Commuting - Front Derailleur Necessary?

So hello all. I am new to the commuting world. Im on week two of my gas free revolution. I used my "economic stimulus" check to buy a Trek 7000, and I could not be happier with my decision. I commute 18 miles each way half of which is through some of the most beautiful countryside in North-Central Florida. I LOVE IT!!!

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about getting rid of a front derailleur. I only use 5 of the 7 gears on the biggest cog and I only use my left shifter to move the derailleyr out of the way of the chain. That plus I have the original grip shift, which I hate. I want to convert to a right rapid fire shifter only. I would love to totally eliminate the front derailleur. Is this a good idea? My bike has a "super low" gear for the crazy hills and I can't imagine using the other cogs unless I was stretching my chain too much. What do you think?

Technically neither are necessary, not sure how the chain would hold on the crank without the derailleur though, you may have to switch to a single gear in front.

I would leave it, as you may encounter situations in the future where you appreciate the full range of gears. You also want to avoid "cross-chaining" where the chain goes from the biggest front cog to the biggest rear one, or smallest to smallest. That causes the chain to flex laterally which increases chain and tooth wear and increases the chance of accidental derailment

So hello all. I am new to the commuting world. Im on week two of my gas free revolution. I used my "economic stimulus" check to buy a Trek 7000, and I could not be happier with my decision. I commute 18 miles each way half of which is through some of the most beautiful countryside in North-Central Florida. I LOVE IT!!!

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about getting rid of a front derailleur. I only use 5 of the 7 gears on the biggest cog and I only use my left shifter to move the derailleyr out of the way of the chain. That plus I have the original grip shift, which I hate. I want to convert to a right rapid fire shifter only. I would love to totally eliminate the front derailleur. Is this a good idea? My bike has a "super low" gear for the crazy hills and I can't imagine using the other cogs unless I was stretching my chain too much. What do you think?

I took the front derailler off my old Cypress and ran it on the middle chainring, so you would not be the first person to do it. There very little benefit or drawback to it.

Are you using the lower 5 gears, or the higher 5 gears?

Im using the top 5 gears. And the main reason for wanting to change things is the desire to convert to a rapid fire shifter. It would be easier if I only have to do one....

Tighten your limit adjustment screws on the front derailleur so that it will stay in place where it currently is. Then remove the shifter and cable.

You might actually not have any problems if you remove the derailleur altogether, but keeping it there, locked in place, will help make sure the chain doesn't jump.

I hate triple ring front dérailleurs, they are very tempermental.
However, my advice would be don't jack with it until something breaks.
I think there is a gardening rule that applies to bikes--
When you move to a new house, wait at least 1 year before you start changing plants in and out of a yard. You never know what suprises will pop up out of the ground. (maybe this doesn't apply in the tropics)
I would say wait on the bike, see how you use it.
Do take it back in a month for a check up (the lbs will need to readjust the cables due to this being a new bike).

Yeah, there is a part of me that feels like leaving it would be best. I just saw a good deal on a rapid fire front derailleur (right only) abd wanted to jump on it as it's been hard to find a 7 spd rapid fire anywhere. As far as locking the derailleur in place, that might not be a bad idea. Im just a bit worried about the chain wear when I go from say, 7 to 2 and the angle changes significantly and rubs on the inside of the derailleur.

Sounds like it's just not adjusted correctly now.

What's stopping you from just changing the right side? Aesthetics?

There is nothing stopping you from mix and matching shifters.

I guess just the grip itself. I would rather have them both the same.

You really need some form of chainkeeper on the front or the chain will skip off.
Running a 1x7 is quite sensible and is popular with many couriers. Just keep an eye on the chainline and ensure that your most commonly used gear falls in the best chainline.
For chainkeeper you can use:
-Any derailleur without shifter or cables. You can use an old one, re-profiled with pliers for a closer fit.
-Some chainring guards each side of the ring. Old rings can be filed down to remove teeth.
-A chainkeeper device (chaindog??) which is like a really cut-down front mech.

I run a 1x9 on an Xtracycle. I have nothing up front and never had a problem with the front chain jumping. Sounds like OP may be mostly roads, so he could probably go without.

I run a 1x9 on an Xtracycle. I have nothing up front and never had a problem with the front chain jumping. Sounds like OP may be mostly roads, so he could probably go without.

