Very stiff front derailleur - Project Sports
Nederlands | English | Deutsch | Türkçe | Tiếng Việt

Project Sports

Questions and answers about sports

Very stiff front derailleur

6 min read

Asked by: Patrick Liu

Why is it so hard to shift my front derailleur?

Common Front Derailleur Problems. Front derailleurs may cause sluggish or inaccurate shifting because (A) the derailleur body is not positioned properly, (B) the derailleur limit screws are not adjusted correctly, (C) the mechanism is dirty or (D) the cable is damaged or improperly tensioned.

How do I make my front derailleur smoother?

Usually, you can shift smoothly up from the smallest ring into the next gear right away, but if there is hesitation going up add cable tension either through a barrel adjuster or by loosening the pinch bolt, pulling the cable tighter, and tightening the pinch bolt down again.

How do you fix a stiff bike shifter?

Quote from video: If there was I go ahead and flush this with like wd-40. Until I got it moving freely and then spray with lubricant.

How do you fix a front derailleur that won’t shift?

Pull the cable as tight as feasible with your fingers and retighten the anchor bolt. Try to shift up to the larger chainring. If the chain won’t shift or feels sluggish, twist the inline barrel adjuster further up the cable (turn it anti-clockwise) to increase the tension and try again.

Do front derailleurs wear out?

That said, derailleur springs will lose tension overtime, and pivots will get sloppier. Shifters can wear out too (if you ride enough), and most cannot be serviced back to health.

How do you adjust the tension on a front derailleur?

Quote from video: The limit screws. Just how far the derailleur can move either out or in but to actually control the movement of the derailleur. That's all down to cable tension. So limit screws limit the derailleur.

Can I remove front derailleur without breaking chain?

If the derailleur is riveted closed, you won’t be able to take it off the bike without breaking the chain or destroying the derailleur. If you’re going to replace it, then you’ll need to break the chain anyway to put the new derailleur on. So if that’s the case, then just buy a chain tool and new derailleur.

How tight should front derailleur cable be?

Holding the cable tightly so it can’t slip, pull up with the pliers to remove all slack in the cable and hold it like this as you tighten the anchor bolt to secure the cable in place. It should now be tight enough so that when shifted onto the large chainring, there’s no rubbing.

Should you adjust the front or rear derailleur first?

In a nutshell, adjust the front derailleur first, then the rear. Show activity on this post. If the derailers just need minor tweaking (they are basically in adjustment but are “not quite right”) then you adjust the one that is obviously wrong, check the overall adjustment again, then again adjust what needs adjusting.

How do I stop my bike chain from rubbing on the front derailleur?

If the chain is rubbing the outer edge of the derailleur cage, try increasing the cable tension using the barrel adjuster by turning it counterclockwise one quarter to one half turn at a time—increasing the tension will pull the cage out and farther away from the bike.

What does it mean when your gear shift is hard to move?

When a shifter becomes hard to move, it is usually the interlock cable. AKA, shift cable. This cable slides in a housing and connects directly to the transmission. When this cables becomes worn, it gets hard to move inside the housing.

How do I lubricate my gear shifter?

Quote from video: Use an evaporative degreaser like white lightning clean streak to remove the grit and dried up grease that is accumulated in the shifter mechanism.

How do you fix a stuck gear shifter?

Quote from video: And I'm gonna go ahead and stick this down into that shifter release there push down on it and. Now. I can shift into any gear I want to very simple and very straightforward.

Are all front derailleurs the same?

There are two different types of braze-on front derailleur interfaces: one is commonly found on road bikes, the other on mountain bikes. The interfaces are different enough that a quick visual inspection should allow you to determine which type of interface you will need.

How long does a derailleur last?

Good quality rear derailleur can last between 3 to 5 years, when unbranded or low-quality ones can last for 2 years, no matter what the durability of the rear derailleur the jockey wheel will wear after time and it can be replaced very cheaply with new ones, on the other hand, front derailleur can last almost

What does the H limit screw do?

Quote from video: Похожие запросы

What’s a braze on front derailleur?

The braze-on front derailleur has a small nub and an internal thread to accept a mounting bolt. If a bike has a braze-on front derailleur, it means that there is a bracket on the bike frame to bolt the bike’s front derailleur rather than having a clamp around the bike’s seat tube.

What do the screws on a front derailleur do?

Like a rear derailleur, the front derailleur will have limit screws marked ‘H’ and ‘L’. These screws are used to stop the cage at the extreme ends of travel. The end of the limit screw strikes the linkage, and this stops cage travel. The ‘L’ screws determines the amount of innermost cage travel.

Why do mountain bikes have no front derailleur?

Mountain bikes no longer have a front derailleur because of the invention of the wide range rear cassette, meaning you can have the same range of gears with fewer parts, which saves weight, and keeps things simpler. Also making the bike build look cleaner.

Which way do you turn a barrel adjuster?

To do this, turn the barrel adjuster (see below) counter clockwise. If the chain is not shifting well from the largest to the smallest chainring, then the inner wire tension needs to be lowered. To do this, turn the barrel adjuster clockwise.

Which way tighten cable on barrel adjuster?

A bike barrel adjuster works by increasing and reducing cable length. Turning the barrel adjuster clockwise will reduce the tension (increase length), while turning it counterclockwise will tighten the bike cable. A barrel adjuster will help you fine-tune your brakes and shifter with proper adjustment.

Do you need barrel adjusters?

Brake and shifter barrel adjusters are necessary to fine tune caliper engagement and shift indexing. I do not recommend removing them as one day you will wish they were there. Backing a barrel adjuster all the way out will not strip the threads as there is no thread engagement therefore no damage to the threads.