Originally Posted by marcusbandito

So, after slowly gathering all the parts from when they are on sale/clearance, I converted an old 7speed RSX bike to a 9speed 105/Ultegra mix last night. The only part I left original was the front derailleur. I figured I would change it out eventually but I could use the old one to get the conversion off the rolling.

With all the components bolted on and tuned/tweaked, I put the tires on and found a problem. When moving the F.derailleur up the seat tube to its new position, now the mechanism makes contact with the rear wheel. It is a clamp on derailleur and the spring and all the other functional parts extend into the rear triangle of the bike. The geometry is pretty tight on the frame so there is not much room to spare.

My question: Are newer front derailleurs designed differently, placing all the functional parts on the other side of the seat tube (within the front triangle of the frame)? Or will a new derailleur give the same problems and I just need to put lower profile tires on the bike? From what I see on the web, it looks like newer models are more stream-lined and will work.

Thanks