Bicycle Mechanics - Front Derailleur Question

Do front derailleurs come in different flavors ie. 2 speed and 3 speed? How can I tell if I have a 2 or a 3? I just installed a triple crank on my bike and have the Taigra 4500 triple front but I can't get my old derailleur to function properly with it. The derailleur I'm using is an old part, from the original build which was a double front. I had no problems keeping the rear derailleur and stepping it up from a 7 to a 9 speed. Will I need to purchase a new front derailleur?

Threes often have a wider inside plate. Two will be closer in size.

You may need to adjust, but you may see issues shifting from lowest front to mid. FDs are not that expensive.

Most FD have sufficient travel to accommodate triple cranks, but there are differences.

FD cages are curved to best fit with outer chainrings of certain size ranges, ie, 52-53 road, 48-50 compact drive, 46-48 mtb. Also the length and drop of the back of the cage determines the minimum size granny they'll fit. Most atb FD,s will work with a 24t granny, most road FD are limited to inners of 38t or more, though road triples can go smaller.

So don't sweat double or triple as much as the chainring sizes it'll work with.

A lot of the Shimano triple stuff that I've seen ends in a 3 or 4. If you look in the inner side of the FD, it should be have a number on it. FD-4503 maybe? I have a 105 triple FD in my hand it it is stamped FD-5504. I also just swapped an Ultegra 6600 double FD that was stamped FD-6600 for an Ultegra 6700 double FD that was stamped FD-6700.


Bob