Ultegra front derailleur with old school Dura-Ace 8spd STI?

[Jason Galarneau]

My new frame requires a clamp-on front derailleur (of which
I have an old ultegra 6400 model). I seem to be having
trouble getting it to shift properly with my old school Dura-
Ace 8 speed STI levers.

Specifically, when shifting from the small chainring to the
big chainring, the lever doesn't seem to have enough travel
to move the derailleur cage as much as it should.

It only needs another 3-4mm of travel to work properly. Is
the old school Dura-Ace front derailleur just as
incompatible as the rear with the rest of the Shimano line?

I'll probably end up getting a 1 1/8" clamp-to-braze on
adapter if I can't get this to work.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Jason

(Remove "_spamtrap" to reply)

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

Jason-<< Specifically, when shifting from the small
chainring to the big chainring, the lever doesn't seem to
have enough travel to move the derailleur cage as much as it
should >><BR><BR>

Mount the cabe underneath the fixing bolt on the der instead
of over it.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[Benjamin Weiner]

Jason Galarneau <[email protected]> wrote:
> My new frame requires a clamp-on front derailleur (of
> which I have an old ultegra 6400 model). I seem to be
> having trouble getting it to shift properly with my old
> school Dura-Ace 8 speed STI levers.

> Specifically, when shifting from the small chainring to
> the big chainring, the lever doesn't seem to have enough
> travel to move the derailleur cage as much as it should.

> It only needs another 3-4mm of travel to work
> properly. Is the old school Dura-Ace front derailleur
> just as incompatible as the rear with the rest of the
> Shimano line?

This isn't a DA-vs-Ultegra incompatibility issue; rather the
FD-6400 derailleur predates STI levers. When STI appeared,
they made new front derailleurs with a shorter arm so that
the der moves farther for a given cable pull.

Peter's suggestion of clamping the cable on the side of the
clamp bolt nearer the pivot shortens the lever arm and
should work. I even got an STI triple to work this way,
though it was a bit marginal and had more cable rub than is
desirable.