Suntour Hi normal FD
09-21-23, 10:43 PM
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Suntour Hi normal FD
Does the “Spirt” have enough range for a triple?
Did any of the Suntour Hi normal front derailers have enough range for a triple?
Thank you.
ETA, I didn’t know if I should ask here or in mechanics.
Did any of the Suntour Hi normal front derailers have enough range for a triple?
Thank you.
ETA, I didn’t know if I should ask here or in mechanics.
Last edited by SkinGriz; 09-21-23 at 10:46 PM.
09-22-23, 12:42 AM
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There was a Suntour XC high-normal FD in the eighties that could definitely shift a triple.
09-22-23, 05:54 AM
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I don't think I have one in my parts box(es), but I've got a Cyclone on my half-step-plus-granny triple, and there's no issue. I'd expect the other SunTour derailleurs to have the same geometry.
I've never used a high-normal front derailleur on a triple, but did have one on a double a long time ago.
On my half-step-plus-granny triple, the jump from the 26 tooth ring to the 46 is pretty big and takes a bit of extra force to get it up there. There's a chance that the spring of the high-normal derailleur might not be strong enough.
I've had the opposite problem when I was a bit late and tried to downshift from the 46 to the 26. To make progress up the hill, I had to keep some force on the pedals, and the derailleur spring wasn't strong enough to push the chain off of the chainring. The problem is solved by paying attention and shifting earlier on the hill, fortunately. It did get me thinking about how it is sometimes better to not rely on springs to make the hard shifts.
Steve in Peoria
I've never used a high-normal front derailleur on a triple, but did have one on a double a long time ago.
On my half-step-plus-granny triple, the jump from the 26 tooth ring to the 46 is pretty big and takes a bit of extra force to get it up there. There's a chance that the spring of the high-normal derailleur might not be strong enough.
I've had the opposite problem when I was a bit late and tried to downshift from the 46 to the 26. To make progress up the hill, I had to keep some force on the pedals, and the derailleur spring wasn't strong enough to push the chain off of the chainring. The problem is solved by paying attention and shifting earlier on the hill, fortunately. It did get me thinking about how it is sometimes better to not rely on springs to make the hard shifts.
Steve in Peoria
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09-22-23, 07:08 AM
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I've got an SL hi-normal shifting a triple on my Pug TH8 tandem.
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09-22-23, 07:12 AM
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Death fork? Naaaah!!
I have used the Compe V with a triple with no issues.
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09-22-23, 10:31 AM
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The Spirt should have more than enough lateral range. The cage seems designed (as most of them were back then) to throw about a 52-40 double. Back in the day, I used Spirts and SLs for half-step plus granny triples, and like most derailleurs & chainrings of the time the low-middle upshift involved a small leap of faith, exacerbated by the fact it was just the return spring applying pressure and not cable tension. Still used them.
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09-23-23, 03:31 AM
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The Spirt should have more than enough lateral range. The cage seems designed (as most of them were back then) to throw about a 52-40 double. Back in the day, I used Spirts and SLs for half-step plus granny triples, and like most derailleurs & chainrings of the time the low-middle upshift involved a small leap of faith, exacerbated by the fact it was just the return spring applying pressure and not cable tension. Still used them.
The major wear of the cage occurs on upshifts, and you can push harder than that on the cage with a low-normal via the cable = faster wear.
There will be places around the circumference where upshifting is easier (due to relative tooth-spacing [1]) and a sprung-action may "wait" for the next such spot - reducing wear on the teeth.
Huret used this to effect with the later versions of their front mech, which had an inner cage-plate with a sprung nose.
[1] Don't know about you but I like the upshifts to happen at particular points in the leg motion and had a machine that was particularly bad where I wanted it to be good; after removing and re-installing the outer ring rotated one arm it improved noticeably.
