Replacing a busted FD that has a cable stop on the clamp
 

I was riding home last night on my old commuter (1983/84? Lotus Elan, old Taiwanese import and my first road bike from high school) and on an upshift to the big chainring it overshifted. I was a bit surprised as this is an old friction shifting setup, and the limit screws were set up fine. When I turned the high limit screw on the FD, nothing moved. Turns out the "barrel" of the inner linkage got split in two, probably just so old the stress of being mashed up hard against the high stop too many times eventually broke it... I did tighten up the cable tension a while ago because it had been super loose and wasn't upshifting good.

Anyhow, this FD is old and has a cable stop on the thing itself where cable housing comes from a stop low on the downtube and goes up to the FD clamp stop. There is already an old style clamp on cable guide over top of the bracket going to the RD (I think it's clamped low on the downtube). Where can I buy an FD that has the cable stop on it? If that's really hard to find, where can I find a seattube clamping cable stop so I can run a standard style FD? I'm not looking to spend a lot of money either, whatever is cheap. It actually still works, no high limit stop, but not sure how long it will keep working... Thanks!

Hi I am sure the derailleur you need will not be too hard to find. depending just where you live one of your LBS should have some. ebay is a good source too. does your derailleur have a brand/model name? someone may even have one in the ISO/trade thread

Suntour Spirt.
Suntour made so many that you can still find new ones fairly easily, they're cheap, and they work pretty well.

one of these might work

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Roadbike...item5ad7d5e353

http://cgi.ebay.com/Suntour-Spirt-Fr...item53df1c5b0f

http://cgi.ebay.com/Suntour-SL-Front...item3a58029942

IF you like high-normal FD's. If you don't, stay away from the Spirt as far as possible.

Not a single one has gone through here without getting tossed in the parts bin (don't know why I keep them, I don't like using them on flippers, and I won't use them on anything I ride).

-Kurt

I love them for flips - send me a CARE package. :)

Send me a PM. I'll see what I can rustle up.

-Kurt

Thank you everybody for all the info! I will save the Suntour Spirt as a last resort -- prefer to avoid high-normal FD... Thanks again!

Suntour 7, Vx or V-gt all have cable stops built in.

I use a Simplex SJA 102 on my French bikes that require a housing stop.

http://velobase.com/ViewSingleCompon...=113&AbsPos=14

I run a stopless Campag. front derailleur on Capo #1, simply by routing a piece of cable housing from the downtube stop under the bottom bracket, letting the far end just hang loose. Works like a champ, since the housing serves only as a guide and is not under compression.

I prefer high-normal FDs. Got a Compe-V or two in your stash?
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Thanks for this idea! I think I will try it if I don't find an el-cheapo with the built-in stop...