Cyclesafe

Does anyone know of a front derailleur that would work with an XT 10-speed triple crankset and Ultegra 6703 10-speed triple STI shifters? Ultegra shifter cable pull is not compatible with what is required by XT front derailleurs, and the Ultegra 6603 and 6703 front deraillers can't shift to a 44t chainring.

I can no longer find replacement RaceFace Race chain rings for my "compact triple" 46/34/24 RaceFace Turbine (9-speed) crankset, which I run with Ultegra 6503 9-speed triple STI shifters and an Ultegra 6503 front derailleur. The latter two components are also difficult to find, but an IRD Alpina-d FD can substitute for the Ultegra 6503 FD. I really would rather not go back to bar end shifters.

I would be fine touring loaded with MTB gearing. If I find that I'm not using the big cog, I could always switch to a tighter cassette when the first wears out.

Thanks in advance for your help!

fietsbob

Though not RaceFace brand, You should be able to replace them,
with other aftermarket chainrings sharing the same bolt pattern.

lots of feedback on the shifter cable pull ratios being different running road brifters
and mountain FD's. read up what others said.. on this forum

,, part of why I prefer Bar end shifters .

Cyclesafe

Good to know that other brands are OK. I'll try that first. In your opinion, which are the best? (110/74bcd 5-bolt). Actually, a better question is which of the aftermarket rings is most equivalent to the RaceFace Race rings?

Yes, lots of discussion, but no conclusions other than "bar end shifters". One can only hope....

fietsbob

the French TA.. they make a 110 bcd 33 tooth, too..
+ several other odd number tooth counts.. 45,47, etc..

get the 24t in Stainless steel, I got one from Stronglight, another French company,
and you will never need another..

Surly makes a stainless steel 110-34t, but its lacking the early shifting tooth profiles,
and shift pins, for aiding your brifters quick shifts upward..

cyccommute 

Your Ultegra front derailer should work. It's not the best but if you want the cheapest option, just readjust it. I've had road derailers operating with 44 tooth outer rings without problem.

If you want the best option, find a Tiagra front derailer. Best front triple derailer that Shimano makes. Far better than the Ultegra or 105.

Or you could just get new rings. Cambria has Race Face 94mm BCD rings in 46 tooth for $15.

Barrettscv 

Use this from IRD: https://www.interlocracing.com/cdfrtder.html

Alpina Front Derailleur
Same performance level as the CD, but designed for triples. Will work with standard road triple cranks, but it is optimized for smaller rings such as 48-36-24t or 50-36-30t.

• Braze-on style, but this includes an adapter clamp for 28.6, 31.8 or 34.9mm.
• Alpina-d is designed to work better with Shimano's drop bar/STI shifters.

sstorkel

Sure they can! Which is to say: my touring bike has an Ultegra 6603 crank and the corresponding STI shifters working with a Deore 9-speed MTB trekking crank (48/38/26). I don't see any reason why the same setup wouldn't work with a 44t outer ring, assuming the FD height is set appropriately. I'm using a Shimano crank and found the only trick was to remove one of the spacers from the drive-side of the BB. That moved the chainline 2.5mm closer to the frame, which allowed the Ultegra FD to shift into the large ring.

Cyclesafe

SS: I'd very much like to understand what you're saying. But I'm having trouble. Also, my BB doesn't have any spacers.

Thanks for the responses. TA rings are big in Europe, not so much here (PWC, HC). So the next time I'm putting together an online order of stuff best available there (like silver Alpine III's) I'll buy some 110 bcd TA rings.

I have an Alpina-d FD so I'll try it with a 9-speed XT crankset. I couldn't care less about having 10 cogs and 9-speed consumables will be around for a long time still. I don't know about the chain line of the XT versus the RF Turbine cranksets. Will I have trouble?

sstorkel

Are you sure? You said you had a Shimano XT 10-speed crank. I can only find one on the Shimano website: the Deore XT FC-M770-10 10-speed crank. Notice the two 2.5mm spacers, labelled as part #7, inserted on the drive-side of the crank assembly. Move one of the two spacers from the drive side to the non-drive side of the bike. Doing so should cause the outer chain ring to move 2.5mm closer to the frame, which was all I needed to get my Ultegra triple FD to work.

