This was posted by Zinn this morning on Velonews.com. I pesonally use an 04 Chorus standard front dr without any problems on my 50/36 FSK SLK set up.
Compact compatibility?
Dear Lennard,
I'm building up a new road bike with a compact front crank and want the best front shifting possible while using Shimano STI shifters. The problem is that Shimano has yet to release a compact front derailleur optimized for these systems.
It looks to me that the compact front derailleurs from Campagnolo seem to be quite specific to their drivetrain. What would the drawbacks be and would there be any compatibility issues with using a Campagnolo compact front derailleur with an otherwise Shimano drivetrain (with the exception of the compact crankset of course). Or would you recommend sticking with the after-market (FSA, IRD, etc.) compact front derailleurs?
Jonathan
Dear Jonathan,
My experience is that the Campy CT compact front derailleur only works with Campy compact chainrings. With FSA rings, for example, it seems to just mash the chain right into the side of the big ring without it climbing up onto the teeth. I would use a standard double front derailleur, including Campy. It works fine with FSA 34-50 rings. I even have this setup on one of my bikes. I certainly would not recommend using a Campy CT front derailleur with anything other than a Campy CT crank. The IRD and FSA will work very nicely as well.
As far as I know, Shimano has no plans of releasing a compact front derailleur optimized for these systems as you seem to be hoping for. Shimano's new compact crank has chainrings optimized to work with its standard double front derailleurs.
Lennard