Front Derailleur for Karate Monkey?

I'm using an old Shimano XTR FD 953 as recommended on the Surly site, I got it from Jenson, they also recommend LX

"Traditional swing style
Bottom pull
28.6mm clamp preferred (although a 31.8mm clamp with a 28.6mm reducing shim works just dandy... it just may interfere with your water bottle cage a bit more)
Shimano models LX M571 or XTR M953 work best. The LX are still available for the 2005 model year. The XTR is no longer made in 28.6mm clamp, so a 31.8mm clamp with a shim is necessary"

http://surlybikes.com/blog/spew/spew_12_karate_monkey_and_front_derailleurs/

The new Shimano SLX front d's have a smaller cage with more arc to it - they would be another option to explore.

The XTR m953 really is the best one for the KM. They are getting hard to find these days. Keep looking at ebay.

GreenLightGo said:

The new Shimano SLX front d's have a smaller cage with more arc to it - they would be another option to explore.

Click to expand...

SLX would be fine - because few other part will be SLX. On the photo on this page
http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p19123_SLX-Umwerfer-FD-M660---FC-M661-3-fach.html
the SLX derailleur seem to be relative tall - for a good tire clearance

Road derailleurs are also a potentially good option.

ionsmuse said:

Road derailleurs are also a potentially good option.

Click to expand...

Good Idea.
I've heard that the 2009 Ultegra STIs has no more fine steps for the front derailleur because of a broader cage like the mtb derailleurs. So the FD-6703 could fit

I've had good results with a SUNTOUR X-1 TRIPLE 28.6. Gives good tire clearance.

FWIW, i have an XTR front derailleur as well, not sure about the model # ... pretty old. But for best fit with my fatty rampage I had to get some surly monkey nuts, 2.0 I believe.

phlite said:

FWIW, i have an XTR front derailleur as well, not sure about the model # ... pretty old. But for best fit with my fatty rampage I had to get some surly monkey nuts, 2.0 I believe.

Click to expand...

You mean even with an optimal derailleur you need monkey nuts with a 2,35" tire?
...
Aha! I read that monkey nuts are delivered with all Karate Monkey framesets since 2007. So I will get them when I buy the frame next week