Getting Cagey - the Front Derailleur

There is not much to say here - having bought an Ultegra rear derailleur, I am committed to Shimano shifters, so I have to find a Shimano front derailleur.  Keeping up with the standard I have already set, the target unit is a Ultegra 6700 unit, for two chainrings, NOT a triple.


My current ride has the complete 105 groupset, and the front cage and shifters have the triple capability.  Frankly, this is a pain.  Each shift - down or up - requires two taps, the second more of a tuning adjustment to secure the shift.  By selecting a cage, and later a shifter, that does NOT have the triple capacity, I will be able to have secure, single action shifts.

So, how smooth?  I hope very.  Take a look at some early derailleurs.  This is a diagram from the Jo Routens unit from the 1950s.  It is from a New Zealand website (http://bicyclespecialties.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/jo-routens-front-derailleur-project.html) that follows a project to recreate this early unit.  The finished item looks like this: 


This unit is positively modern in appearance.


Early units utilised a lower cog on an arm that projected below the bike, thereby maintaining chain tension.

This is a  page from a 1935 catalogue.  The unit was robust and reliable enough for it to be used by such cycling greats as Gino Bartali, seen here in the 1936 Giro d'Italia.  



Although the image is monochrome, you ought to visualise the stunning pink colour of his shirt.  


This image is from the website http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/photo-galleries/derailleurs-1.html,   which also has this image of a manual-shift derailleur:

Moving the ratcheted lever, while back-pedalling, shifted the position of the bottom jockey arm.


How times have changed.


Instead of this serious hardware, the Ultegra 6700 unit has a weight of a mere 89 grams, although the old lever version did not need a handlebar shifter.  You still had to take your hand off the bars, though, and back pedal.  

The unit that I bought is for a brazed-on mounting.  Even though I do not yet have a frame, or have even decided on what frame/material etc to commit to, the brazed-on choice is more versatile. If I end up with a frame that has no mount, then I can buy a simple wrap-around clip that mounts brazed-on fittings.


Competition was tight price-wise.  Being July, there were different Tour de France promotions available.  Together with a fluctuating dollar, timing was everything.  Within NZ$4.00 of each other were deals from Wiggle, Probikekit and, the winner by a mere 71 cents, Chainreactioncycles.com.  Part of the deal was a low postage cost (NZ$9.66), while another site, also sending from the United Kingdom, charged NZ$16.78.


The next part of the mission is complex - the wheels; hubs, rims, spokes.  I will find out whether I get the gear as bundled lots or piecewise...don't go away!