Tandem Cycling - Front derailleur?

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rjberner
10-18-06, 06:15 AM
Am struggling to keep my Ultegra front derailleur aligned and adjusted. Always liked the old XTR front on my off-road and wondered if it can be used on a 53 tooth cog on a roadie. The lit says no, but has anyone done it anyway?

TandemGeek
10-18-06, 08:18 AM
Yes, XTR front derailleurs were spec'd as OEM on road tandems throughout the 90's, perhaps even in the early '00's before Shimano began to offer Ultegra & DuraAce in triple grouppos.
ElRey
10-18-06, 09:59 AM
i've got Ultegra fronts and they work well. never require any adjustment.

DBC Steve
10-18-06, 10:12 AM
Be sure to double-check derailleur mounting bolts. There is nothing quite like a non-fixed derailleur....
vosyer
10-19-06, 01:44 AM
Stripped one in Victoria on a 500 mile cross country trip which include 200 miles of gravel. Ended up having to put in a Tiagra to get home. I have two or three triple front Ultegra der on tandems and one on a touring bike. They are constantly in need of adjusting. I just bought a nos xt front and rear der - thinking about putting these on.
Tandems
10-19-06, 04:22 PM
Am struggling to keep my Ultegra front derailleur aligned and adjusted. Always liked the old XTR front on my off-road and wondered if it can be used on a 53 tooth cog on a roadie. The lit says no, but has anyone done it anyway?

Two problems:

1) The current XTR F/D is designed for a max big ring of 44-46 teeth, so the radius of the cage will not be optimum.

2) The more important issue is that a mountain F/D has a different actuation ratio than a road F/D. IOW, the cage will move a different amount per length of cable pull. This is not a big issue with friction shifting, but with index front shifting it is the kiss od death:)
vosyer
10-19-06, 05:16 PM
Rich does this mean an older xt or xtr front der will work - what year did the switch take place?
Tandems
10-20-06, 08:26 AM
Rich does this mean an older xt or xtr front der will work - what year did the switch take place?

The max ring size has varied over the years. I do know that the mid ninety's was OK for road size rings.

I don't know if the actuation ratio actually changed. It may be the same as it always was, just didn't matter until indexed front shifting came along.
LWaB
10-20-06, 10:16 PM
The actuation ratio did change but I can't remember which year.