I had good luck with an old Simplex SLJ nice and stiff arms to handle that shift. Steven Willis 1778 East Second Street Scotch Plains NJ 07076 908-322-3330 http://www.thebikestand.com
> Mark Hoffman wrote:
>
> <snip>
> I'm using a modern 105 front with a TA triple on Stronglight 49D cranks.
Can anyone suggest a period correct front derailleur that would shift well
with this set-up? (49/40/32)
>
> Well, the very first thing, before anything else, is that the FD must have
an absolutely flat outer plate. No dimples, creases, bulges, CPSC lips or
anything else.
>
> The second thing is getting the chainrings to run true, w/o wobble.
>
> You see, getting the proverbial camel through the needle's eye is easy
compared to getting the outer plate to pass between the outer ring and the
crank w/o rubbing either, when you are climbing out of the saddle or
whatever in the highest gear. It's the closest thing to an interference fit
that you can see through, if you get my drift. How could a culture that
celebrated "constructeur" bikes with full braze-ons tolerate this insanity?
Were they so hung up about Q-factor or something? (Please don't answer that
if it would start the Q-factor fires here, the only place I know that has
been immune).
>
> I've had decent results with the pre-CPSC Campy record (get the later one
with body bulge for the outermost pivot, and circlip). Suntour Cyclone &
Cyc. II are flat outers, with decent length cages (to clear the granny cog
on several back rings). I don't think there is a stronger unit in captivity
than the Shimano Titlist, but it has a very slight ridge on the outer plate.
I used to take these apart and rearrange things to use on the curved-tube
tandem. Required moving the pivot forward, extending the cage, changing the
attachment angle, and adding a washer to space it out further from the
parallelogram. Ugly but effective, sort of a Parody of Bill Boston's work
on Campy REcords.
>
> But I don't feel very strongly about this....
>
>
> harvey sachs
> mcLean va