Death of the front derailleur?

Imagine a 29er without a derailleur, with an engine kit attached, being owned by George W. Bush. I think the internet would cease to exist.

….and he was wearing a Primal jersey.

dont hammer tits make your 500 King hub feel like an xt shimano.

once youve had good engagement hubs there is no going back

dont hammer tits make your 500 King hub feel like an xt shimano.

once youve had good engagement hubs there is no going back

That's why I just not into the idea. And you would also have to wait for the front to engage and then the rear. If you could get a fixed rear hub and a high engagement hammerschmidt would be perfect.

Saying that I'm still using my stock hub with 24pt engagement and its just a pain at some points. But I heard from a sales rep that they might be stocking 120pt engagement halo hubs that are super cheap. Can't wait to try it out.

Front derailleurs are stupid and I have not used one in years. That is my only contribution to this thread.

I've actually thought about putting a front derailer (or at least a granny ring I shift to by hand) on my bike for the fall/winter… If we get as much snow next year as we had this year I probably won't bother, but if I'm going to be doing spins up Fromme or the offshore mountains from November to February it would be nice to have.

For shuttles and bike parks a chainguide is a must.

The front D is not dead, but it is spending more and more time in a rocking chair telling stories about the 'good old days' to anybody who will listen.

i like my front der and 22t granny :(
but it goes on my ht, not my fs

29ers actually need a front derailleur

Depends on your ring selection.

With the number of cogs in a cassette now available it's now easier to to really not need a front derrailleur.

Though that is of course if your not one of those types who thinks that the nastier, the steeper, and shittier the climb is the better. Then you may need a derrailleur.

For a dedicated xc race bike, I'd run a 36t single ring and an LG-1 with that new SRAM XX 11-36t ten speed cassette. That would give you a huge range and a low enough gear to make it up a lot of hills. I'm stoked that 10 speed is finally here.

My front derailleur, friction shifter and stinger work well together. I can't see any reason to get rid of them.

For a dedicated xc race bike, I'd run a 36t single ring and an LG-1 with that new SRAM XX 11-36t ten speed cassette. That would give you a huge range and a low enough gear to make it up a lot of hills. I'm stoked that 10 speed is finally here.

For flatter courses for sure that would be good. Not as much fun for say the Test of Metal or stage races where you're getting more and more tired as the event progresses. It's kind of funny you know. I haven't read much if anything negative about ten speeds for off road. I bet if it was Shimano, the Shimano haters would be all over ten speed as being stupid useless blah blah fuckin' blah. I agree with you Wayne, ten speed, double or single cranks, awesome development. Shimano will be on it soon too.

Depends on your ring selection.

With the number of cogs in a cassette now available it's now easier to to really not need a front derrailleur.

Though that is of course if your not one of those types who thinks that the nastier, the steeper, and shittier the climb is the better. Then you may need a derrailleur.

Thanks, I was just stirring the pot. Nastier, steeper, and shittier climbing is always better. Especially without a front derailleur. :D

My 5' 5" body has a negative reaction whenever it get's within sight of a 29er whether it has a front derailleur or not.

I recommend all 29ers use a 40t single ring up front with the noisiest, friction inducing, leg draining chainguide money can buy.

This thread is fun but essentially pointless. Front derailleurs, meh.

For flatter courses for sure that would be good. Not as much fun for say the Test of Metal or stage races where you're getting more and more tired as the event progresses. It's kind of funny you know. I haven't read much if anything negative about ten speeds for off road. I bet if it was Shimano, the Shimano haters would be all over ten speed as being stupid useless blah blah fuckin' blah. I agree with you Wayne, ten speed, double or single cranks, awesome development. Shimano will be on it soon too.

I would definitely run the new SRAM XX setup with a 11-36 cluster and something like 28/42 chainrings.. plenty of low gears for climbing in that setup. As you've stated Shimano and others won't be far behind… FSA already has a double chainring setup for racing.

I've got the stock 44/32/22 and 11-32 on my hardtail. I could see myself going 36/24 and 11-34 though.

I am picking up a 26T granny gear from UK manufacturer Middleburn to replace the stock 22T on my SLX crankset, which never feels right when torquing a steep, technical climb

the front derailleur is not dead in any sense, it perhaps need the right setup to get the most from it, and 22T is not doing it for me!