10 speed front mech on 8 speed drivetrain

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This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by nickdavies.

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10 speed front mech on 8 speed drivetrain
nickdavies
Full Member

Final setup niggle on this parts bin bike.
The 8 speed front mech wouldn’t fit so I had a root in the spares box and turned up a suitable SLX front mech, but it’s 10 speed.

Had a quick play last night and couldn’t get it to shift properly. Didn’t spend too long on it though. Can’t find anything confirming if it will work online… I think it should? Is it going to play ball or am I wasting my time? Everything else is 8 speed.

Haven’t had to faff with a front derailleur for years…

Posted 8 years ago

cynic-al
Free Member

It’ll be narrow, and modern mechs are very specific to chainring sizes, so it might just not work.

Posted 8 years ago

rocketman
Free Member

Didn’t have much success with a 10sp XT mech on a 9sp setup. Shifting was crisp and instantaneous but the chain rubbed in some unacceptable combos so I ditched it along with 300g of other hardware and went NW

Posted 8 years ago

FGF 701 The Hydrate Or Die Edition

nickdavies
Full Member

Bugger. Front mech options for 3×8 are looking pretty limited now!

Posted 8 years ago

OCB
Free Member

Might be worth looking for a basic 9 speed Deore M591 front mech?

I use them a fair bit as they just seem to work with everything (and I usually mix my transmission from road and MTB stuff, often using 8/9/10 spd on the same bike).

Tiagra triple front mechs seem quite forgiving too – they are useful on bigger rings, as the cage is a bit longer (but it’s a bit narrower too, so they can be just a bit more fiddly) – Unless you run friction shifting of course and can trim the front to your hearts content as you ride along.

Posted 8 years ago

DiscJockey
Free Member

It should shift fine as there’s hardly any difference in the gaps between 8spd chainrings and 10spd chainrings on those respective cranks.

You might find the chain rubs a bit on the front derailleur cage though, especially when the chain is running on either end of the cassette.

Are you running Deore LX/DX/XT ?

Posted 8 years ago

nickdavies
Full Member

So 9speed front mech will work fine with 8 speed? That’s not too bad I can chuck a cheap deore on.
Rest of setup is x5 rear mech x4 shifters 830 cassette and chain with sun tour cranks.

Posted 8 years ago