+1. I'm doing the same thing (1x9), no problems dropping the chain off the chainring so far. You don't "need" anything to hold the chain on the chainring (unless you try it yourself and start having this particular problem, I suppose ;) )

Good to hear from others that had done this experiment already. And yes, Im riding almost exclussively on roads with the occasional sidewalk. Thank you for all your posts, all the advice is greatly appreciated! I'm going to buy that shifter and try it out, as the grip shift really bothers me.

1x8 here, and the chain falls off occasionally, but not enough for me to have bought a chainguard yet. Funny thing, it falls off the most when I shift from my 2nd to littlest cog into my littlest cog and I don't have much chain tension (like on a downhill).

Love the setup, but I already had a single ring up front. I figger if you've got a derailleur and shifter why hassle with it unless there's something wrong with it. Not liking the grip is a good enough reason, so if it's yours then go for a 1x?

I don't see where is the problem.
If you have grip shifters, you have brake levers as well.
Take off the left shifter with cables and the front derailleur.

You can change the crankset to a single chainring one, but it'll cost money.

what gears?

It wouldn't bother me at all if I were stuck on the middle chainring all the time. I only use the little one on very rare occasions, like if I'm bucking a few inches of snow up a hill into a headwind at the end of a hard ride. I only use the big chainring when I've got a tailwind and a nice long level or descending patch. I could live without either of them.

Great to hear from all of you, THANK YOU! I bought the rapid fire yesterday and Im going to work on it this weekend. Just have to decide between middle cog or biggest cog in the front...

Not really.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2742/56200813403pmps7.jpg

Depends on the rear cluster, your fitness level, load you'll be carrying, "hilliness" of your routes, etc.

I guess North Central Florida has no hills, eh? :)

Though even on flat terrain I have appreciation for the full range of my gears. Headwinds can be real brutal...

I rode 1x9 on a mountain bike (used only on roads) and had constant troubles with the chain falling off my front chainring. I ride aggressively going up and off curbs and ride on rough road surfaces. I next switched to a 1x1 on the mountain bike and used the rear derailleur as the chain tensioner. That didn't work either and I often showed up to work with greasy hands from reseating the chain. I finally bought a singleator and that worked well. Eventually I just built up an old roadbike and converted that to a singlespeed. I found that the relatively weak springs in rear derailleurs do not provide sufficient chain tension to ensure the chain stays in place. Even with a perfect chainline I've found it easy to drop a chain if there isn't sufficient tension in the chain. I would recommend keeping your front derailleur in place and fixed with its limit screws. It's not as good looking as going without but it will save you loads of grief.

i removed the front derailleur on one of my bikes a few weeks ago for 3 reasons:
1. it looks cooler without it.
2. the bike is light and i am strong enough to go up hills w the outer gear.
3. it is a 7 speed, and i can go through all 7 speeds without having to adjust the front derailleur. this was impossible before.

overall, it is just simpler for me to only have to worry about one derailleur.

i forgot to add 2 things:
1. your chain isnt going to fall off.
2. if you need to put your chain on the other gear in a pinch, you can do it manually.

I rode a 1x7 upgraded to a 1x8 for several years with very rare chain dumpings at the front. No FD or other device.

1x7, 8 or 9 is a great way to go, a pragmatic & effective set up.
Have put several thousand km on a 1x9 CrossCheck.
Cannot recall the last time the chain dropped- there is a Salsa chainguard on the outside
and a DogFang keeper on the inside.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about getting rid of a front derailleur. I only use 5 of the 7 gears on the biggest cog and I only use my left shifter to move the derailleyr out of the way of the chain. That plus I have the original grip shift, which I hate. I want to convert to a right rapid fire shifter only. I would love to totally eliminate the front derailleur. Is this a good idea? My bike has a "super low" gear for the crazy hills and I can't imagine using the other cogs unless I was stretching my chain too much. What do you think?

Use lower gears, your legs will thank you later.

Keep the front dérailleur, you'll eventually meet a hill that'll make you happy for granny gears. Even in Florida.

So hello all. I am new to the commuting world. Im on week two of my gas free revolution. I used my "economic stimulus" check to buy a Trek 7000, and I could not be happier with my decision. I commute 18 miles each way half of which is through some of the most beautiful countryside in North-Central Florida. I LOVE IT!!!

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about getting rid of a front derailleur. I only use 5 of the 7 gears on the biggest cog and I only use my left shifter to move the derailleyr out of the way of the chain. That plus I have the original grip shift, which I hate. I want to convert to a right rapid fire shifter only. I would love to totally eliminate the front derailleur. Is this a good idea? My bike has a "super low" gear for the crazy hills and I can't imagine using the other cogs unless I was stretching my chain too much. What do you think?

