Originally Posted by vintage cellar

Alot of "real old-school" Cyclocross bikes didn't use a front derailleur at all. They used sandwich chainguards to keep the chain from coming off.

When you needed lower gears, thats when you shoulder the bike and run. In the mud, front derailleurs were, at best, highly unreliable.

Maybe modern CX bikes with the electronical gears don't suffer from that anymore ?