byrnefrankie

This is my first time.on this forum and hopefully somebody can help?!

I have an (old-ish) road bike with discontinued parts on it. Unfortunately, the front derailleur has seized after the bike has been stored in my cellar for a couple of months. I have tried to get it going again but replacing with new seems like the best option from everything I have read.

​​​​​​The bike has 2x10 Shimano Tiagra groupset on it. I tried to get hold of my usual bike mechanic, who is great, but struggled to get hold of him. I begrudgingly went into Halfords, and they confirmed that the front derailleur had seized and would need to be replaced. I was advised that the Shimano Tiagra 4700 is what I needed to order, so I went online and I am awaiting delivery in the next few days. However, when I have taken my existing front derailleur off it turns out it is a 4600, not a 4700.

I tried looking online and some people have mentioned that the 4700 parts are not compatible with 4600.

The question I would like answering is:

Would it be ok to replace just the front derailleur from a 4600 to 4700, and keep everything else as it was?

(I have tried to insert images but I am not permitted yet as I am new &#128534
​​​​

dedhed

I'd just spray up with PB Blaster/Liquid wrench/Kroil whatever penetrant and manually work back & forth the 4600 to free it up


https://productinfo.shimano.com/#/co...453&acid=C-455

delbiker1 

I am not sure about the front derailleur. The rest of 4700 is not compatible with 4600, the cable pull is different. Shimano specs does not list them as being compatible, that does not mean they are not. Doing a google search gives conflicting results. I believe the gap in the chain rings has not changed, so, it seems likely to me that it will work, really just a guess. A big difference between the two is the cable routing. The 4700 went to hidden routing, under the bar tape, while the 4600 still has exposed routing, but I do not think that will be a factor in compatibility with the front dr. If you try it, post an update on whether or not it matches up.
As mentioned above, I would at least attempt to free up the 4600 dr. There are not that many moving parts. Nothing to lose to try it, nothing to gain if you do not. If it works, maybe you can return the 4700 dr.

alcjphil

4700 front derailleur is incompatible with 4600 shifter

byrnefrankie

That's a huge help thanks for the response. I've just spoken with my usual mechanic who thinks it will work and will give it a go for me. I'll update the results as you mentioned

alcjphil

Your mechanic is wrong. However, any 105, Ultegra, or Dura ace front derailleur from the 10 speed era will work

maddog34

the 4700 Tiagra front Derailleur is NOT compatible with any other shimano group except maybe a GRX shifter.

find a used 105, ultegra or DA der. as alcjphil suggests, and be happy... i regularly see used 105/ultegra ders for under $20.

byrnefrankie

UpdateThanks everyone for contributing. It's my first time on here and it's been very helpful.

I've actually managed to free up my 4600! A bit more WD40 and using a tea towel wrapped through it for a bit more grip seems to have done the job! Well, hopefully.. I'll find out soon.

The 4700 looked like it wouldn't be compatible as most people have mentioned
​​​​

Iride01 

The Tiagra FD 4700 front DR is actually compatible with any of the 11 speed groups. I put a all eleven speed 105 5800 on my son's bike but left the Tiagra 4700 front DR and crankset on his bike. The pull amount of the Tiagra 4700 shifters is the same as those other 11 speed groups from at least the introduction of the 105 5800 series and later.

Though it probably would be correct to say that Shimano doesn't show in their compatibly listing that it is okay.

The OP can as previously stated just get any of the older 10 speed 105, Ultegra or DuraAce FDR.

I think the OP said this is a road bike so if it's got drop bars with the STI, then the Tiagra 4700 grouset will give a sleeker look on the bars as the cable is routed under the bar tape instead of looping through the air making the front look all tangled up in a mess. But that would take some money as the STI's are some of the more expensive part of any groupset. And the move would only be for aesthetics and not much else in the performance part of the equation. But Tiagra 4700 shifters aren't that expensive compared to to 105 and better.

Iride01 

OP, are these the pics you wanted to put in the thread?






https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/28829472


All you have to do is let us know you uploaded to the gallery here on BF and someone will post them for you or at least the others will know to go look for them.

And from the pic of the front DR what is wrong with it? It looks like new.

Is it perhaps the front STI that is the issue? That might just be a frayed cable. And if it's frayed so much that it won't shift either direction, then the cable might be a bugger to get out of the shifter body.

maddog34

i love it when you contradict your own posts... btw, Re-read the OP.. the bike is not an 11 speed... i'm glad your son's bike worked. Why did you attack my post but not the others saying the same basic thing? Just curious.
Tiagra 4700 ft. ders. don't play well with 4600... or almost ANY other shimano 10 speed group... you even admit that fact. And any day someone can upgrade away from a tiagra anything is a good day... i own a tiagra equipped bike... it will be upgraded in the future.. it's kinda sloppy, clunky and vague... The guy i bought it from agrees. it was a "new take off" with maybe 20 miles on it... i couldn't resist the $100 price and got a nice road trip out of the deal. That was my first tiagra buy, and my last tiagra buy.

now, if you'll excuse me.. I have a rear tire that needs worn out some more.. Bye!

shelbyfv

Congrats

Iride01 

Well my apologies if you feel assaulted. However I don't think that disagreement with someone constitutes an attack.

If you read the part of your quote that I bolded then you'll see it's not quite what most others said. There is a big difference.

The 4700 group is a 10 speed group, but it's components designs are based on the same criteria that the 11 speed groups went to. So that allows one to use the STI for the front DR of any of the other 11 speed groups with a Tiagra 4700 FDR. Although I will say that I know this is for certain for anything that came out on or after the 105 5800 11 speed group was introduced. I'm not certain if this holds true for the first version of the 11 speed Ultegra and DuraAce groups, but I suspect it does.

And of course the Tiagra 4700 does not play well with Tiagra 4600. Although they are both ten speed groups. When Shimano redesigned to handle 11 speed with the other groups they decided to change up the Tiagra and so Tiagra 4700 was birthed. Probably because they knew ahead of time that the Tiagra 4700 line would stay around with only minor changes for a very long time instead of changing two or three maybe four different major version changes in years since Tiagra 4700 was introduced.

But again, my apologies if you think it's wrong to disagree with someone or if I indeed misunderstood what you wrote.

PS.... I just got back from putting some mileage on my tires too. Nice day. However my performance is pitiful and the few miles I've put in so far since the start of the year have me about 200 to 300 miles below where I should be at this point.

maddog34

umm.. yah... sure.. uh huh. i'll remember this if i ever want to downgrade an 11 sp. drivetrain...

maybe you need to add more gears in between your gears on your gear. I ride a 3x8 sp. and a 2x6 sp. .. mostly the 3x8... the Fuji will remain as a 2x10 sp....It flies just fine that way. i picked up a 7 sp. freewheel for the trek at a swap meet.. it didn't fit in the frame, and i won't be re-spacing the DA axle just for one more choice.... the 6 sp. cluster covers the same range anyway... meh.

none of this is helping the OP one bit, IMO. i'll not be responding to the pointless disectioning and digressings any longer.

delbiker1 

Good for you, I am glad you decided to give it a try. If it is working by hand, it should work on the bike. BTW, I think the Tiagra 4600 is a fine group set for the price. I am using 4600 STI levers with the rest of the drivetrain being 6600. The shifting is outstanding. I pieced the 6600 together, but 6600 levers that are NOS, or in excellent condition, are very pricey. The 4600 were NOS when I bought them a couple of years ago, $76 with shipping from Korea. They have inflated in pricing also.

byrnefrankie

Thank you