Ultegra Front Derailleur Problems

charliew87
charliew87 Posts: 371
edited March 2014 in Workshop
Morning,
Have some front derailleur issues with my new Canyon. Got it 6 weeks ago, had some chain rub on the front which I assume is normal out the box. Took to LBS who tweaked it and had it working fine for all of 10 miles.

The chain rub has since come back, I get it when in the first 6 of the 11 gears on the rear when in the big ring. The trim function doesn’t help, it actually makes it worse.

I managed to tweak the front derailleur when experiencing similar issues on my old bike with Sora without too many issues, however I’m really struggling to make it work when doing it myself at home. I’ve played with the two trim screws and they’ve done bugger all to help. I basically need to move the cage out about 1mm I think. I’m also not sure if it’s meant to be perpendicular to the ground and parallel to the chain or if the angle it’s at now is correct (that’s how it’s always been.)

Any tips of things I could be doing wrong would be massively helpful, otherwise I’m back to the same shop again tonight and have to force them to fix it on the spot for free basically.

Cheers

(quick video of the current situation here if that helps - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9qe4p39NsQ (ignore commentary!)
Canyon AL Ultimate 9.0

Comments

  • dgunthor
    dgunthor Posts: 644
    sounds like the gear cable has stretched (perfectly normal) - do you have a barrel adjuster on the frame? the cable needs tightening. If you put the front mech in the small ring position, look at the inner cable along the down tube - is it tight or loose - suspect loose which is why the front mech cage isn't moving out as far as it should as some of the lever movement is just taking up the slack
  • dgunthor
    dgunthor Posts: 644
    PS don't adjust the limit screws - these affect the min/max range of movement only (keep the chain from falling off inside the small chainring and outside the large chainring)
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    I assume thats with using the trim function of the levers as well?
  • dgunthor
    dgunthor Posts: 644
    that's what he said "The trim function doesn’t help, it actually makes it worse."
  • charliew87
    charliew87 Posts: 371
    Should gear cable stretch be an issue after 10 miles on a new bike though?!
    Canyon AL Ultimate 9.0
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    dgunthor wrote:
    that's what he said "The trim function doesn’t help, it actually makes it worse."

    not sure if there was confusion with naming the Limit screws as Trim also.
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    charliew87 wrote:
    Should gear cable stretch be an issue after 10 miles on a new bike though?!

    as far as I understand it, and I am not claiming to be an expert, I thought cables didnt stretch, it was just a case of things all settling down and fitting into place, like the cable housing and the ferrels etc. So initially you see the effect of stretching due to this and then it dies down as everything finds its place.
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • Semantik
    Semantik Posts: 537
    Dude, if that is an Ultimate AL it looks like there is an inline barrel adjuster on the gear cable to the front mech(looked at pic on their website, but correct me if yours is not the same).

    If that IS the case first thing to try would be:
    alter the cable tension using that barrel adjuster then see if the front mech will move further out to give more chain clearance. Make the adjustment while the mech is in the small chainring position then you're not fighting against max cable tension when doing it.
  • charliew87
    charliew87 Posts: 371
    LBS sorted it out last night FOC in the end. Something to do with the cable. Managed 82 chain rub free miles today so all seems to be in order again.
    Canyon AL Ultimate 9.0
  • bottlerocket
    bottlerocket Posts: 1
    One thing, I am pretty sure the 2014 Ultegra does not have a trim function. So trim will not make it better or worse. Glad you got it sorted.
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    bottlerocket wrote:
    One thing, I am pretty sure the 2014 Ultegra does not have a trim function. So trim will not make it better or worse. Glad you got it sorted.

    My 6800 has trim.
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    Chris Bass wrote:
    charliew87 wrote:
    Should gear cable stretch be an issue after 10 miles on a new bike though?!

    as far as I understand it, and I am not claiming to be an expert, I thought cables didnt stretch, it was just a case of things all settling down and fitting into place, like the cable housing and the ferrels etc. So initially you see the effect of stretching due to this and then it dies down as everything finds its place.

    You understand right!

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