I have a Camy equipped road bike with FSA Carbon Compact cranks and was wondering if there's any advantage to the compact crank front derailer? Thanks.
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Re: Compact Front Derailer Hype? [R1]
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We've installed, used and ridden compact cranks with both compact specific and non-compact specific (standard) front derailleurs on FSA brand and Campagnolo brand compact and standard cranks.
Our anecdotal findings are that the differences are there, but quite minor. A well adjusted standard (non-compact specific) front derailluer seems to make the shift happen reliably and quickly.
The compact specific front derailleurs from Campagnolo do shift a trifle quieter and with a little less lever actuation, but the difference is small.
It will depend on how fussy you are. My current set up (Campag Record with FSA Compact and standard, non-compact specific front derailleur) shifts acceptably for my purposes. If I were to build an expensive Record equipped road bike for a customer using a compact crank I would use the compact specific front derailleur to insure the best possible performance.
Ultimately, it is a refinement rather than a requirement in my opinion.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Our anecdotal findings are that the differences are there, but quite minor. A well adjusted standard (non-compact specific) front derailluer seems to make the shift happen reliably and quickly.
The compact specific front derailleurs from Campagnolo do shift a trifle quieter and with a little less lever actuation, but the difference is small.
It will depend on how fussy you are. My current set up (Campag Record with FSA Compact and standard, non-compact specific front derailleur) shifts acceptably for my purposes. If I were to build an expensive Record equipped road bike for a customer using a compact crank I would use the compact specific front derailleur to insure the best possible performance.
Ultimately, it is a refinement rather than a requirement in my opinion.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
The real difference to me is that I haven't dropped a chain since I started using a record compact fd instead of a standard one. Shifting is only slightly better if you don't count dropped chains.