Which Shimano FD with Sram shifters?

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

I have a situation that requires the use of a Shimano front derailleur with Sram shifters (Absolute Black oval chainrings do not function with Sram Yaw front derailleur). My question is which which Shimano FD? I was thinking that the Ultegra ST r8000 FD with the short arm would work best but not so sure. It all comes down to cable pull. Anybody been through this and know which FD works best?
TKs
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

alcatraz
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by alcatraz

The sram shifter doesn't pull as much cable as a shimano one. The result is rubbing in gears big/small and/or small/big.

To get around it I clamped the cable on the wrong side of the clamping bolt (further down on the fd arm). If you don't have an arm to work with like the latest generation r9100/r8000/f7000 I'm not sure if you can ever get it to work.

I used an fd-7900 with my sram red shifters. Works beautifully when finally set up and its a few grams lighter. :D

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

Good point about the lack of an arm with which to adjust pull ratio.

The thing that attracted me to the Ultagra 8000 is that apparently the 8000 FD is designed to allow the cage to move inboard more without the mechanism being blocked by contact with the seat tube. This feature would be useful with the Absolute Black rings as they sit more inboard than standard.

I am starting to think I should just get a Shimano groupset.

This whole problem is the result of my effort to give Mrs. Gib a 1:1 gear ration on here Trek bike. Sounds easy but wait - she uses a 160mm crank and there is but a single crank that length that will go in a BB90 bottom bracket - Shimano 105. So no sub-compact crankset. Going 50/34 with a Shimano groupset would solve the problem but that 11-34 cassette leaves you with less desirable gearing than a 48/32 with a 11-32 cassette. That and she has new Sram Red 22 on the bike already.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

alcatraz
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by alcatraz

We have several bikes aimed at climbing in the group and we all like our 11-36t cassettes that mate well with medium cage road derailleurs. Maybe try one of those.

I'm a faster climber than my friends because I'm smaller but I use my big cog more than they do because I tend to spin more. So it's a good idea to give a small rider wider gears imo. :) 160mm cranks will cost a few percent in leverage requiring even wider gears.

When I first got my 11-36 it was just an experiment. I came originally from a 25t cassettte, settled happily on a 28t later. The idea was to just use the 36t cassette occasionally for steep riding events like the taiwan kom. Now after 2 years I ride it everywhere, even on flats. I love it and I don't have cadence issues at high speed. I stay between 85 and 95. It's no boat anchor either at only 208gr.

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

alcatraz wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:25 pm
We have several bikes aimed at climbing in the group and we all like our 11-36t cassettes that mate well with medium cage road derailleurs. Maybe try one of those.

I'm a faster climber than my friends because I'm smaller but I use my big cog more than they do because I tend to spin more. So it's a good idea to give a small rider wider gears imo. :) 160mm cranks will cost a few percent in leverage requiring even wider gears.

When I first got my 11-36 it was just an experiment. I came originally from a 25t cassettte, settled happily on a 28t later. The idea was to just use the 36t cassette occasionally for steep riding events like the taiwan kom. Now after 2 years I ride it everywhere, even on flats. I love it and I don't have cadence issues at high speed. I stay between 85 and 95. It's no boat anchor either at only 208gr.
What RD are you using with the 11-36?

We've managed well with 34x32 for extended sections of 20% and even some 25% stretches. But I would have used a 34 if so equipped. Don't think I need to go all the way to 36.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

alcatraz
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Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

Most medium cage derailleurs are ok.

On sram it's tighter than on shimano. Shimano can clear a 38t on trek hangers but I wouldn't advise it. 36t is perfectly fine.

For me it's not about making that climb, it's about arriving at the top fresher so you can continue riding without stop. Then it's not always an emergency. It's up to the rider if you want to have a zone 1-2 ride or sprinting up the climb.

On some parts of my normal training route I'm doing 350w on the 36t cog for 30-60 seconds. I'm thinking how the hell did I ever make it on a 25t before. I had to always prepare for the climb and arrive rested, hammer it and then rest afterwards. After I stopped doing this I've cut down my time a lot because I keep the power down before and after much more.

Gary71
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by Gary71

alcatraz wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:25 pm
We have several bikes aimed at climbing in the group and we all like our 11-36t cassettes that mate well with medium cage road derailleurs. Maybe try one of those.

............ It's no boat anchor either at only 208gr.
Alcatraz, what cassette in 11-36 are you running that is only 208g?

alcatraz
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by alcatraz

I run sram red 10s with an xx1099 cassette.

dolophonic
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by dolophonic

I have run red shifters wth Campy record front mech no issue..

NickJHP
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Location: Canberra, Australia

by NickJHP

I have a couple of bikes using Force 22 shifters and Deore XT FDs. No problems with the shifting or with chain rub.

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