SRAM Rival front mech problem

crescent

I have had a bit of bother setting up my front derailleur when fitting my SRAM Rival groupset to my new frame. I have done this many times with Shimano gears and also SRAM MTB gears and never had any problem so just approached it in the same way. However, I had to refer to the following guide on YouTube when I couldn't get it to work to my satisfaction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38vdA5OOBxI
The problem appears to be with the double tap mechanism: to move to the big ring you have to push to the right twice (long shift), the first push trims the mech position but the chain stays on the inner ring. By applying a second push to the right should move the chain to the big ring but all it does is release it back to its original small chainring position as it passes through the short shift mechanism, the result is I can't seem to make a smooth transition from small ring to big ring.
As it happens I have managed to get it working but at the cost of the trim function and it bears no resemblance to the set up procedure in the video. Annoyingly, the constant adjustments are taking their toll on the cable which is showing signs of fraying already which won't be helping things in the long run.
Any advice gratefully accepted.
Cheers

ride_whenever

Have you tried pushing harder? My sram front mech can be a pig to set up. It seems to like rough shifting to get good clean positive shifts.

amaferanga

Where is the cable fraying?

Isn't the trim intended for the outer ring?

Something doesn't sound right.

rozzer32

I'm pretty sure the trim is for the outer ring, well it certainly is on my Sram Force anyway.

Move the lever with a big push to move to the big ring.

First click when on the big rim trims the mech, second click shifts the chain onto the little ring.

crescent

rozzer32 wrote:

I'm pretty sure the trim is for the outer ring, well it certainly is on my Sram Force anyway.

Move the lever with a big push to move to the big ring.

First click when on the big rim trims the mech, second click shifts the chain onto the little ring.

That's pretty much how I have it set up and it is functional at the moment albeit not as slick as I would like. My concern was that it is at odds with the online video? They definitely state that the outer ring does not require trimming. I gave up with their method and set it up the way I always have in the past: set the limit screws by moving the derailleur by hand and then connect the cable with minimal tension with the mech in the 'relaxed' position. I could possibly tinker with it a bit more and see if the trim function returns but the cable is frayed due to the repeated tightening of the cable clamp and I am reluctant to make it any worse until I have a replacement cable to hand. When I followed the video I kept ending up with far too much tension in the cable and it felt horrendous/catastrophic when I shifted from outer to inner ring hence the repeated use of the cable clamp. I suspect this damage to the cable is making the problem even worse now.
Another issue I had was the positioning of the cable within the clamp. The clamp has a little lug on it as normal and I would normally route the cable on the right hand side of this as you look at it from behind, I have had to route the cable to the left hand side to achieve the shift from inner to outer ring.
I'm annoyed with myself for not being able to do this, I have done it numerous times before and it should be a simple task, I'd probably have been better not looking at the video and I'd have been none the wiser.

rozzer32

Can you link to the video you are looking at??

If I remember correctly on the old Sram force there was a trim on the inner ring. But with the new groupsets they moved the trim to the outer ring. So if you're watching an old video they might be talking about the old groupset and hence the trim function on the different rings.

crescent

The link is in my original post. I have just noticed some of the comments regarding the video and they mention this as well. D'oh!

styxd

SRAM front mechs are shite, buy a shimano one.

rozzer32

Yes that video is the old Sram Force groupset, not the new one.

Take a look at the Park Tools website, they normally have very useful info on adjusting and installing parts.

styxd wrote:

SRAM front mechs are shite, buy a shimano one.

Funny that, never had a single issue with my Sram mechs. I'm sure fishing tackle would be great though

crescent

rozzer32 wrote:

Yes that video is the old Sram Force groupset, not the new one.

Take a look at the Park Tools website, they normally have very useful info on adjusting and installing parts.

styxd wrote:

SRAM front mechs are shite, buy a shimano one.

Funny that, never had a single issue with my Sram mechs. I'm sure fishing tackle would be great though

Will do, thanks for that

rozzer32

Have a look at these:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/calvins-corner/sram-force-and-rival-group-service-and-installation

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustments

And this could be of use:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-how-to-set-up-sram-force-25902/

Hope this helps and you get it sorted. If not maybe just to to your LBS. I fitted new cables to my force and naturally after a while the cables stretched and the gear changing wasn't quite right. On the way home from a ride I popped into the LBS and they adjusted them in 2 mins and didn't charge me for it

wishitwasallflat

The trim is on the front ring now on double taps and one thing that helps is very high cable tension - set it tight even when in the small ring and the shifts are slicker.

sandyballs

I fitted an inline barrel adjuster to my Red so that i could control the tension in the cable. Works well now but have to admit my Tiagra triple was smoother. But then again i do not go into the small gear that often so can live with the 3 times a week i have to use it

crescent

Some very useful info on the Park Tools links, thanks for taking the time to post them.

juankerr

They take some setting up, some of it at odds with official documentation but once it's set, it's set. I don't use the trim function on mine at all.