Originally Posted by surreal
ok, so i posted about this project a while back, and several of you were really helpful. I want to convert a slightly old mtn frame into a tourer, with drop bars and a 48/36/26 triple. the thing has top-tube cable routing, which i think is nice. problem is, i'm having trouble settling on a front derailleur. i was thinking i'd need to get a top-pull mtn-style FD, but i'm confused b/c some of 'em (shimano deore, eg) have max chainrings listed like 44 OR 48, which makes me scared.
so, i checked out some current bike models with 48t big rings and top-pull derailleurs. bianchi volpe, bianchi cross concept/veloce, and schwynn 'cross bikes all have road derailleurs being run with a top-pull set-up (tiagra, ultegra, camp. veloce). obviously, it's possible to run things that waY, but are there any special concerns? fwiw, i'm running 9 spd shimano barcons. if there's no real issue, i'm thinking of a tiagra FD with a LX rear.
Second attempt to reply...the computer ate my first try.
Go with the Deore, it matches the big ring.
The cross bikes you mention use STI shifters, and the indexing of the front STI drop bar shifters requires a "road" front derailer.
Your front barcon is not indexed, so that's not an issue for your application, and the Deore will shift better.
Sheldon "Second Time Around" Brown
Code:
+-----------------------------------------------+
| The difference between truth and fiction: |
| Fiction has to make sense. |
| --Mark Twain. |
+-----------------------------------------------+