I have a 2008 P2C. Current setup is a DA Standard with DA Front Der. I want to put a DA Compact Crankset on the front. Concern is whether the DA Front Der. is long enough.
I have an '06 P3C and went with a SRAM Force FD (has two position, high and low) to accommodate the compact. Recommend you buy the compact, see if it works with the existing FD. If not, go SRAM.
I have a 2009 P2C with a compact crank on it. It's a Ultegra SL FD 6600-G and the crank is an Ultegra FC6650G 50-34. Not sure if this information helps or not. I also bought it this way, so I never had to convert it from a standard crank set up to the compact.
Been on the phone with my LBS and Cervelo this morning regarding this. I have an "early 2008" P2C and Cervelo said that a Shimano FD will not be long enough to accommodate the Compact because the mount bottoms out. They said in late 2008 they lowered the position of the mounting bracket so that it WOULD work. For my bike they said I need to use a SRAM Force FD (said any SRAM road FD will work but said Force has supposedly the best shifting and durability). The Force FD has two mounting holes, one for Standard and one for Compact. All of this makes sense because the first drive train I had on this bike was SRAM Red with a Compact and it worked fine.
I'm hoping, however, that I don't have a bunch of chain drops cuz that's what happened (a lot) when I had a SRAM Red drive train with a Compact.
Compact cranks MAY be more likely to drop a chain becuase of the 16t jump where as the typical standard has a 14t gap. The drop on a compact crank typcially happens if you are already cross chained and riding in the 50/25 then drop to 34/25 while under load (i.e. already climbing). It's the combination of the extreme chain line and large drop from a 50 to 34 that causes the issue... nothing at all to do with a FD.
There are three simple fixes to this: - Don't cross chain (i.e. get into your 34 big ring when you are in the middle of the cassette) - Don't downshift under load (i.e. shift down before you are climbing) - Buy a chain catcher for $30 and never worry again :-)
FWIW, I have run Rival, Force, Red, Ultegra, and DA... all work the same when properly tuned. The Red FD does flex a little but it has never caused an issue for me and always shifts just fine. The only time I have heard this being an issue is when shifting from small ring to big ring during a hard effort as the cage of the FD can flex and not push the chain all the way on.
Just put a new Ultegra Compact on my 2008 P2C, LBS said had to put SRAM FD on with it to work properly, took them at their word only cost $55. Have been on one 4 hour ride, no problems.
Comments
I have an '06 P3C and went with a SRAM Force FD (has two position, high and low) to accommodate the compact. Recommend you buy the compact, see if it works with the existing FD. If not, go SRAM.
So here's a quick update on this issue...
Been on the phone with my LBS and Cervelo this morning regarding this. I have an "early 2008" P2C and Cervelo said that a Shimano FD will not be long enough to accommodate the Compact because the mount bottoms out. They said in late 2008 they lowered the position of the mounting bracket so that it WOULD work. For my bike they said I need to use a SRAM Force FD (said any SRAM road FD will work but said Force has supposedly the best shifting and durability). The Force FD has two mounting holes, one for Standard and one for Compact. All of this makes sense because the first drive train I had on this bike was SRAM Red with a Compact and it worked fine.
I'm hoping, however, that I don't have a bunch of chain drops cuz that's what happened (a lot) when I had a SRAM Red drive train with a Compact.
I just put a Rival compact crank on my 2008 P2C without any problems. I run Ultegra.
There are three simple fixes to this:
- Don't cross chain (i.e. get into your 34 big ring when you are in the middle of the cassette)
- Don't downshift under load (i.e. shift down before you are climbing)
- Buy a chain catcher for $30 and never worry again :-)
FWIW, I have run Rival, Force, Red, Ultegra, and DA... all work the same when properly tuned. The Red FD does flex a little but it has never caused an issue for me and always shifts just fine. The only time I have heard this being an issue is when shifting from small ring to big ring during a hard effort as the cage of the FD can flex and not push the chain all the way on.
I'm right behind you.