Sorting Front Derailleurs

From Bike Collectives Wiki

Front derailleurs are mostly very similar, and you only need to check one thing to sort them.

Double or Triple?

Here is a picture of a double next to a triple. You can see how much taller the distance in red is on a triple. This is the distance from the bottom of one side of the cage to the bottom of the other.

One type of front derailleur is meant to be used on bikes with two chainrings in the front, and is called a "double" front derailleur. The other is used with bikes with three chainrings in the front, and is called a "triple". The only difference is that one side of the cage (the metal plates that push on the chain) is taller on a triple.