[rjberner]

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?

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[TandemGeek]

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]

i've got Ultegra fronts and they work well. never require any adjustment.

[DBC Steve]

Be sure to double-check derailleur mounting bolts. There is nothing quite like a non-fixed derailleur....

[vosyer]

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]

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]

Rich does this mean an older xt or xtr front der will work - what year did the switch take place?

[Tandems]

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]

The actuation ratio did change but I can't remember which year.