New crankset, old front derailleur...

[binzer]

Hi Alex. This question is related to another thread about "speeding up a MTB". I just changed my crankset from a 22/32/42 to a 28/38/48. I had to move my front derailleur up to clear the large chainring. Here's my dilemma... The clamp is now directly over the lower water bottle cage braze-on. The height of the clamp is approximately 98-110mm from the bottom bracket shell. Do you have any recommendations as to what I should do here?

[DaveM]

If the derailleur is now sitting on top of the braze on, I can think of a few possible solutions.<br />
1. Try to find another derailleur where the clamp sits a bit higher or lower. Different derailleurs are shaped a bit different and you might find one where the clamp is attached to the body higher or lower. I've got no advice what type and it will take some careful comparision to your existing one, but might find something.
2. File down the raised part of the braze on until it is flush to the tube, put on some touch up paint, and clamp the derailleur over it. This won't weaken you frame although it does remove some of the threads for a water bottle cage bolt.
3. file/drill a indent into the inside of the clamp on the derailleur so there is a little space for the braze on to sit in. If you have to remove too much material, this will weaken the clamp and it could break. But if you would just have to put a little notch in it, should be fine.
4. Go to a 46 or 50 tooth large chainring. This will only work if the size of the chainring is enough to move the derailleur up or down sufficiently. You may have some shifting trouble going up to 50 and going to 46 partially defeats the purpose of what your doing anyway. So this is not a great solution.
Option 2 or 3 is probably your best bet.<br />
Good luck

[binzer]

Hey Dave, thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate the input. I'm not sure but I may have found a solution. I've been looking around online and I've seen some "top swing" derailleurs that might do the trick. The clamps on those seem to be mounted close to the cage, where as my clamp is almost an inch above the cage. That's pretty much what your first suggestion says. :wink: Once again... Thanks.

[binzer]

Hey guys. I found a solution! I switched my front derailleur to a "Shimano Deore M530" which is a top swing style. Plus I purchased a new chain also. It works like a charm now. Thanks for the suggestions. This is an excellent forum.