I am working on building up a hybrid trek 750 as a touring bike. The bike came stock with suntour xcm front and rear derailleurs and the front has play in the cage and i cant get it adjusted to the point were i can get through all 3 front chainrings. I suspect it is junk.

Looking for replacement recommendations. 28.6 clamp. I am thinking of locating an XT and calling it done. Just wondering if anyone else has any recommendations. Both front and rear will be controlled via suntour friction barcons.

Are we talking 28/38/48 range rings? Old XT should be fine, but so should lots of SunTour models. I have a NOS XCE that I could part with. XCD, XC Pro and Comp - all should work fine. Just avoid the ones intended for Microdrive cranks unless your big ring is a 42 - in which case you should look for a Microdrive model.

I've also used Campagnolo 9 speed triple FDs successfully on older setups. A bit hard to find in 28.6 but you can use a clamp adapter with a braze-on. I have lots of 3X C9 FDs on hand if you want to give one a try.

Deore is a tier, under XT They have been fine too.. With Friction shifting its quite un fussy a choice..

Its your indexed shifting where compatibility questions arise.. & lots of those issues are archived on this forum.

actually i misspoke. It is an xce. It doesnt appear bent but.....strangely it wont adjust inward enough to drop onto the smalest ring. The cage itself has some play in it as well overall which i assume is the issue.

Sure you are adjusting the correct limit screw? I just used an XCE on a triple build on a steel Serotta road bike. It had plenty of inboard travel. Do you have the right spindle length bottom bracket for the crank you are using?

Those mid/early 1990s SunTour ders worked well enough. I have a couple in my stable. My only complaint is that they have a very strong return spring and with Campy Ergo it's possible to get a power on inadvertent click/shift, if the G springs are worn.

But I also use various similar era Shimano ft ders and like them very much. I search by tube clamp diameter and x3 or triple (ebay). Usually there's a few to choose from. Be aware of the big ring size the der is designed for. Some ders in this era were beginning to be shaped for 46-42 tooth rings. Also note the cable routing direction. Andy

I have a 1997 Trek 750 with an STX drivetrain, and it seems pretty solid. The front derailleur is a bottom swing, so the clamp is low and out of the way of bottle cage mounts, etc. I've had a lot of STX stuff over the years, and it's pretty tough. They were pretty attractive as well in my opinion.

I think i got it sorted out. I had the limit screw almost all the way out on the low end and with it clamped on in that way the whole cage would move around as it was then resting on one of the cross pins and all the play was comming from the hinge pins as it was resting there with no force. I brought my limit screw in until it just hit the spot its supposed to and then maybe a half turn more. the play was gone. I then took a straight edge to it and the chain and toed it just inboard and that allowed it to work properly. The big ring also works as expected. Lesson learned.