Front Derailleur Question

[AJM100]

Can a standard double front derailleur be used with a compact double, provided the limit screws are set properly or will chain drop be an issue? Setup is Campy 10 speed generation. thanks.

[rustychisel]

Yes, perfectly.

[oldpotatoe]

Can a standard double front derailleur be used with a compact double, provided the limit screws are set properly or will chain drop be an issue? Setup is Campy 10 speed generation. thanks.

Yes, I have installed many 'standard' double front Ders onto compacts with no issue. Adjust limit screws, height, alignment doesn't change with compact.

[bikinchris]

A derailleur with the "curve" that fits compact chainrings will work better, but a normal derailleur will work just fine.

[Cicli]

A derailleur with the "curve" that fits compact chainrings will work better, but a normal derailleur will work just fine.

The last one of those I saw was from FSA. And it was FSA so likely junk.

[oldpotatoe]

The last one of those I saw was from FSA. And it was FSA so likely junk.

FSA made them(yes-crappola) as did Campagnolo altho compact's predated the CT front der..so a lot of standard 10s systems got the compact w/o the front der..worked fine. 2008, Campag front der 'officially' became for both. shimano always was for both, they just changed their max tooth difference from 14 to 16..

[ultraman6970]

If you go backward... you can use compact in standard aswell. Even the campagnolo flat bar FD that is compact will work with ergo road and with regular cranksets.

[benb]

If you go strictly by what the manufacturer says some are approved and some aren't.

IME when you use the approved ones that are designed to work with either compact or regular it's easier to set them up well. You can do it with the others, it just might be harder.

[donevwil]

Chain drop won't be an issue if set up correctly, however shift quality may. Frames with braze-on front derailleur tabs positioned for standard chainrings make it difficult to get the derailleur low enough, exacerbating the mismatch with a standard derailleur. Also the smaller the big ring used will progressively worsen shifting.

My Campy 10 road bike initially used a standard front der with a 50-36 and all was well. I picked up a CT on ebay and the improvement in shifting smoothness and speed was noticeable. I ultimately went to a 46-34 and back to the standard der because I wanted to use the CT on a cross bike, it shifted terribly, slow and labored. The CT didn't work very well with the 44-34 on the cross bike so I went with the Shimano CX-70, all better. Put the CT back on the 46-34 road bike and all is well there.

The old Campy CT front derailleurs are great, the Shimano CX-70 works well (even with Campy) if your going with a small big ring.