Johnny Pergolizzi wrote: "and bending the cage of the front. But I'm keeping how a secret."
To which Dan "we're all on the same team here" Christopherson wrote: "Hey... no secrets! I shared the tip about adding a washer to the FD cage spacer to eliminate or at least lessen the need to trim."
O.k., o.k., the procedure goes like this: Front der.: Front of inner cage gets bent in and up. NOT a ton , but enough. Front of outer cage gets bent in. I'm talking like a 1/32 inch here; maybe a bit more. A very small adjustable wrench works o.k. for this. Middle of the cage gets "widened". Use two medium size screw drivers like an "X". In other words the cage is "bulged out" in the middle. I do this mostly for Super Record chainrings that distort the first time you really step on um. This , coupled with GREASING the innards of the Campagnolo downtube shift levers will make the derailleur work like wet velvet.
My buddy Vincente said his 25 year old Casatti now shifts like "plastic" instead of "metal" after the treatment.
John T.Pergolizzi
Brooklyn, N.Y.