# Dura Ace front derailleur: 66g



## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

Again another way to get a lightweight front derailleur for MTB:
i just got this nice setup from a friend of mine to replace my previously used DA7800 with integrated clamp on my Scott Scale LTD. I already use a modifoed 7900 on my other Scale with a Speen top-pull adapter.

Remember the Scale needs a oversize 38mm clamp which can't be had with regular clamps.After trying a carbon clamp a couple of years ago which failed after just a couple of weeks i opted to go with shaving of those integrated clamps on DA derailleurs that have the common 34,9mm size for the next couple of years. Now i will give this setup another try.

So this setup is 8g lighter than the DA7900 version with integrated clamp.


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## Ninko (Jul 19, 2006)

The weight of mine with a Speen...


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## krystian xtc (Jun 17, 2005)

exact, 8-10 grams of speen. anything FD lower of sixty grams? perhaps the super record 11...


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## Ninko (Jul 19, 2006)

Wouldn't the 11spd cages get to small for mtb riding? The DA 7900 is 0.1mm wider than the DA7800 model. But the new 11spd cages of Record can be pretty small I think?


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

Ninko said:


> Wouldn't the 11spd cages get to small for mtb riding? The DA 7900 is 0.1mm wider than the DA7800 model. But the new 11spd cages of Record can be pretty small I think?


Last time i measured cage widths the 7900 was about 1mm wider. See according pics below!

Yes - for top-pull you would need the Speen adapter which weighs 8,7g with the stock steel bolt.Using Ti saves you some minimal weight but the endresult is about 74g for the Top-pull version.


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

krystian xtc said:


> anything FD lower of sixty grams?


Have a look at BTPs tuning of Record derailleurs.....35g!
http://b-t-p.de/B-T-P_Team/b-t-p_team1.html

If those are durable enough on a MTB is another thing...


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## *XJay* (Aug 24, 2008)

@nino & rest,

Where can I buy one speen adapter? Any URL or bikeshop to recommend?


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## quax (Feb 21, 2009)

http://www.speen.de


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## *XJay* (Aug 24, 2008)

found it...


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## mad dog26 (May 1, 2007)

*2010 Da*

It seems the 2010 DA is slightly different from 09 and speen adapter does not work so well.
I believe he is checking into a new version.
I had already bought 1 and so had a friend make me up 1 that works with the 2010 DA.
It works well.
if anyone is interested i can post some pics...


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## krystian xtc (Jun 17, 2005)

krystian xtc said:


> exact, 8-10 grams of speen. anything FD lower of sixty grams? perhaps the super record 11...


Yes, i known, but i think that use is only for road, and "record weights" bikes. but still i don´t see anything photo on scale of FD sub60 grams. someone have it, sure.


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## Dex11 (May 4, 2005)

Any reason why there is so much difference in width off the cage ?


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## ExtraSgrilli (Jan 20, 2009)

why not? http://www.carbon-ti.com/index.php?p1=prodotti&Cat=XP&Cod=XPULLDA7900


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## morbergsmed (Feb 1, 2008)

ExtraSgrilli said:


> why not? http://www.carbon-ti.com/index.php?p1=prodotti&Cat=XP&Cod=XPULLDA7900


Im running that setup on my exogrid - works fine and the weight is 74 grams

ill post picture tomorrow

Kristian


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## morbergsmed (Feb 1, 2008)

morbergsmed said:


> Im running that setup on my exogrid - works fine and the weight is 74 grams
> 
> ill post picture tomorrow
> 
> Kristian


Sorry weight is 75 grams:










Kristian


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## *XJay* (Aug 24, 2008)

what carbon clamp is there? BTP or Parlee?


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## morbergsmed (Feb 1, 2008)

*XJay* said:


> what carbon clamp is there? BTP or Parlee?


BTP


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## eliflap (Dec 13, 2007)

krystian xtc said:


> exact, 8-10 grams of speen. anything FD lower of sixty grams? perhaps the super record 11...


Tiso is under 60 g as stock :thumbsup:

here is under 40 g  

http://www.concept64.fr/Pieces_Velo...0/2/18_Allegement_derailleur_Tiso_Altero.html


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## nikoli8 (Mar 23, 2008)

nino said:


> Again another way to get a lightweight front derailleur for MTB:
> i just got this nice setup from a friend of mine to replace my previously used DA7800 with integrated clamp on my Scott Scale LTD. I already use a modifoed 7900 on my other Scale with a Speen top-pull adapter.
> 
> Remember the Scale needs a oversize 38mm clamp which can't be had with regular clamps.After trying a carbon clamp a couple of years ago which failed after just a couple of weeks i opted to go with shaving of those integrated clamps on DA derailleurs that have the common 34,9mm size for the next couple of years. Now i will give this setup another try.
> ...


