My special thanks to Joe in the Pay Area, Bill Lindsay, Garth, and Kim H. for chiming in on my question on front mechs for half-step gearing. Seems the best solution lie in finding older racing derailleurs. This is partly because recent "half-step" derailleurs are ambiguous re. the small tooth differences that will work. Only a few of the more recent half-steppers list any such specification and one that does lists a 6 tooth difference. I'm looking at 3 to 4 with 6 too much.
This is a great group. Cheers to all, GAJett On Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at 2:31 PM Joe in the Pay Area <[email protected]> wrote: > SunTour Mountech. Been using them since I was introduced to them on my '85 > Specialized Expedition, which came equipped with a half-step and granny. I > now use them on the Expedition, the All Rounder, the Atlantis, the > Stumpjumper and one or two recumbents, all half-steps btw. Never, ever had > a problem and they do the job well. Check your local bike shop's old parts > bins for them. > > On Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 12:24:30 PM UTC-7 Bill Lindsay wrote: > >> In my opinion there is no new production front derailleur for half-step. >> The key objective feature that a half-step front derailleur needs in order >> to be considered a half-step front der is an inner cage that does not reach >> far below the outer cage. Everything that is current is designed for a 14 >> or a 16 tooth jump, so the inner cage reaches WAY below the outer cage. >> That's something that is straightforward to look at, and nothing >> contemporary is going to have that. If one wants to run a new production >> front derailleur with a half-step setup, then they will just need to run >> the derailleur a lot higher above the big ring than is considered normal or >> optimal. There are lots of people who say "I run my FD an inch above the >> rings and it still shifts fine". The fact is the job of a front derailleur >> is pretty darn simple, particularly in friction set ups. >> >> For me, when I'm doing a half-step build, I always use a vintage Shimano >> derailleur that was designed for half-step. Tons were made, and they >> rarely wear out, and nobody wants them today, so they are cheap on eBay. >> Just type half-step front into the eBay search bar and there are many to >> choose from. Just as a test, I put 5 or 6 of them on my watch list and >> I've already been given discount offers on a few of them. >> >> Bill Lindsay >> El Cerrito, CA >> >> On Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 11:19:55 AM UTC-7 GAJett wrote: >> >>> Thanks Garth. I have one bookmarked for future reference. >>> GAJett >>> >>> On Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 2:40:06 PM UTC-7 GAJett wrote: >>> >>>> See my contribution to the recent "Preparing Bleriot to Sell--Seeking >>>> Advice" conversation. Peter White ( >>>> https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/tach.php) currently lists TA making >>>> odd-toothed chainrings for 110 bcd cranks and some others. Here is the >>>> abbreviated list: >>>> >>>> GENERAL CHAINRINGS FOR COMPACT CRANKSETS >>>> 110mm Syrius 11 Speed Chainrings for Compact Cranksets >>>> Description >>>> TA Syrius 11 110mm 39 teeth black >>>> TA Syrius 11 110mm 53 teeth black >>>> >>>> 110mm Zephyr Chainrings for Compact Double Cranksets and Triples >>>> Description >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm inner 33 teeth black >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm inner 33 teeth silver >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm middle 39 teeth black >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm middle 39 teeth silver >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 45 teeth black >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 49 teeth black >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 49 teeth silver >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 51 teeth black >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 51 teeth silver >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 53 teeth black >>>> TA Zephyr 110mm outer 53 teeth silver >>>> >>>> So they are out there but getting harder and harder to find. That's >>>> part of why likely go to a 4-tooth difference on my next build. >>>> GAJett >>>> >>>> On Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 2:23:48 PM UTC-7 Patrick Moore wrote: >>>> >>>>> Where do you find rings in the 40-50 teeth range in odd teeth numbers? >>>>> >>>>> On Thu, Oct 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM GAJett <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I have ridden with a half-step+granny almost exclusively since about >>>>>> 1976 (thanks Frank Berto). I absolutely love these setups. My two >>>>>> current >>>>>> rides have only a 3-tooth difference up front (49-46-26 and 44-41-24). >>>>>> These are a converted 1974 Raleigh Competition and a 2010 A. Homer >>>>>> Hilson. >>>>>> Successful and reliable shifting has been done with a Suntour Superbe, a >>>>>> Suntour Cyclone, and a Huret Jubilee All worked without any problems, >>>>>> even >>>>>> the delicate Jubilee. I suspect that most older racing derailleurs would >>>>>> also work (e.g., Campagnolo, Shimano, Zeus, etc). >>>>>> >>>>>> Is anyone aware of any modern derailleurs that can shift over such >>>>>> narrow 3 to 5-tooth difference ranges? Mountain bike derailleurs have >>>>>> the >>>>>> necessary throw but the deep inner cages interfere with the middle ring >>>>>> while trying to shift to the outer -- so those are out. Descriptions of >>>>>> almost all the "racing" derailleurs are described as having a throw that >>>>>> is >>>>>> limited only to double cranksets -- so those seem to be out as well. >>>>>> >>>>>> So what are my options? >>>>>> a. Advice about specific "racing" styles that are known to work over >>>>>> a triple; >>>>>> b. Many current "racing" styles really CAN shift over a triple -- go >>>>>> for it; >>>>>> c. Many current "racing" styles really can be easily modified to do >>>>>> so (like filing down stops); >>>>>> d. Stay old school and order vintage parts. >>>>>> >>>>>> I've searched a dozen or more conversations here and have not found >>>>>> any clear answers. I'm sure many of you can steer me right (and that any >>>>>> decisions based on your inputs are on my own head and everyone else is >>>>>> blameless for their guidance). >>>>>> >>>>>> Thanks all for your wisdom, >>>>>> GAJett >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>> To view this discussion visit >>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5c5f7595-13e5-4668-8053-d7756a6b37dcn%40googlegroups.com >>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5c5f7595-13e5-4668-8053-d7756a6b37dcn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>> . >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> Patrick Moore >>>>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >>>>> >>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>> >>>>> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other >>>>> writing services >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>> >>>>> *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* >>>>> >>>>> *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* >>>>> >>>>> *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* >>>>> >>>> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c5be7881-4f79-4978-ae23-cbe48c41fb95n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c5be7881-4f79-4978-ae23-cbe48c41fb95n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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