Front derailleurs at cheap prices from starbike.com

Together with the rear derailleur the front derailleur is responsible for the gear ratio of derailleur shift systems. The front derailleur moves the chain on one of the chainrings in order to transfer the power at an efficient pedaling frequency into the rear wheel.

Front derailleurs are being actuated from a handlebar-mounted shift lever thru a cable.

Front derailleurs for mountainbikes come in three different versions:

- „Top Pull“ models, where the cable comes from the top tube of the frame
- „Down Pull“ or „Bottom Pull“ models, where the cable routing goes along the chainstay
- „Dual Pull“ types, where the cable can come from both directions

The required type depends on the cable routing of the bike frame. On a road bike the cable usually comes from underneath while mountainbikes can feature both cable routing types.

Another distinction of MTB front derailleurs is their cage position. Down swing front derailleurs have the cage below the clamp, while top swing models have the cage above it.