Re: [CR] Silver DT levers slipping

(Example: Racing:Wayne Stetina)

Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:41:10 -0500
From: "Steve Kurt" <kurtsj@mtco.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <mailman.21885.1239382517.337.classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
In-Reply-To:
Subject: Re: [CR] Silver DT levers slipping


From: Thomas Adams <thomasthomasa@yahoo.com>
> I'm trying to put a pair of the new silver DT levers, as sold by Rivendell
> and Velo Orange on a frame, and the front derailleur spring is too strong f
> or the lever:? it pulls the lever back every time.? Has anyone else see
> n this problem?? The tension screw is not bottoming out, and I tried a wa
> sher under it:? still can't get the bolt tight enough to hold the front d
> erailleur.
> ?
> Does anyone have a fix, to increase the holding power of these levers?? F
> YI, the levers are mounted on a Campagnolo dt boss, and the front derailleu
> r is an FSA Gossamer.? A simplex lever holds the derailleur fine, so it's
> not the derailleur.?

hi Tom,

I ran into a similar issue when I tried to use a modern Shimano front derailleur with my trusty SunTour DT levers. It turned out that the Shimano derailleur's spring was much stronger than that of the old SunTour Cyclone. My solution was to revert back to a SunTour derailleur.

My sole off-topic bike also has a very strong front derailleur spring, and I assume this is to allow people to shift to a small chainring with tension on the chain. The SunTour Cyclone doesn't allow me to shift onto my granny gear while under load, whereas this off-topic bike does (it uses bar-end shifters). The downside is that I really have to apply much more force to upshift this same derailleur.

About the only reason to use a modern front derailleur is to allow the use of indexed shifters. If you are using DT levers, there's no reason that you can't use an on-topic derailleur.

regards,
Steve Kurt
Peoria, IL, USA