There is a lot going on in this picture. You are using a 1990s bottom pull triple front derailleur on a 1970s double chainring crank and routing the cable through a nut? I am not surprised that it does not work well. Have you tried a top pull or dual pull double front derailleur?
Threejaks on
Doesn’t help that the cable is frayed at the bottom pivot. That’s never going to move smoothly
SSSasky on
Badly, I’m guessing! Hah!
That’s a ‘bottom pull’ derailleur, mounted on a frame designed for a ‘top pull’ derailleur. The someone used what looks like a fender mounting eye bolt to reverse the cable pull (and wreck the cable in the process).
You see some bikes – cyclocross bikes usually – that have a roller bolted to the back of the seat tube that accomplishes the same thing, but properly. This is what someone was trying to duplicate on your bike, but badly.
I think a piece of gear cable housing goes in the part the gear cable is routed through to provide smooth shifting.
bezsez on
I used to have a Saracen from about 1993 and it had a roller at the bottom of the seat tube which the cable looped around and then went to the bottom of the front derailleur.
BtheChemist on
this is a hack job.
Working-Promotion728 on
Is that brake housing for the derailers? That will also cause crappy shifting.
Liquidwombat on
Kind of like that, but also not like that at all
The correct thing to do would be to get a top pull derailer
Alternatively, you can get a pulley for that mounting point if you want to continue using your derailer without trashing the cable
Kitchen-Literature-7 on
Great derailleur, worst installation I could imagine lmao. Everyone is doing 1x conversions on vintage bikes so front derailleurs are cheap as chips, pick up a top pull with the correct clamp diameter and keep that one for the parts bin.
9 Comments
There is a lot going on in this picture. You are using a 1990s bottom pull triple front derailleur on a 1970s double chainring crank and routing the cable through a nut? I am not surprised that it does not work well. Have you tried a top pull or dual pull double front derailleur?
Doesn’t help that the cable is frayed at the bottom pivot. That’s never going to move smoothly
Badly, I’m guessing! Hah!
That’s a ‘bottom pull’ derailleur, mounted on a frame designed for a ‘top pull’ derailleur. The someone used what looks like a fender mounting eye bolt to reverse the cable pull (and wreck the cable in the process).
You see some bikes – cyclocross bikes usually – that have a roller bolted to the back of the seat tube that accomplishes the same thing, but properly. This is what someone was trying to duplicate on your bike, but badly.
https://preview.redd.it/pte7l0eschid1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=a36bcb76ed511486913cd3b71695da72091b08e3
Problem Solvers makes a bolt on version that should fix your setup and get everything working properly.
[https://problemsolversbike.com/products/cross-clamp](https://problemsolversbike.com/products/cross-clamp)
Alternatively you could try to find a top-pull derailleur, but they aren’t that common and aren’t usually good quality. Looks Like Shimano used to make a nice one called the [CX70](https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench/comments/1774tp5/looking_for_a_top_pull_road_front_derailleur/) for 10 speed, but it’s no longer available.
I think a piece of gear cable housing goes in the part the gear cable is routed through to provide smooth shifting.
I used to have a Saracen from about 1993 and it had a roller at the bottom of the seat tube which the cable looped around and then went to the bottom of the front derailleur.
this is a hack job.
Is that brake housing for the derailers? That will also cause crappy shifting.
Kind of like that, but also not like that at all
The correct thing to do would be to get a top pull derailer
Alternatively, you can get a pulley for that mounting point if you want to continue using your derailer without trashing the cable
Great derailleur, worst installation I could imagine lmao. Everyone is doing 1x conversions on vintage bikes so front derailleurs are cheap as chips, pick up a top pull with the correct clamp diameter and keep that one for the parts bin.