Bicycle Mechanics - Front derailleur questions...

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BrazAd
04-15-11, 03:05 PM
So the refurbed, minty '84 Trek 420 lasted me 5 fun days before something broke... the Simplex front derailleur. :mad:

So far all I know is I need a 28.6mm, double chain, bottom pull replacement. Is there anything else I need to know before I buy one?

Are there any tricky parts to installing, such as knowing how tight to have the cable, etc?

Grounded in Georgia,

Gary

HillRider
04-15-11, 07:27 PM
I had an '83 400 set up as my rain bike and it was a great frame but a broken Simplex derailleur isn't much of a surprise.

Assuming you have friction front shifting (downtube or bar end shifters) you can use nearly ANY road front derailleur with the proper clamp diameter or get a braze-on model with a 28.6 mm adapter clamp. Road front derailleurs are universally bottom pull and friction shifting lets you trim anything to run smoothly.

I'm currently running a Shimano 105 10-speed front derailleur on a bike with an 8-speed cassette and a 7/8-speed chain. Since it has friction shifters it works wonderfully.