replacement
> options again. Is there any advantage to either the top swing or bottom swing design? My current
> unit is a top swing. Frankly, I think it's a POS, for several reasons I won't go into. But might
> the bottom swing version be better?

Top swing has a bit of a reputation. I'll hold my hands up and say that I've never used one, but
I've heard tell that they are generally a bit of a pain. The only inherent problem that conventional
(bottom swing) front mechs have is that on certain full suspension design bikes there may not be
enough space to mount them.

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