# Front derailleur converter - ultegra and dura-ace



## neb75 (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi, I've come across a feature of the 6800 and 9000 front derailleurs that is not really described anywhere. There is a small pin that can be used to alter the path of the gear cable. It is described as a "converter" in the dealer's manual, I've copied a diagram of it below. (If you want to have a look at the dealer's manual, just google "DM-FD0002-03-ENG.pdf").
This converter has 2 positions, on and off, and you are supposed to choose between them using a "cable converter judgement tool"!
Does anyone know what the converter actually converts and what difference the on and off positions actually make to shifting behaviour?


----------



## Gearhead65 (Jan 23, 2010)

Looks like it has to do with the angle of the cable coming to the FD.

Dura-Ace 9000 Front Derailleur Setup | secondnaturecycling


----------



## neb75 (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi, thanks for the link! Yes I think you are right about the angle thing, but it seems like this feeds into the amount of range the derailleur has. I've been experimenting and what I've found, on my bike at least, is that with the converter on I couldn't stop the derailleur from rubbing no matter what I did to the cable length and derailleur angle. so I tried again with the converter off, and now it works the full range without rubbing. Happily, this is something I could never get to work on the 10s version.


----------