You must live in a flat area... it is quite different where I live... and I prefer a triple to get up and down the local hills.

Heck, if it is flat enough, just used a single speed bike. No changing gears at all.

I've fancied the idea of a 1x9 with a 11-32 or 11-34 cassette, the "1" accomplished maybe just by removing the big and small rings from an existing triple crankset. If I used a chainguard or similar, would this work?

I have a second hand bike that I removed the front derailer from. I think it was the twist shifter that had died. Fairly flat commute so I don't really need it - and it is simple enough to change if you have a massive headwind or tailwind.

Depending on your riding you might have the chain drop off. I take a lot of shortcuts and jump the kerbs so it happens a lot. I have now learnt to get the chain back on without stopping - just pedal forward a bit and then hook the chain back on with your toe - which is also how I change the front gear too. :o

I run a 1x9 on an Xtracycle. I have nothing up front and never had a problem with the front chain jumping. Sounds like OP may be mostly roads, so he could probably go without.

Chain-jump is usually caused when going to a 1xwhatever set-up by using the stock 'ramped' chainring. It's been my experience that the chain will drop on an 'upshift', but rarely(I can't recall it EVER happening to me) on a downshift. Scroll back a few pages to a thread from a guy in Pittsburgh who asked almost the same question. I think the thread started "1x7,8,9,10" or something to that effect. Climbhoser suggested some reasonably priced 'bashguards'(BBG or BGG for 14-15.00 per...I don't quite remember) to place on the inside and outside while putting the desired chainring in the middle position on a triple. I use a 103mm Sugino bb w/a 48t Rocket Ring unramped chainring w/a barend shifter and an 8sp cassette on one of my commuters. The chain jumps once in a great while. No big deal.

The suggestion to set the 'lateral swing screws', leave the frt der and remove the cable and shifter is a good one, too. This will prevent the chain from jumping, also.

I've been running a 1x for about 5 years now and find it to be much simpler to use as a commuter rig.

Hey, does anyone know how to get the derailleur off without breaking it? I was going to do it this morning but the chain is threaded through and Im not sure how to get it off... There seems to be a spot where it is pressed together near the rear portion. Do I pry it apart here?

Hey, does anyone know how to get the derailleur off without breaking it? I was going to do it this morning but the chain is threaded through and Im not sure how to get it off... There seems to be a spot where it is pressed together near the rear portion. Do I pry it apart here?

You break the chain with a chain tool, not the other way around. Unless you want to destroy your derailler.

if you are into bicycling, you might as well get one:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/CHAIN_TOOL_ANNOTATED.JPG

You break the chain with a chain tool,

That's "break" the chain, not break the chain. You push a rivet almost all the way out with the tool, pry the chain apart, and then when ready, line the chain links up, apply the tool from the opposite side, and push the rivet back in.

I have a chain tool on my Topeak Hex tool and it works well. The only irony is that you need a separate single hex key to operate it.

if you are into bicycling, you might as well get one:


Get the bigger one. I have the Park CT-3. Small chain tools are a pain.

Your effective gear inch ranges are as follows:
48 tooth chainring 96-37 Gear inches
38 tooth chainring 76-29
28 tooth chainring 56-21

If your commute and most of your riding is flat then the Largest chainring will be fine.
As suggested before you can "Lock out" the front derailuer by setting the adjustment screws in a position fixing it on the largest chainring. Then you can bend/open up the deraileur cage in a way that the chain does not rub it when in the #1 gear and #7 gear in the rear.

Some bike shop people will look at you crazy if you ask for this. You might have to find a small independent shop with bearded and/or tattooed mechanics.

I converted a friends bike to 1x7 awhile back. Worked fine.

OK so another thing to buy... Is there anything else that is absolutely necessary that won't be in my tool box already? Should I get an extra chain? I don't want to be running to the lbs everytime I decide to work on my bike. And yes, I'm getting to the point that I look forward to my Monday morning ride, so I guess Im in to it.

OK so another thing to buy... Is there anything else that is absolutely necessary that won't be in my tool box already? Should I get an extra chain? I don't want to be running to the lbs everytime I decide to work on my bike. And yes, I'm getting to the point that I look forward to my Monday morning ride, so I guess Im in to it.

For this job, you won't need anything more. You need to periodically remove your chain to clean it and your drivetrain, so its not like this will be the one time you use a chain tool.

Extra chain not necessary at this point, but it never hurts to have one - they wear out. Wait for sales.