Planning a new project... I welcome your advise

[Spoked Wheels]

I'm planing to build a bike that can do Audax / light touring..... maybe / club rides in the wet.... maybe / winter bike

The parts I already have: Reynolds 531 frame, Ultrashift Veloce 10 spd shifters, Brakes, etc.

I'm borrowing from a family member a Shimano 105 9spd chainset 52-42=30 which I thought about modifying to 48-38-26 but that would cost more than buying a new Stronglight chainset from Spa. So, I'll get the "NEW" type.

Now this is the area that I'm not sure about...... I want to use an XT FD. Road derailleurs are rather hard to change gear with a Campy shifter. I read somewhere that this combination, with a MTB FD, works better so I'd like to give it a shot.

The chainline would need to be around 50mm. There's a few conflicting opinions on whether to use 110mm or 115mm square taper BB for a 45mm chainline. I have somewhere a 115mm BB so I thought I would get the crankset and then check if I need a 120mm for 50mm chainline.

I understand the XT M771 FD requires a 12T between the big and middle ring.... also it's my understanding that max capacity is 22T hence my choice of 48-36-26

I have also considered the R443 FD which is designed to work with flat bars.

I also considered a MTB chainset but I don't like the look of it on a road frame.

Any advice on the FD area woud be much appreciated.

So to summarise:

Ultrashift Veloce shifters
XT M771 or R443 Front derailleur
48-36-26 Strongllight Impact Triple chainset - new style
115mm or maybe 120mm Square taper BB
XT or 105 medium size cage rear derailleur.
11-32 cassette.

 

[Globalti]

Are you taking drugs?

 

[boydj]

I've had Campag triples on a couple of bikes and never had a problem using a Campag FD. I've also used a Shimano 105 Triple FD with the same shifters, again with no problem.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I also have some experience with shimergo. It works well for me.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Are you taking drugs?

I think I know the answer to my question but I hope I'm wrong so I'll ask you. What make you think I'm on drugs?

 

[Globalti]

It was an attempt at humour. Your mind seems to be working overtime!

 

[Spoked Wheels]

It was an attempt at humour. Your mind seems to be working overtime!

Oh I see, very funny

 

[ColinJ]

Last year I changed my CAAD 5's chainset from a Chorus 53/39 to a Stronglight 48/38/28 from Spa Cycles. I found that the Chorus front mech could be made to work very well by lowering it to be close to the smaller big ring. I used a 115 mm Shimano UN55 BB. The Campag left shifter was able to cope with the range of pull required to operate the triple.

The only 2 snags I encountered were:

• My medium cage rear mech couldn't quite be adjusted to avoid the chain chattering against the biggest 2 sprockets (26 and 29). I solved that problem by making a small shim from a folded piece of a Coke can and putting that under the end of the 'B-screw' (or whatever Campag call it).
• A part of the inside of the rear derailleur mechanism was touching the down tube before the cage had moved over enough to pull the chain off the middle ring. I filed a mm or so off the offending part and that pretty much fixed the problem. I also had to rotate the mech slightly so the outer part of the cage contacted the chain sooner in its travel. I reckon I might have been able to make the mech work without the filing if I had just rotated it slightly further. The other fix would be to use a 118 mm BB instead to put the granny ring further out.

It would certainly be worth you trying to replicate what I did since it would save you the expense and hassle of putting a new front mech on. If you couldn't make it work to your satisfaction, then buy a new FD?