Is the speen adaptor used on ur pictures here ?


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

nikoli8 said:


> Is the speen adaptor used on ur pictures here ?


No. I don't need any adaptors on my Scale LTD as i have changed the cablerouting to downpull.


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## SmilMick (Apr 9, 2006)

nino said:


> If those are durable enough on a MTB is another thing...


Im curious as to what you think makes a front mountain bike derailleur experience more than a front road derailleur. You are the king of using road parts for mountain bikes! Hell, you take road parts and shave them down to nothing while other riders are breaking mountain biking stuff like a normal rider would.... You might want to start referring to your bikes as hybrids as opposed to mountain bikes since so many of the parts originate on the road shelf.


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

SmilMick said:


> Im curious as to what you think makes a front mountain bike derailleur experience more than a front road derailleur. You are the king of using road parts for mountain bikes! Hell, you take road parts and shave them down to nothing while other riders are breaking mountain biking stuff like a normal rider would.... You might want to start referring to your bikes as hybrids as opposed to mountain bikes since so many of the parts originate on the road shelf.


WELL - if you had a closer look at some of the best Pros bikes you would have seen Road parts for years already.
Frischi used Dura Ace for years...the whole Swisspower Scott Team was using SRAM Force road derailleurs for the last seasons...:
http://www.frischi.ch/bikes/bikes.html

Shown below the bikes of Sauser and Naef...

What is it that makes people believe road parts are fragile? I personally have found the road derailleurs shift better than XTR. No downsides at all.


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## skyfire1202 (Jan 21, 2008)

My FDs, cable pinch bolts still long:


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## slashy (Dec 7, 2005)

Hi Nino, 

I'm looking into something similar for my look 986. I use 39 and 26 up front and thus have to bring my FD pretty low.
I'm in conflict with the water-bottle-cage-nut. 
I have 2 options :
1) use a Sram braze-on derailleur (the sram ones have 2 mounting holes so I can lower them enough) in combination with a separate clamp.
2) use a regular derailleur with an integrated clamp and dremel the clamp.

since you tested both setups, do you notice any loss in rigidity and shifting-quality when going from a FD with integrated clamp to one with a separate clamp ?

thanks a lot 

Jan


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## *XJay* (Aug 24, 2008)

Before I order from speen directly, will I be charge 19%VAT if my country is outside eurozone? How can I claim tax - from speen or locally?
P.S. I am currently migrated to Australia for business venture.

Anyonw know who is the dealer for speen?


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## doccoraje (Jan 12, 2004)

No problem, they substract VAT, if you are not in Eurozone, at least they did it when I ordered mine.


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

slashy said:


> Hi Nino,
> 
> I'm looking into something similar for my look 986. I use 39 and 26 up front and thus have to bring my FD pretty low.
> I'm in conflict with the water-bottle-cage-nut.
> ...


Hello Jan,
the integrated ones are for sure the sturdiest ones. But the clamp i have is solid.It has no flex whatsoever.However with slotted ultralight clamps i could imagine there is some flex. I tried a BTP clamp years ago and it definitely had some flex in it. That one also broke withon 2 or 3 months. But seeing the actual BTPs i think they have a different designs just like the BK clamp i use which feels rock solid. No issues whatsoever. The braze-on version is just a tad lighter but also more expensive.


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## Thomas Anderson (Mar 10, 2006)

Can anyone identify that FD on Sauser's 2008 Epic??

I'd like to go DA on my 2008 Epic but am not sure what top swing FD will work. Stock M970 XTR top swing is an unholy 149g!


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## oldassracer (Mar 26, 2009)

will a DA7900 FD + speen work with SRAM XX?


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## seppk (Apr 29, 2009)

yes I think it will. Manny Prado runs a dura ace front mech. with his sram XX. However he uses a grip shift up front so theres also the fine tuning ability that the XX triggers don't have... but its always worth a try. Beats the weight and look of that big, chunky XX front mech.


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## Dauer962 (Oct 27, 2009)

skyfire1202 said:


> My FDs, cable pinch bolts still long:


Where can I buy red bolts for front and rear derailleur?


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## Daniel_E (Apr 26, 2005)

My XX FD broke last week (see picture here) and I'm now looking for a replacement to fit my 38.2 mm Scott Scale frame.

I'm considering getting a DuraAce FD 7900 (plus speen adapter) but I'm not sure if I should get the 34.9 mm clamp version and modify it or the braze-on version plus a carbon clamp.

I'd love to hear some pros and cons of the two solutions. Also, there are several different suppliers of carbon clamps. Which one is better / longer lasting?


