Can't answer for Michael, but in my experience I get better shifting 
performance on a compact crankset with a standard (Chorus, I think) front 
derailleur than with a Campy derailleur designed for compact cranks. Go figure.

Ditto for my PBP bike, which has a Velo Orange compact crankset (48T big ring) 
and a old Campy Nuovo Record derailleur mounted to a braze-on fitting ... with 
the result that there is a *ton* of clearance between the cage and the ring 
(about a half inch, and I can't move the derailleur any lower because of the 
braze-on). It shouldn't shift, but it does ... flawlessly.

--Eric N

On Apr 22, 2012, at 5:40 PM, BCDrums <[email protected]> wrote:

> Michael,
> 
> Which Campy front derailleur are you using?
> 
> BC
> 
> On Apr 22, 7:38 pm, Michael Hechmer <[email protected]> wrote:
>> What FD are you using?  I certainly appreciate your desire to minimize
>> front shifts.  I switched back to a 44/30 double with the expectation I
>> could reduce them, and I certainly have.  But I also found that my 105
>> derailler wouldn't work across such a small front and so switched to the
>> Campy, and as a result got such excellent front shifting that I no longer
>> give it much thought.  Instead I pay more attention to front shifts in the
>> middle of the cassettes and having a nice straight chain line.   I have
>> also found that having a difference of 10 teeth is optimal, because it
>> produces a simple shifting pattern - after shifting rings I am always one
>> cog from the next gear.  But this combo lacks range and so only really
>> works well in a triple.  Experimentation has taught me that a difference of
>> twelve leaves me between gears and sixteen not only creates a very slow
>> upshift but also requires searching for the next gear in the back.  A
>> difference of 14 seems to be a nice compromise, with a decent front shift
>> and two clicks in the back to the next gear.  Often, in rolling terrain,
>> that front shift gives me exactly the gear I want.
>> 
>> Michael
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sunday, April 22, 2012 12:41:48 PM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote:
>> 
>>> Thanks, Michael -- more questions below.
>> 
>>> I should have been clearer that all of this rigmarole and these questions
>>> are premised on the desire to shift between rings as little as possible.
>>> Obviously, swapping out the 46/36/24 triple to a, say, 38/24 double would
>>> help greatly, but OTOH, the current triple has its own advantages, not the
>>> least of which it is already in place. The the question about using as many
>>> cogs as possible with the 46 and the 36.
>> 
>>> On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 8:39 PM, Michael Hechmer <[email protected]>wrote:
>> 
>>>> On Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:28:47 PM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote:
>> 
>>>>> 1. Is there any harm in riding the 46 up to cog #7? Note that this hub
>>>>> is an 8/9 speed hub with extra spacers behind the big cogs. There is 
>>>>> plenty
>>>>> of chain and the derailleur cage is just for'ard of vertical when in the
>>>>> big cog -- ie, nothing is really stretched -- I deliberately added extra
>>>>> slack for this.
>> 
>>>>> Not such a good idea, since the chain angle increases friction and wear
>>>> on the chain, rings and cogs.  Besides, If you drop from the 46x22 down to
>>>> the 36 you will get the next gear, a better gear spacing, and a straighter
>>>> chain line all the way down to 31.
>> 
>>> Is this because of the inward position of #7, or because of its size? Note
>>> again that the 34 (or the 29) is in effect the third ring from the inside
>>> since I installed only 7 cogs out of a possible 9. Once again, there is
>>> plenty of chain slack. Second opinion, then, about the 46/34?
>> 
>>>> 2. Can I use the 36 with cog #1?
>> 
>>>>> Why not?  It will work OK, but if you're going to be there for a long
>>>> time, the 46x20 will be a little better.
>> 
>>> Good to know. Most of my dirt riding is in our river valley bosque which
>>> is pancake flat except for the occasional steep, short grunt up onto a
>>> levee, so the 46 provides ample range (this is the context for that "46/34"
>>> question). But if I ride in dirt in hillier terrain -- say in Rio Rancho's
>>> sand hills and in the east mountain foothills -- the range on the 36 will
>>> be very desirable.
>> 
>>>>>   BIG APPLES KOJAKS  *46* 36 24  *46* 36 24  16 83 65  15 83 65  18 74
>>>>> 58  17 73 57  *20* *67* 52  *18* *69* 54  22 61 47 32 19 65 51 34  26 51
>>>>> 40 27 21 59 46 31  30 44 35 23 24 52 41 27  34 39 31 20 29 43 34 22
>>>>> I am still debating whether one of these has any real advantage for me:
>> 
>>>>>     36 24  38 24  11 88  12 92   12 81  13 85   13 75  14 79   14 69  16
>>>>> 69   16 61  17 65   19 51 34  20 55 35  23 44 28  24 46 29  29 35 23  28
>>>>> 39 25  34 30 20  36 31 19
>> 
>>>> The 12 will last longer than the 11 and you have more useful gears off
>>>> the 24 than you are showing.  You will need a short cage FD, like the
>>>> campy, to make this work without running the derailler into the chain stay,
>>>> and still be close enough to a 38 to shift smoothly.
>> 
>>> If I do switch to a double, it will very likely be with a 38 and a small
>>> cog of 12. I'll have to play with the current (LX?) fd. For one thing, the
>>> whole point of this exercise is to decrease fd shifting; second, I intend
>>> to install a bash guard in the outer position; and third, I rarely use the
>>> granny in the conditions I ride in: the hills are short enough that I stand
>>> and grunt or, if sand is involved on hill or flat and I can't power through
>>> it in a 50- or 60- something gear, it is usually too deep to allow shifting
>>> into the granny: by the time I manage the shift, I've bogged and fall over.
>>> (So to speak.) Also, I am sure I will be grateful for it if I ever tour.
>> 
>>> Fun stuff, this gearing nonsense! If I bore y'all with it, enter a
>>> subscription to collect enough to buy me a nice ss 29er.
>> 
>>>>> Don't wait up for me: I have been a gear nerd, freak, obsessive, fanatic
>>>>> for over 20 years despite fixed gear riding and I love the subject. Frank
>>>>> Berto has nothing on me.
>> 
>>>>> Patrick Moore, who does actually ride his bikes and just had a
>>>>> wonderfully pleasant and fast 20 mile dirt ride (flat) on the Fargo in the
>>>>> 46X20.
>>>>> --
>> 
>>>>> -------------------------
>>>>> Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
>>>>> For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
>>>>> http://resumespecialties.com/**index.html<http://resumespecialties.com/index.html>
>>>>> -------------------------
>> 
>>>>> A billion stars go spinning through the night
>>>>> Blazing high above your head;
>>>>> But in you is the Presence that will be
>>>>> When all the stars are dead.
>> 
>>>>> Ranier Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory
>> 
>>>>  --
>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
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>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit
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>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
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>> 
>>> --
>> 
>>> -------------------------
>>> Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
>>> For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
>>> http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
>>> -------------------------
>> 
>>> A billion stars go spinning through the night
>>> Blazing high above your head;
>>> But in you is the Presence that will be
>>> When all the stars are dead.
>> 
>>> Ranier Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory
> 
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