SRAM Rival 10 spd FD setup

tehtehteh

I get chain rub in small / small but the trim seems to be for big / big? which seems to make it useless as no one wants to ride this combo....

so am I supposed to set up the derailleur so there's no chain rub in small / small? which might bring the trim function into effect for the middle of the cassette?

my problem is it's already pushing the chain off the big ring quite often so if I move it out further surely this will only get worse

how the **** are you supposed to set this thing up? I've followed their instructions exactly, the chain rub doesn't bother me so much as I can avoid specific gear combos but I cannot have it keep dropping the chain

Garry H

I ride big/big, but never small/small. I don't think it can be set up for your preference. I don't actually know anybody that would want it set up that way either...

me-109

In the big ring position it trims inwards, so you won't have a problem pushing the chain any further out. Set it so you have 0.5-1.0mm clearance on the inner ring and 1st gear sprocket and you should be good to go.

StillGoing

It's a doddle. Having set the rear derailleur, get the chain in the largest sprocket on the cassette and small chainring. Disconnect the cable from the FD ensuring the front shifter is set for the small ring. Adjust the FD limit screw nearest the seat post until the inside edge of the FD is almost touching the chain. Attach the cable as tautly as you can. Use the shifter to shift up to the big ring still in the largest cassette on the rear. If it won't shift up or drops the chain on the outside, use the limit screw furthest from the seat post. Clockwise to reduce the movement and anti clockwise to increase it. Be sure to only do 1/4 turns at a time. It might not look like anything is happening but it will be. Once it shifts up and down, move the cassette to the small sprocket and try shifting with the FD again doing minor adjustment until you aren't dropping the chain on the outside.

Although SRAM is designed to run cross chained, you shouldn't do it for long periods. Presumably you're riding a compact set up with something like a 12/26 cassette? If so, small ring on the front and your 14 on the cassette gives you a decent flat speed of around 19h at 100rpm cadence. If your cadence isn't at that level, then use the big ring and a lower gear for a higher speed with less cadence.

Your trim is for use with the big ring, but if you really want to cross chain at the extremes of small/small, get yourself a SRAM Rival 22 front derailleur. Set up is the same but it is a bit more finicky to do, but will give you additional clearance if you need to cross chain.

patrickf

While on SRAM riding big/big usually works fine without rubbing, it's still not nice on the chain and should be avoided.

Small/small is a no-go unless you have one of the 22 groupsets (though usual cross chaining recommendations apply due to chain wear). The reason for this is that normally your chain will rub not just on the FD cage, but also on the inside of the large chainring. Even on the 22 groupsets you'd need one of the new chainsets to prevent rubbing as they've been specifically designed for that.

So to set up, make sure Small/Big and Big/Small don't rub. Then I also like to make sure Big/Big doesn't rub.

paxington

To have any chance of running small-small without any rub, having the FD perfectly parallel(to the front rings) is imperative.

tehtehteh

so basically I've set it up correctly already haha

just strange as I always thought big / big was a complete no no

thanks people

StillGoing

You should avoid cross chaining as much as possible. SRAM is designed to allow it within limits, but is meant for those few occasions when it is simpler to use the full range of the cassette for a brief moment instead of changing gears on both derailleurs. It isn't meant to be something you can get away with all the way up a climb or on the flat without putting the chain and teeth through maximum stresses. If you're going to need that gearing for more than a minute, move to the small chainring and another gear on the cassette. If you're finding the 50/26 combination is something you're using a lot, then why not consider moving to a 36 or 38 inner ring to give you a better option on the small ring? If your cadence is around 95rpm, a 50/26 combination gives you 14.3mph and stresses on the chainset. A similar speed is achieved with a much smoother running 34/17 or 36/19.

tehtehteh

yeah don't worry I never cross chain, I have a 50-34 crank and 11-28 cassette and it suits me fine, I was just confused that sram show preference to big/big rather than small/small as I thought big/big was a worse combo

StillGoing

Small-small will be because as mentioned earlier, the interference on the big chainring. There's a diagram in the link that examples it.

http://www.bicyclechainrings.com/crosschaining.html

tehtehteh

I have another question actually, to anyone who has experience with these shifters....

when changing down at the front I seem to have to put a lot of force into the lever, there's a big click and I can really feel it, much more so than when changing down at the back, is this normal? I don't want to find I'm putting excessive strain on the shifter mechanism over time

(changing up seems to be fine)

me-109

I wouldn't describe it as 'a lot of force', but it is a positive press. I think it is just more noticeable than on the rear shift because of the amount of cable tension being let go at once.

diamonddog

^^This

rafletcher

I had an SARM setup on a used Panet X bike I bought, where the pressure needed to shift against the front mech spring was ridiculous. In part that was down to the cable route through the BB shell (this was a carbon frame), and partly it seems that that's just the way it was. I replaced the groupset (I was deeply unimpressed with the feel and quality of the SRAM - it wasn't high end) with campag and used Gore Ride-on cables with the small outer tube through the BB canal, and it worked fine.

StillGoing

Get yourself a Yaw 22 front derailleur (it works with 10 speed) for smoother shifting on the front.

tehtehteh

ok I've come from Shimano so I'm used to near silent shifting, and I did expect SRAM stuff to be a bit more tactile, but this seemed like too much force needed and I was sure it would lead to an early failure of the shifter mechanism

after looking up the problem on the internet a bit I found a telltale sign that the cable is too tight, and that is that the trim feature will not appear to move the derailleur

spent ageeees tweaking the setup and still I couldn't get it to change up without a ridiculous amount of tension in the cable..... the solution was pretty simple actually..... back off the upper limit screw, the instructions say to leave a 0.5mm gap between derailleur and chain when in 50/11 but this isn't necessary, just set it enough that it doesn't pull the chain off, this allows you to use lower tension on the cable

I hope that helps someone else having problems, the rear is easy but the front is a real faff to set up - the sweet spot is very small and difficult to find, but it will shift smoothly when you do find it