Lightest front derailleur?
 

I'm on the hunt for a super light weight front derailleur for my weight weenie build. The lightest one I have right now is 93 grams. It's a Rino. I am actually kind of on the fence about even running a FD but then I'd have a bare shifter braze on and I live in a hilly area. Either way........I still want a REALLY light FD. Anyone know of one that's lighter than my Rino?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/...d35988d9_m.jpg

Oh......And Shimano is out of the question. And does anyone know what kind of keywords I should be using while looking for all of those nifty alloy and ti nick-knacks/nuts,bolts and washers? It's called "tuning" a part to replace hardware right?

What they say... the deep end?

Just SEARCH for "weight weenies" threads. More info am sure than asking again.

Reach down and move the chain over manually, super lightweight

Didn't Simplex make a nearly all plastic FD? Maybe this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/SIMPLEX-FRONT-DE...QQcmdZViewItem
http://i18.ebayimg.com/03/i/001/01/1b/9b81_1_sbl.JPG

If thats the best you have I'd use it. Unless you can use a braze-on derailleur your not going to save much much more....

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/li...ontderailleurs

I replaced all of the bolts on a Bridgestone with titanium bolts from eBay. I searched for titanium in cycling. The weight savings was not significant, but the cost was. At least they'll never rust.

Be sure to use Ti-Prep or other anti seize to prevent galling.

I would check the Huret Jubilee, in fact the whole set is generally considered to be the lightest around, the rear was like 122 grams, the front, well I would have to weigh mine, scale is at work, but there is not much there to weigh.

Ya I've got that site in my favs list along with this one: http://tinyurl.com/6kcpqd

The problem is both are listing parts much newer than I'd like to use (Even though my cranks are from the 90's). And just about anything lighter than my Rino is as you stated for braze-on.

Oh......and I've read most if not all threads in the forums on weight weenie stuff. Here in C&V there is not unless I've missed it any mention of:
A-Even using a FD or.....
B-Any given weight to prove it's lighter than the one I already have.

I wish there was a weight weenie or component weight site for c&v peeps:( I'm gonna go sift through velobase to see if any clamp on FD's have weights listed.......On a different note I've finally remembered how to spell derailleur by memory without spell check!:) That was a long haul.....

My vote goes here:
http://www.pereiracycles.com/gallery...s/IMG_4433.php

So far the search has turned up the Suntour Superbe Pro FD-2000 with a weight of either 78 or 85 grams. Either way.......It's lighter than my Rino with a clamp. Supposedly......Anyone have one they would care to weigh? Haven't looked through all the Campy ones yet.

http://www.pereiracycles.com/gallery...s/IMG_4433.jpg

Whoa........Not only is it very pretty but it does look light weight. What the heck is it? To bad it won't work on my build 'cause it needs braze-ons......I wonder if it works worth half a c*^#?

I was gonna say suntour cyclone. but I don't know the weight.

What are you using for the rear mech on your build?
I have a rino with alloy bolt that is basically a suntour copy design but insanely light, I'll have to weigh it some time but I don't have a good scale for components.

I'm using a Jubilee with the non drilled cages.....It's weighs 149 grams with the bolt and special washer.....

The claimed weight for a Jubilee front derailleur with clamp, was 80g.

There's always this - if you're fanatical about weight savings.

http://bisqnet.com/Finger_Grease.jpg

Do you plan to drill out the clamps once you do find the lightest clamp on FD? :)

The Huret Jubilee front mech was claimed to be 2 grams lighter than the Suntour Superbe Pro.

A comment on velobase in the decription of the Jubilee states it weighs 80 grams. The listing for the Suntour Superbe Pro found here:http://tinyurl.com/668owq states that it weighs 78 grams. Another listing for the "endless band type" (whatever that means) has a comment that the claimed weight was 85 grams. What gives? Maybe I should just go with the Jubilee anyways........Then it would mach the RD.

And Little Darwin......No I won't drill it even though the temptation certainly is there. I've already got a rig that's got milled and drilled parts (Done by someone else).

The endless band is a stainless band that hooks into the clamp ends in the body of the front derailleur. It is lighter than an equivalent aluminum clamp, but I think you don't get much weight savings once you factor in the other things about the derailleur. 80 is about the minimum that you'll find for an untuned derailleur (save that Pereira thingie...you'll save a bunch in shifter and cabling...)

Suntour GPX maybe? I know the RD is pretty light, never thought about it. I do triathlons without the FD.

According to my data, the GPX, clamp version, was quite portly for a front derailleur, weighing 99g. While the Jubilee does have the advantage of matching the rear derailleur, in my opinion the performance is not as good as the Superbe Pro.

May I ask the point of all this concern for weight? Just a challenge for you? At what point does it stop?

No water bottles? No spare tubes, no pump. Only one brake? Perhaps no helmet, no socks, no clothes at all.


Go super weight weenie and just convert the bike to singlespeed. Don't forget to order the Supersize Diet Coke. ;)

My Huret Jubilee front derailleur with 28.6 mm band weighs 78.5 grams. :thumb: They were known for being too flimsy and shifting rather badly... but mine seems to shift fine.

1950s lever-type shifters worked fine too since (like any front derailleurs) they only needed to nudge the chain over a few millimeters. In fact, what do front derailleurs need to do that you could not also do with a simple piece of bent wire in your hand to lift the chain onto a different chainring.

Personally, I'm perfectly content with the old Dura-Ace 7400 8-speed front changers which I've placed (inappropriately) on several much earlier bikes... mainly because they're very shiny, pretty and lack the big logos or lettering seen on many other older derailleurs. :innocent: