[tl1]

They are of course selling the complete bike as a 1 X 9 but I was wondering if there are issues with the front derailleur (like tire clearance) if one wanted to run a double or triple crank. I did try a search but didn't come up with anything after looking through a boatload of posts. I'm assuming the usual: there are some clearance problems when using big tires.

 

[singlespeedstu]

The El M comes with a cable guide on the underside of the bb for a front derailier, so I would think it would be ok.

I could have a look at mine tomorrow if no one else can help first.

 

[singlespeedstu]

Looks like there's plenty of room to me.

 

[JMKM]

The El Mariachi is designed to work with a front der. If you have one here's how it works. You can run the bushnell in the lower or upper position, as long as the center of the bottom bracket itself is in-line with the seat tube. If you look at the Bushnell with the BB out of it, you will notice a slot in the shell. That slot is meant to align the shell for running gears. When the slot and the screw for the cable guide are aligned the Bushnell is in the proper place for gears. The BB drop at this point is 68mm. The derailleur will work best in this position. The cage will align with the arc of the chainrings and shift correctly.

 

[tl1]

Thanks guys

It's good to know it's a possibility.

 

[Mike Brown]

I run an FD, there's some pictures on the Salsa forum of my bike. Great bike absolutely love it.
Be aware of the following:
-You want an "old-school" bottom pull derailleur; the "new-school" derailleurs that can be either top or bottom pull mount between the water cage mounts on the ST, forcing some adaptations to be able to use a standard bottle cage (longer bolts with stacked washers). Note that I am assuming the "old-school" would mount in a different place, I haven't tried it.
Hope that makes sense.
Mike