For the winter, I started to think about an alternative to my two race and gran fondo bikes for riding through bad weather on bad roads in my chosen home country, Taiwan.
Previously, I've converted my 26' Mountain Bike frame into a 700c bike. Passing this bike several times a day, I considered changing it back to the original 26' wheels with inner tubes and tires that were unused and stored. Although the slogan 'steel is real' is popular, I believe that bicycle frames constructed from alloy are as 'genuine' as any other material. During the years, advancements in material, tubing, and welding techniques removed the roughness of this material. There is no sticker specifying the material or if the tubes are butted. But from the weight, I would judge that these are robust straight alloy tubes on my 'made in Taiwan' Wheeler frameset.
Switching the bike from a road bike back to a mountain bike, I used my old parts combining them with some necessary new parts:
Old parts from my parts bin:
- frame (Wheeler alloy), fork (alloy), stem (CRMO), handlebar (alloy), grip, brake levers (Tektro), shifters (SRAM X7, old 3x9)
- saddle, seat post (alloy)
- front & rear wheels, inner tubes, tires
- front cantilever brake
- chain, rear derailleur
New parts I wanted to change or had to buy
-Crankset:
The 'old' road (130mm rear tire width) crankset did not have enough space for the chainstays on this mountain frame, and the 'old' MTB crankset had some issues. To save some money, I bought a no-name new square-tapered 44/32/22T 27-speed crankset with a new, matching 113.5mm taper bottom bracket.
-Front Derailleur:
The mountain bike frame has a pull-up (cable pull from the seat tube) compared to my road bike's pull-down (from the bottom bracket), so I could not use them. I had only one pull derailleur, the Shimano FD-CX70. But it was designed for 2x while I wanted to keep the original 3x configuration of a mountain bike.
-To prepare for a future upgrade focused on speed, I needed to purchase a new 3x MTB front derailleur capable of accommodating up to 48T.
There are plenty of NOS (new old stock) and even new front derailleurs out there, but the standard seems 44T, only a few can handle larger front chainwheels. After burning some midnight oil, I found a NOS Shimano LX FD-T660/T661 front derailleur:
- Hyperdrive
- Wide Link
- Down Pull
in original, unopened packaging, including the screw and two bands/adapters for 34.9 and 31.8mm! I paid NTD500 or USD15.60 excluding shipping (NTD60 or USD1.90) for this technical marvel of a bygone time.
Historical Background (from Shimano's homepage)
Following Shimano Deore XT, LX appeared in 1990 as a model with further improved operability and safety that was easy for even entry-level users to handle. L in LX was derived from 'Luxury'. After introducing SLX (Sport LX), Shimano made the DEORE LX more suitable for trekking bikes and launched the T660 series in 2008.
Mounting of the front derailleur:
The original Shimano packaging came with two 31.8mm adapters that matched my frame. Peeling off 2 pieces of stickers of each adapter and fixing both inside the clamp was a piece of cake. The original orange sticker indicating the teeth of the largest front chainwheel eased the work for the proper height of the derailleur; fixing the bolt after a parallel adjustment of the derailleur can be done by everyone.
I had to work with the adjustment screws to set the highest and lowest chainwheel correctly. After fixing the cable with the screw, the whole setup was roughly done. After some turns of the adjustment screws, the LX front derailleur worked with the SRAM X7 shifters like index shifting: each click of the shifters had the proper response, whether it was up- or downshifting.
On the Road
Riding to a local post office revealed that the shifting with Shimano LX FD-T660/661 front derailleur was reliable - direct and crisp. Even on my way back home, shifting uphill and under load, it worked as intended even with a worn rear 9-speed cassette and an old KMC chain, which will be replaced soon.
Comparing the quality and workmanship of this old Mountain Bike Shimano LX front derailleur with the newer road Shimano R7000 105 front derailleur made me feel that there were indeed 'good old times'. The older model looks better, and feels of higher grade - in function and finish. If you can find a NOS, don't miss the chance!
Positive
-OEM packing
-good price
-easy to assemble
-reliable and precise performance
Negative
-needs some strength to shift
I hope that the reader can enjoy my short review of the Shimano LX FD-T660/661 Front Derailleur and can take something away. I would be glad if I could help on the way to becoming a better cyclist and more interested in the background and techniques of the sport.
Ride carefully, Gerhard
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