SRAM Rival Front Derailleur

Price Paid:  $45.00 at eBay

Favorite Ride:
Rolling along the St-Lawrence river

Bike Setup:
Cannondale CAAD4 w/ Alpha-Q Sub3 fork, Rival groupset + FSA front derr., Velomax wheels, Fizik saddle

Summary:
I have no idea how it shifts on a 53/39 crank, but on a 50/34, it does not perform very well. I had a hard time adjusting it and the shifts have always been rather sloppy. A complete annoyance. The inner plate is completely flat, whereas Shimano, FSA and campy derailleurs have complex shapes that really help shifting. The SRAM Rival grouppo is a GREAT performer, save for its front derailleur.

Changing to a FSA compact-specific derailleur has been the best thing I've done to my roadie in a while.

Strengths:
-looks good
-robust
-wide cage, not much chain rub even when cross-chaining

Weaknesses:
-does not perform well on compact cranksets

Similar Products Used:
Shimano Tiagra triple, FSA compact

Price Paid:  $45.00 at LBS with new bike

Favorite Ride:
The next one..

Bike Setup:
Serotta with full Rival group

Summary:
Inferior design in terms of durability.

The threads that hold the bolt for the cable appear to be threaded directly into the body of the derailleur. Mine appeared to have a heli-coil in it.

After approximately 7000 miles (including rain miles but not snow) on the 3rd cable change I noticed the heli-coil, it appeared the bolt had been cross threaded at the factory and had been repaired with a heli-coil. The Heli-coil appeared to have slipped over time due to cable tension.

After the 3rd cable change the bolt & threads no longer had sufficient strength to hold the cable when up shifting.

The bushings on the pivot points had already begun to freeze up as well but had not completely failed yet.

The clamp has begun to corrode possibly from getting hit with rainwater or road salt. (I did not ride this bike right throught the winter, but it may still have been exposed to some salt.)

This is the shortest lifetime of any front derailleur I've had on the road or for a MTB. I have frequently had MTB front derailleurs have frozen/deteriorated pivots from being splashed with mud.. but never with a road derailleur and I have never seen the bolt fail.

Shimano derailleurs appear to have a hardened nut pressed into the body of the derailleur that can be easily replaced. The cable bolt threads into this nut rather then directly into the body of the deraiulleur.

Strengths:
Shifts well with both 53/39 standard crank & 50/34 crank without having to use two different derailleurs. The wide cage makes it very easy to crosschain without rubbing if you set up the derauiller carefully.

Weaknesses:
Durability

Similar Products Used:
I've owned many front derailleurs.. 105, Ultegra, D-A, IRD's front derailleur, Shimano's Alivio, LX, and XT Triple front deraiullers.