Front mech, stiff when changing gear

fosmaal

I have an Ultegra 10 speed front mech and compared to a 9 speed Tiagra front mech on another bike it's really stiff when changing gear from small to large chainring.

Is there anyway of adjuting the tension in the mech?

Thanks

Pagem

what do you mean, stiff? you mean it requires more force to push the lever?

is this a new mech with new cables? is the shifter in good nick?

Monty Dog

Try moving the cage by hand - apart from the spring tension, it should move freely and spring back into position - next try pulling the inner cable - does it move the front mech easily - check that the cable run under the bottom bracket is clear and that the cable isn't frayed. Pull back the lever hood and check the condition of the cable nipple and that it's seated properly - handlebar tape isn't fouling the ratchet? If still no joy, release and remove the inner cable - is it in good condition? Check the ends of the outer cable - are they clean and unfrayed? Does the shifter lever now feel 'normal'. For the sake of £2 replace the inner cable if not sure and go to the Park Tools website for details on setting up a front mech.

peanut

check the guide under the BB apply a little oil to the cables

Anonymous

fosmaal wrote:

I have an Ultegra 10 speed front mech and compared to a 9 speed Tiagra front mech on another bike it's really stiff when changing gear from small to large chainring.

Is there anyway of adjuting the tension in the mech?

Thanks

It's not Planet X Superlight Team frame by anychance?

fosmaal

Its stiff to push the lever.

The mech has a a few hundred miles on it. So i would have thought if it was going to lossen up it would have done by now.

Could be that the cable needs a little greese, i will look at that.

It's a spesh frame and it was fine before with the old 105 mech it had on it. So its not a frame issue.

Mel-UK

I recently had this problem after refitting a Tiagra triple that had formerly been OK. It turned out that the force needed to change-up depended on how the cable was fed to the bolt securing it to the mechanism. Much less force is needed if the cable is 'straight' as it leaves the final bit of routing to the mech. Feeding the cable around the securing bolt in the 'correct' direction, such that that the cable doesn't leave the channel under the bottom bracket at an angle made all the difference. Hope this makes sense.

Mel

Pagem

try a new cable and lube the lever and mech. make sure they are clean to begin with.