I've had a terrible LBS experience. Had to take them to court to get the new Fuji XC original double changed to a triple, as promised when I placed the order. Took over 8 months and all the while the LBS retained posession of the bike I paid cash for. Anyway.....enuf of that. I took posession of the bike and the LBS was ordered by the court to replace the entire drive chain. They did replace all components with triple 105 Shimano EXCEPT the FD. They used the original Shimano FD5501 and bent the cage so it would shift as a triple. Now there is no adjustmant by just using the barell. I go to court again next week in an attempt to get the LBS to give me a new FD5505. YES......I know this is getting petty BUT the LBS wrote a letter to the court and said he replaced all the components, which is a lie.
QUESTIONS: Can a BENT FD5501 perform just as well as a FD5505? What is the real difference between the two?

OK. I'm going to go out on a limb here. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone can correct me. The front derailleurs in question are from Shimano's 105 component group.
the 5505 is designed to work with a triple chainring; the 5501 with a double. The two derailleurs are different in shape, appearance and function. Bending the 5501 to work with a triple chainring may be effective, but it is far from ideal. Bending metal weakens it. If I read you correctly, you have already lost some functionality in that you can no longer adjust the derailleur using a cable adjuster. I don't think that a bent 5501 is an acceptable replacement for a fully functioning 5505. The opinion of the court may differ, of course. I also question whether bending the derailleur to work as a triple complies with either your original agreement or the court order.

Good luck.

As you are already aware, the two derailleurs are different. Obviously, Shimano thinks the triple specific front derailleur is superior for that use or they wouldn't bother to market it. Honestly, your bike shop people undoubtedly know that too.

So what are you going to do now? I think that you're in the right and I don't think that you're being petty. If it was my bike I'd take one shot at getting the LBS to put on the right derailleur. If that didn't work I'd give up, get one to stick on myself, and put the issue behind me so that I could just ride and enjoy my new bike.

I'm gonna push this guy to the fence..........and hope I can dump him over it! Then I'll buy one and install it. Anyway.........I've been snowed in for three months and have another three o go.........so it's something to do during Winter. I do intend to print out all your comments and take it with me to the next Court appearance. Thanks for your comments.

This shop could teach a class on how to shoot oneself in the foot. How much can a 105 triple front cage cost, relative to a double? How much good will and future business, by comparison, is this costing them? How much is it costing them to send someone down to the courthouse every time they get spanked trying to be Scrooge?

Compared to the potential loss of business and community good will, the cost simply to give you the right derailleur is couch change.

A triple also has an extra click, 4 vs 3 for double, the extra in both cases is to be able to trim the der to stop the chain rubbing in some cases.

Do you even have the right shifters? The left shifter for a triple is different. It has extra clicks, as stated above.

I thought Shimano STI's can shift double or triple. That there's no difference in the part number for the shifter. It's just an internal adjustment?

Just checked the Shimano website, and you are correct. The older models were different, the newer ones are double or triple compatible.

Oops! Of course, demoncyclist is right, it's the shifter that has the clicks.

Rainman-

Could you repeat that again for my wife's benefit???

demoncyclist is right I tell ya. RIGHT!

(I get no respect either!)