[ignition16]

I'm looking to take my '09 rig and put a few more gears on the back of it, and one possibility i'm looking at is 1x3. I've found some pretty helpful threads and sites with information on using modern cassettes with rear shifters and derailleurs, but i have been wondering about going down to as few as 3 gears in the back for some variety, but still a pretty straight chainline. This got me wondering if anybody has tried to pair a front 3-spd shifter with a rear derailleur. I found one thread where a couple of people mentioned that they might try this, but they never posted any results. Has anyone tried this yet? Does anyone know the actuation ratio of most MTB front derailleurs? I'm very interested in knowing if this will work.

 

[shiggy]

I'm looking to take my '09 rig and put a few more gears on the back of it, and one possibility i'm looking at is 1x3. I've found some pretty helpful threads and sites with information on using modern cassettes with rear shifters and derailleurs, but i have been wondering about going down to as few as 3 gears in the back for some variety, but still a pretty straight chainline. This got me wondering if anybody has tried to pair a front 3-spd shifter with a rear derailleur. I found one thread where a couple of people mentioned that they might try this, but they never posted any results. Has anyone tried this yet? Does anyone know the actuation ratio of most MTB front derailleurs? I'm very interested in knowing if this will work.

You would likely need to respace the cogs (more space between them), and experiment to find what would work.

A friction shifter would be easier, even a front Gripshift would work.