8 Speed Double 34.9 Front Derailleur?

andyjee86
andyjee86 Posts: 17
edited October 2012 in Road buying advice
Hi guys,

I'm having an absolute nightmare finding an 8 Speed Double Front Derailleur, which has a 34.9 clamp. Anyone know what I can put on my 2010 Trek 1.1? I bought it second hand following a bike theft and didn't think much about the 8 speed, until the FD packed up. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks,

Comments

  • FransJacques
    FransJacques Posts: 2,148
    An 8 speed double? Wow, is that like 16 speeds for your front der? that's some nuts indexing eh..

    Think you're caught up too much in the 8 speed thing. Don't be. Any modern deailleur has the cage travel necessary to shift the chain on your bike, your front shifter decides how much cable to pull, not the derailleur. The front mech just needs the limit screws set properly and the cable does all the work.

    I assume you have Tiagra or Sora on your Trek - just get a Sora front der and you're golden. Or you could get Dura Ace, Force, Chorus or anything. Seriously, I've made a 1985 Deore XT triple front work in a 2x9 config on a cross bike with 9 sp Campag ergo power shifters - it's all good.
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • andyjee86
    andyjee86 Posts: 17
    Thanks for the reply.

    So just to clarify, if I bought a 9 speed Sora FD it would work fine on my 8 speed bike (it previously had Sora)?

    I am confused, the guy at the shop said I 'd need an 8 speed FD, I don't see how it matters. Also when I search for FD's they always state whether they are for a Triple, Double and whether they are for a 9 or 10 speed. If it doesn't make difference what would be the point in saying what size it's for?

    Cheers.
  • FransJacques
    FransJacques Posts: 2,148
    Yes, you can use any Sora FD.

    The guy at the shop has no idea - that'll teach you to go into Evans :-)
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    a 2300 FD should be fine also (8 speed), I changed mine to one from a crappy shimano A050. am sure it was 34.9 and they come with sleeves/inserts for smaller iirc.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    as for 8 - 10 speed, possible that with the chains being slimmer the cage may also be slimmer on the 9/ 10 speeds? Just a thought
  • Matt_as
    Matt_as Posts: 84
    You can use a 9spd front mech and get it to work but the tolerances will be tighter so it is more likely to suffer chain rub. If you have one of the old higher model shimano shifters there will be some trim so you might get away with it. With a newer cheap 8spd shifter there is no trim so you will struggle with some chain rub if you use a narrower mech. I would go for the FD-2300 and you should be fine. www.sjscycles.co.uk sell them if your struggling.

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