upgrading or converting clamp front derailleurs to braze on

[roaders8214]

im really in need to know whether is it possible for the clamped on front derailleurs converted to braze on front d? if yes what are the hings needed to be able to install it??? thanks for ur respond!

 

[dabac]

What do you want to achieve? There's no principal functional benefit to switching from clamp-on to braze-on. It's a tiny bit of weight saving, a tiny bit slicker aesthetically. If it's a steel frame, you can have a frame builder braze on a derailer tab. Any other frame material, attaching a derailer tab is a bit more sketchy. Possibly even not recommendable or even possible. A lot of work for very little benefit. You can get clamps with a tab the lets you attach a braze-on derailer. Those are generally used to replace broken off braze-on tabs, not to let you use a braze-on derailer on a bike originally intended for a clamp-on derailer. Having to buy a tab repaclemt clamp, and then a braze-on derailer would be quite pointless. Keep in mind that as opposed to the rear derailer, the front works on the tension side of the chain. Front derailers will never work as smoothly as rears. Unless actually broken or poorly adjusted, the best way to smoother front shifts is to learn to ease off on pedal pressure as you do the front shifts.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Sure. You can buy the braze-on mount brackets/hangers. Simply locate the bracket per manufacturer's recommendations in relation to the BB, carefully spot your holes and drill them. Install the mount with the specified rivets and have at it.

Repair/replacement instructions: http://roguemechanic.typepad.com/roguemechanic/2012/01/

Now...having a carbon frame approved by the manufacturer for such a conversion is between you and them. Material thickness and strength of the area is important to your health and safety.

Most, repeat, most steel frames and Ti frames can have the bracket brazed/welded in place by a competent frame builder or repair house. Aluminum will require the specific recommendations of the manufacturer based on material spec and heat treatment state of the frame. There are screw-on and rivet-on mounts available for both steel and aluminum.

http://www.bikewagon.com/front-derailleur-braze-on-investment-cast-bag-of-5?CAWELAID=1889643783&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=400006350000353209&cadevice=c&gclid=CMno5viwtsICFZRzMgodTzwAzw

http://www.moruyabicycles.com.au/contents/en-uk/d87_front-derailleur.html

If you are simply interested in using a braze-on derailleur on a frame with no mount bracket, there are several manufacturers that build and sell clamp-on bands that allow a braze-on derailleur to be bolted to that band. Campagnolo, shimaNO, Problem Solvers and 4ZA manufactures such bands.

http://www.ebikestop.com/front_derailleur_part_braze_on_adapter_clamps))488.php

 

[alfeng]

im really in need to know whether is it possible for the clamped on front derailleurs converted to braze on front d? if yes what are the hings needed to be able to install it??? thanks for ur respond!

FWIW. I am going to take a different approach to answering you query & presume for the moment that you have-or-are-looking-at a frame which has a braze-on mount ...

• AND, that you most probably have a component group which whose front derailleur has a clamp of one-size-or-another. Is THAT right?

Well, the long-and-short is that if YOU are handy + have some spare money floating around (allow for between $20-to-$30), then you CAN probably convert many front derailleurs from ones which use a clamp to ones which have a braze-on mount ... BUT, there definitely are caveats ... What you NEED are your front derailleur + an existing braze-on mount which you will cannibalize from another front derailleur (presumably, somehow trashed) ... As you might suspect, it will be less expensive to simply buy a "new" front derailleur which already has a braze-on mount which is suitable for your shifters ...

• NOT all braze-on mounts are created equal ... AND, I have certainlly NOT investigated all the possibilities ...

So, presuming you want to pursue the matter (say, you have a high-priced Campagnolo RECORD front derailleur), then you simply have to unscrew the one bolt on your existing front derailleur's outer pivot, remove the derailleur from the clamp, & put on the braze-on mount of a much more plebeian post-2001 Campagnolo front derailleur. If you have a Shimano front derailleur, then you can probably ([COLOR=FF0000]NO GUARANTEES!!![/COLOR]) transfer the cage/etc. to a Shimano 6500/6503 braze-on front derailleur.

• MOST Shimano front derailleur parallelograms are riveted on ... obviously (?), the process of removing the desired cage probably becomes irreversible!!!

You can possibly move a Shimano derailleur mechanism onto a Campagnolo braze-on mount OR clamp ...

• However, I am not sure how-or-if that will affect the indexing.

With THAT information under your belt, the question is ... [COLOR=008000]WHAT derailleur are you trying to modify to fit into a braze-on frame mount? [/COLOR]