Shimano Tiagra FD-4503-B

Price Paid:  $0.00 at came on bike

Favorite Ride:
Shire to Wollongong and back

Bike Setup:
I swapped all of the Tiagra triple groupset over to a Trek 5500 frame and swapped the Ultegra 10 speed onto this new frame with its compact crank for some road racing. I couldn't swap the fron t derailleurs because the Trek take a braze on type.

Summary:
This came on a bike which I am taking to leave in Taiwan, the mountains up there require a triple and bike was on special.

Strengths:
None. It is a part that I'd flag for an immediate upgrade. It shifts OK when the derailleur is at the right height but it just won't stay there.

Weaknesses:
The spring is so strong that when you upshift the chain to the big chain ring it actually pulls the band clamp down along the seat tube. By the end of a 2 hour ride you can't shift up to the big chain ring because the cage has actually dropped too far down. With a carbon frame there is a limit to how much you want to tighten the clamp. So I put some electrical tape around the tube which usually give s little more purchase but it still pulled the whole derailleur down along the seat tube.

Similar Products Used:
My training bike has Dura Ace and my Tri/TT race bike has Ultegra and I've never experienced such bad front shifting ever.