Deore hack

after looking around for a front derailleur that had a flat outer plate and

a big enough clamp for Gary's massive tube

I realised that there was nothing for it

but to do some home surgery

here is where the kink used to be before I hammered it flat
look away old skool MTB purists.

now the derailleur can move the chain to the big ring
without clipping the crank arm as it goes around.
twas never made for such narrow tread cranks as these Stronglights

the other thing was to reattach the front and rear derailleur plates

to take up the slack — easily done by bolting the return of the outer plate to the opposite side

of the inner one.

you can also see a small amount of kink remaining in the outer plate.

oversized tubing requires an unusual clamping method.
trawled through a lot of old front mechs and never saw another
with a steel band like this.
attaches like a brake lever with an allen bolt ratcheting down the band
so that it cinches tight.