Front Mech Probs

a-t

hi folks,

some advice would be much appreciated if anybody has experienced the following with moving their chain up the front chainwheels?

i've got a giant scr2 and can;t seem to adjust the front mech for the life of me! i can change between all three front rings perfectly well when the bike is at home and i'm hand-spinning the cranks and clicking the gears but when i get out on the road it's very difficult and sometimes impossible to move the chain from the middle to the biggest front chainwheel, no matter what speed i'm going at (admittedly, it's usually slow!). i've fiddled with cable tension, screws etc. until i'm thoroughly frustrated.

anyone got any ideas?

cheers,
andy

John.T

Are you easing the pressure on the pedals when changing. It makes for a much easier change. If it works Ok on the stand but not on the road this could be your problem. Otherwise it may be the top limit screw is not quite out far enough.

bill57

Most of us have experienced this at some time. It's simply that, when spinnning the back wheel when raised or on a stand, the chain is not very heavily loaded and will behave differently to when you are riding the bike, when the chain is much more stressed. It's simply a matter of adjustment - the front mech needs to push the chain further out.

a-t

thanks for the replies folks.

i'll persevere with the screw limit settings through trial and error and hopefully work out how it needs to be set to work when i'm actually out on the road.

cheers,
andy

bill57

Andy,
It might not be just the limit screws. Does the gear cable go slack when the shifter goes to the inside position? (ie small chainring). If so you need to adjust the cable tension - it should be under tension even in this position, otherwise the first movements of the shift lever are just taking up the slack.