Originally Posted by
xroadcharlie
cyccommute.
How does Shimano's Altus front derailleur rate.
That's what Giant put on my 2018 Sedona, And for the most part seems to be fine, At least for recreational riders. I find if I overshoot the small to middle chainring shift I have few problems with it. I've never had a problem of it rubbing.
I tried it climbing a steep hill and found shifting the 2 lowest gears on my Shimano Megarange cassette to be more effective, as I get a quicker, more consistent shift, and a slightly bigger jump/drop vs shifting to the small chainring. I really didn't think I'd like the Megarange cassette. I thought a more even spacing was best.
Honestly, the Altus works well. It may be low end but it is easier to set up than the higher end derailers.
The Megarange is a work around. It’s meant to basically have a bailout low gear with a workable lower range. The large step is necessary because there aren’t enough gears for the smoother transition for lower gears like a 9 to 12 speed cassette gives. You could get a better gearing system but it would require some (slightly) major changes to the bike. It’s likely that your crank is riveted which means you can’t just change the chainring. If you
could change the chainring, you could replace the inner one with a 22 tooth
and replace the freewheel (it’s not a cassette) with a 14-28 freewheel which would give you a similar low gear but a better shift pattern.
This comparison shows the new system.
If you have co-op near you, you might be able to find a used mountain bike crank which would allow you to change the gearing rather cheaply.