Tandem Cycling - Front Derailleur Recommendations

I am looking to replace my Suntour front derailleur and am looking for recommendations. The front is 28-44-54 and the rear is 11-28. I have bar end shifters I use in friction mode. Any thoughts?

Mike..

We use a Shimano Ultegra with bar end shifters and a triple.

I am looking to replace my Suntour front derailleur and am looking for recommendations. The front is 28-44-54 and the rear is 11-28. I have bar end shifters I use in friction mode. Any thoughts?

Mike..
I'm assuming this is the original Suntour of the 70s and 80s. There is still some new-old-stock that comes up on ebay and other places. I recently replaced the same on my single that way. If you get the same model, you know it will fit and be compatible.

Be careful. Some Suntour front derailleurs have the cable attached to the frame and the cable housing actually does the shifting. You may need to add a cable stop.

If you go with Shimano, then the main two choices would probably be 105 or Ultegra triple FD's. Given that your two larger chainrings are 44-54, then the 105 will work much better than the Ultegra. This is because the 105 is designed for an 11 tooth difference between middle and large rings (the 105 triple crankset is 30-39-50) whereas the Ultegra is designed for 13 teeth (Ultegra triple crankset is 30-39-52). If you were to use the Ultegra then you would have to place it high enough for the inner plate to clear the middle ring, which would then put the outer plate higher than it needs to be, and would make derailling the chain off of the outside of the big ring a possibility. With the 105 triple FD, the hieght difference between the inner and outer plates should better match your gearing setup.

Thanks everyone. Got a 105 for $18.00 including freight, so I'm going to give it a shot. At that price, you can't go wrong.