Originally Posted by
Redneckroofer
Not sure how to quote, but Dave the golden boy, you are right on point with the direction I have in my head. As she’s gonna probably see a bit of gravel, the 3 pulley seems like the best and most unique choice. As for the bar end versus down tube shifters, I’m interested to see how I’d like that.
I've tried bunches of different derailleurs- For real, not a lot are a whole lot "better" than others. A lot of the class A derailleurs are made with better materials and really designed to take abuse. Shimano XT, Deore, Deore DX, Deore LX. Suntour XC, XC Pro, XC Comp. In my head, any of the slant parallelogram units will shift better- but in all honesty, the smoothest shifts in my experience came from a Duopar with a Helicomatic freewheel. I didn't trust that setup, so it went away.
The Suntour XC triple pulley derailleur would be one of the 3 derailleurs I would put on my 720 if I kept it with friction shifting. (the other 2 would be Suntour XC Pro and M735 Deore XT) It shifted great, it took up all the chain slack, it was unique and it looked cool as all get out.
Trek 720 w Triple Pulley by
Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
Suntour XC by
Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
Suntour XC by
Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
Regarding downtube vs bar end shifters... There's generations and generations of people that have used DT shifters. There are plenty of those people that still use them, plenty of people will tell you that you can totally get used to them... but why? There's so many better options. IMO- being able to shift with hands on the bars is important when you have a whole lot of weight on the bike- and it's just easier. The reason I recommend bar ends, because they're common and they work really well. My personal preference is for Command Shifters, but I came to that choice over a long, drawn out journey of discovery... not a lot of people use them, but I find them perfect for my style of riding and preference.