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My Front derailleur won't shift?

Help, front derailleur won't shift?

  • Hi I've got a road bike with SRAM force and the front derailleur won't shift up from the small cog. I've tried tightening up the cable and when I move the shifters I can ...show more

  • Answer:

    Try the following: First shift the chain to the largest cog on the rear cassette and the smallest front ring. Loosen the pinch bolt on the front derailleur. Pull a little tension on the shift cable while you activate the shifter to move it to the proper position for the small ring. Now turn the barrel adjuster at the shifter or on the frame clockwise all the way in, then back off by one full turn. Now go back to the derailleur and pull the cable taut, but not too tight, and re-tighten the bolt. My guess is that your problem may be a combination of two things, first that an improperly tightened pinch bolt may have allowed the cable to slip and when you re-adjusted the derailleur you inadvertently did so with the shifter still in the big ring position.

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You might need to setup your front derailleur again (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75). An incorrectly tightened pinch bolt, damaged cable, or slipping FD can all be reasons for your shifting issues. FD problems can be so irritating that it's often best to start at the beginning. I only suggest this if the bike was bought second-hand and you're a decent home mechanic. Otherwise, see the LBS. If you did buy the bike new (and the components are still under warranty), give it to the LBS to handle if think it's beyond your skill level. If there's a slight issue with the shifter, and you manage to break it during your wrenching session, don't expect SRAM to warranty it.

Peter Griffin

the bolt that fastens the cable probably let the cable slip go back to smallest gear on the shifter loosen the bolt at the derailleur put all adjusters [barrel] in 'loosest' position pull cable tight tighten bolt start tightening the adjuster it may still be too loose there may be other tricks you have to employ like temporarily loosen the limit screw to let the der go farther toward the bottom bracket than usual - start over the problem is how to get it tight enough after that you have to adjust the indexing with the barrel thingy wle

☼wle☆atlanta☼

Get the chain back on the smaller gear. Then check the tension of the shift cable. It should be snug, but not overly tight. Then try shifting into the higher gear. If it doesn't go...there should be a tension knob either by the derailleur or up by the shifter. I'm not that familiar with road bikes. On my two bikes, the tension knob is by the shifter itself. Clockwise to loosen - counter-clockwise to tighten. If all else fails...should be no more than a few bucks at your LBS. Good luck.

Old Hippie

Bob A

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