Cyclesafe

Awesome thank you very much. I don't have any parts yet, other than those I've mentioned, because I'm looking for (and found, thanks to you) confirmation of theory before actually making the investment. Cheers. Lots of options now.

Rowan

The bikes that Machka and I use most each have Shimano MTB cranks (square taper, Hollowtech and external bearings, and either Ultegra triple or Tiagra triple derailleurs with Ultegra or Tiagra shifters. That's three bikes. All perform well for touring and randonneuring purposes.

Tend to agree with cyccommute that the Tiagra is a pretty good derailleur as far as value for money and performance.

Cyclesafe

Ah, but the available 6603/6703 and unavailable 6503 Ultegra FD's are completely different shapes and do not shift to 48t and smaller chain rings the same way. The devil is in the details.

sstorkel

I'm not quite sure what you're saying here. FWIW, I've got an Ultegra 6603 FD and it shifts the chain around on my Deore M532 26/36/48 9-speed trekking crank just fine. Shimano will tell you that it shouldn't work, but in actuality their specs are extremely conservative. If you want to go much smaller than a 26t inner ring, you might need a Deda Elementi Dog Fang, N-Gear Jump Stop, or other chain guide.

fietsbob

by using a band adapter, and a 'braze on' FD, the possibility of changing the angle
thru wedge shimming the mounting bolt between the 2, can be done.

Rowan

Likewise, the FDs on two of our triple-ring bikes are Ultegra 6603s.

Cyclesafe

Rowan,

I'm curious. Are you running a 9-speed or 10-speed? 6603's are designed for the latter.....

sstorkel

At the front, 9-speed and 10-speed components are pretty interchangeable from what I can determine. I'm running a 10-speed FD, 10-speed chain, and 9-speed MTB crank, for example. Rear-shifting is where you need everything to match.

Shimagnolo

I have an XT triple 22/32/48, with 10s 11-36. I just replaced an Ultegra triple FD with an IRD Alpina D. The problem is the Ultegra's cage is too long for a 48T chainring. You can't set it to the proper height over the large ring, because at that point the lower end of the cage crashes into the chainstay. When set high enough to avoid the chainstay the middle->large FD shift sucked.

sstorkel

It must depend on your frame and chainline. As mentioned previously, I've had no problems using a 26/36/48 crank with an Ultegra 6603 FD. Shifting isn't as crisp as with my 30/39/52 road triple, but I haven't had any problems. On my bike, the bottom of the FD cage is nowhere near the chainstay.

Rowan

9 speed. No issues with chainstay interference.

Sirrus Rider

IRC makes the only FD that works with a 48 max front Chain wheel with Shimano STI shifters. I have Sora brifters shifting an Ultegra triple FD on my '07 Sirrus drop bar conversion. It works but I have to be cognizant of what gear I'm on the back cluster and the front shift to the 48 is a "double clutch" before it makes the shift.

sstorkel

Wrong.

Shimagnolo

I believe you mean IRD: https://www.interlocracing.com/cdfrtder.html

Barrettscv 

What front derailleur did you select?

I need to mix a Sram X7 10-speed triple with a 44, 32 & 22t chainring set with Shimano 10-speed 105 brifters.

I'm trying to decide between a Shimano 105 (FD-5703) front derailleur and the IRD Alpina for triple.

Michael

escii_35

I hear ya finding a finding a ramped 36T 110bcd 5 bolt chainring is painful. FSA -> Discontinued, Raceface -> Nope, Sugino -> Sets only and TA are spendy.

Too much compact double kool-aid being spread around me-thinks.