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## Ninko (Jul 19, 2006)

No big differences. I've looked at a few, MCFK carbon, Lotz carbon, BK composites etc. But the MCFK looks to be the most solid version in the area of the derailleur clamp, the rest of the clamp is almost the same at every supplier. Prices aren't that different either.


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

Daniel_E said:


> My XX FD broke last week (see picture here) and I'm now looking for a replacement to fit my 38.2 mm Scott Scale frame.
> 
> I'm considering getting a DuraAce FD 7900 (plus speen adapter) but I'm not sure if I should get the 34.9 mm clamp version and modify it or the braze-on version plus a carbon clamp.
> 
> I'd love to hear some pros and cons of the two solutions. Also, there are several different suppliers of carbon clamps. Which one is better / longer lasting?


If you go with the braze-on you just need to take out more money for such a carbon-clamp.

If you go with the 34,9 integrated clamp you need to have a dremel and some time to do the modification. I'd say if you are a handy man go for the dremel, if you want to play it safe get the clamp. It's easier and will fit while the modification needs a fine hand and some patience and will never fit as gentle on the frame as does the carbon clamp.


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## Daniel_E (Apr 26, 2005)

nino said:


> If you go with the braze-on you just need to take out more money for such a carbon-clamp.
> 
> If you go with the 34,9 integrated clamp you need to have a dremel and some time to do the modification. I'd say if you are a handy man go for the dremel, if you want to play it safe get the clamp. It's easier and will fit while the modification needs a fine hand and some patience and will never fit as gentle on the frame as does the carbon clamp.


I do have a _Dremel-knock-off_ but I'm not sure I'm handy or patient enough. Plus I would be seriously concerned about clamping pressure from an uneven surface on that carbon seat tube.

Now the question is which braze-on clamp to get. I don't want the clamp to fail because of a bad gear shift, so strength goes before weight. Any suggestions?

Also, how do I tell if this FD-7900 is a 2009 or 2010 version?


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## Daniel_E (Apr 26, 2005)

I ended up ordering an Mcfk clamp (plus a 7900 and a speen adapter). Should save me quite a bit of weight compared to my current temporary solution (I modded an XTR E-type to fit with my KCNC cranks).


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## markw1970 (Oct 8, 2007)

I won a DA7800 with integrated clamp on eBay a few days back for £20 and my Speen adaptor arrived today. I'm glad I came into this forum and learnt about the Speen adaptor. It's saved 80g from my previous front dérailleur - so very happy. Cheers everyone for posting about the Speen adaptor.


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## FierceRider (Sep 21, 2009)

Hey guys im thinking of getting the DA 7900 and the 7900 speen adapter, i use xo trigger shifters, has anyone used this combo? I just to know if it is as easy to shift with this como as it is if you had a xtr or xx front derailleur? Cheers guys.


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## Gezzza (Jun 13, 2006)

im running a dura ace 7900 and x0 shifters and i love it shifts far better than the xtr i had before


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## Tjay (Oct 17, 2006)

Will any of these road bike front mech work on a 22T/32T chain ring? (note: My crank was originally 3 chainrings but I removed the 44T.)


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

sure. will work ok, no mods needed for you to reach the outer 44T chainring


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## sfer1 (Feb 22, 2009)

Has anyone tried pairing a Dura-Ace 7900 FD with the new XTR SL-M980 shifters? If yes, does it work well?


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## Sonny (Feb 25, 2004)

sfer1 said:


> Has anyone tried pairing a Dura-Ace 7900 FD with the new XTR SL-M980 shifters? If yes, does it work well?


Yes, it works well.

(Scott Spark + Clavicula + Frm 40+26T)


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

*My own version of a top-pull adapter*

I spent a few hours fabricating my own top pull adapter. I started with a stainless steel lock plate from the hardware store (less than $6.00). I made a modification to the Speen design. I used a 6-32 screw as a locating pin that fits into the pivot on the derailleur. My adapter weighs 9.6 grams. With an unmodified fd-7800 34.9mm clamp the derailleur system weighs 91 grams. It works very well, the more force is required to go to the big ring.


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## Ottoturbo (Jun 24, 2011)

Tjay said:


> Will any of these road bike front mech work on a 22T/32T chain ring? (note: My crank was originally 3 chainrings but I removed the 44T.)


Depending on your frame, you might not get it to mount low enough to use the cage to restrict the chain going over the top ring, so you must use a bash ring.

On my frame, the seat tube is angled to far back and in combination with high profile chainstays and their downward angle on a 29" frame, I can't mount the derailleur low enough because the rear of the cage hits the chainstays.

Most MTB derailleurs are made so that the can mount low with angled tubes. I would like to see a braze on clamp with the mount on an angle and with the deraillure moved sligtly forward.


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