Hi: I've never gotten suitable shifting with a TA Pro 5 Vis crankset with 32/46 rings. This is mated with Shimano 9-speed on the rear (11x34) and bar-end shifters (Shimano 9 also). First I had it set up with a Suntour Superbe Pro front derailleur and it wanted to overshift once every 25 to 50 shifts, no matter how I adjusted the derailleur.
The local bike guru, who knows stuff old and new, suggested a modern front derailleur, as they are designed to shifter narrower 9/10-speed chains, whereas the old Suntour derailleur was meant for 6/7-speed chains. The thought being: Maybe the "old" derailleur's cage is wider because the chains for which it was intended were wider; now that wider cage made it throw a narrow chain too far. That make some sense. Well, I've installed a brand new Ultegra 10-spd front derailleur and it seems to keep the chain on either one ring or the other, and it downshifts fine, but it takes a major tug on the shifter to get it to move the chain to the big ring. In fact, when I upshift, what it's trying to do is shove the chain between the rings, into the hole between the five arms of the right crank, in the sizable vertical gap, or hole, created by the 14 tooth difference in ring size. Of course, modern rings, with their ramps and pins, would probably toss that chain right up onto the big ring instantaneously. But I like the low Q- factor of these TA arms (this is actually my GF's bike I am talking about; she's 5'4" and prefer the narrower tread even more than I do), plus the ring sizes available are preferable to a "compact" design. Yes, the derailleur is mounted as low as possible abov the top rights. In fact, the front derailleur cage is so long, it almost hits the right chainstay down at the bottom. I find that odd since a 46 tooth big ring is not small, at all. I don't see how this could work on a crank with a smaller big ring. Any thoughts or suggestions? BTW, sorry I don't seem to have a good shot of the bike, or especially its drivetrain online, though you can see her with the bike (gold 1974 Williams converted to 650B wheels) in front of the Nate Harrison Grade sign near the bottom of this post: http://www.xo-1.org/2008/12/rough-riding-northern-san-diego-county.html We're headed out to Ramona / Black Canyon tomorrow and I'll get some shots of the parts in question then, in case that might help any of you help me assay the situation. Here's the blog report of a semi- similar version of the riding we're doing tomorrow: http://www.xo-1.org/2009/01/rough-riding-north-eastern-san-diego.html Thanks. - Chris Kostman La Jolla, CA http://www.adventurecorps.com http://www.XO-1.org http://www.the508.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
