If I could find either of these, I'd be on it. Don't think I've ever seen a BL in real life.

i have a "black line", if you want. i'd sell it real cheap. unless it's a blue one you want

I have 2 bikes that came with BL. One has the black version. Not sure if there is any difference other than cosmetic.

there isn't. unless the blue line had allen fasteners.

I'd be tempted to shorten the cage on that 105 FD. Looks like you don't have to make it much smaller.
You already have a 'Z' bend end plate-it's the one you'll cut off on the long cage. That should come very close to accommodating the height/width difference between the shortened outside and inside cage plates.
I'd wrap that piece around the outside of the shortened cage using the existing inside cage bolt and something small and elegant on the outside with a button head or recessed head 3mm bolt.
If you have to do some bending or carving of that piece with a Dremel, paint it black or use a silver paint marker.
You don't need much 'push' to get over chain rings with that small a tooth difference.

That might work, except that the inside plate has cutaways just above the current bolt... and of course my notable lack of talent/technique when it comes to folding metal or even cardboard.

This reaffirms what I've known for many years. The C&V community is great. I appreciate all the ideas and offers. I really didn't come here fishing for FDs, really just wanted to pick folks' brains, and I have gotten all I hoped for and more. If I can't source a suitable NOS Shimano MTB FD at a reasonable price, I will post in the ISO/WTB thread.

you'll need to find something earlier than sis. earlier than deore mt60, for example. the inner cage plate won't clear your rings being so close. as well, the tail end of the derailleur/s is pretty long. unless you're lucky and find one for half step. mt60-al i think

edit: come to think of it, any of alivio/stx/stxrc meant for 42t down to 22t probably won't do it, either. again, the inner cage plate

I'm with rccardr , shorten the existing FD. Another possibility would be to cut both ends of the cage off and use a screw or a screw and a bushing to act as the new bottom stop. Some of the older C&V FD were made this way. Use Loctite to secure the threads. If longer space is needed on the inside cage fill the elongated cutout with epoxy first. Let cure, sand and shape.

You overestimate my metalcrafting talent.

Okay, I rooted through here:



And came up with this SunTour ARX as perhaps the best candidate:



Low enough?

With 10mm to spare. I thought the ARX was for a double though.

Probably in its stated use, but perhaps enough travel for a triple. I’m glad to mail it out if you want to try.

Any rod shifter should suffice.

Cinelli_Model_B 072 by iabisdb, on Flickr

I could, but that would ruin the symmetry of my cabling.

I'll owe you a whole bicycle when you do get down this way. Let me think on it for a couple days.

I think by the time I figured out what gear I’m in, I’d be done with the ride... I can’t resist: why? Because it was there?

The short answer is: for fun.

Expanded explanation: Well, when you have a Raleigh Super Course frame that has a "too far gone to keep" original finish, and you're lacking a 3-speed, but 3 speeds aren't especially practical for much besides rail-trail rides, you get to thinking of what's possible. I was inspired by others' conversions of lighter weight frames to 3-speeds, and Sheldon Brown's 63 speed flight of fancy. Since cassettes evolved beyond the 7 speeds he had available, I figured, "why not"?". I have no doubt that if he hadn't passed so prematurely, he'd have been several years ahead of me in cobbling something with as many (or more) speeds together. It's admittedly overkill, but it has been a fun exercise and I've learned a thing or two about technologies (new-ish and older), and gearing math along the way.

John, what’s the spacing on the rear triangle to cram all of that stuff in there?

135mm. I had doubts it would work, and it was a bear to put back in when I had to change the rear tube when it blew out on an early ride, but it works when I pull it all the way back in the dropouts.

That's the solution I took on a Shimano Titlist on a Schwinn Sports Tourer to run 46/30 rings years ago. My sawing skills weren't the best, so once I freed the lower cage, I just got my big-assed bolt cutter blade on it and snip. Then I drilled it and reinstalled the bolt and bushing in the new holes. As I recall it worked well, although I sliced my leg open on the sharp edge since I never bothered to clean it up.

I can confirm the ARX will shift a triple. Don't forget about your above the BB cable.
Here's mine with a 45t big ring.

is that a triplized 93?

yes, Red Clover components

it's nice!! i sold my 93 long time ago because i couldn't do much to regear it. special bcd and all. and, at the time i couldn't figure a way to make it a triple, either

If you haven't found a solution I might know on the Tiagra in a few days, I've got a 39/24 crank arriving tomorrow and a braze on tiagra der and adapter arriving sometime this week. I would have thought the mtb fronts I have would sit low enough for the 39 but they don't. I plan to change the 39 to a 42 but that'll be a while till the bike is fully sorted.