Triple front derailleur probs

thehairs1970
thehairs1970 Posts: 142
edited May 2018 in Workshop
I have recently renewed the front derailleur cable on my daughters bike. It is an old Giant Boulder that is set up for touring. I have a problem though. When downshifting the derailleur won't move to the middle ring and if you shift again it, not surprisingly, drops onto the small chainring. Going up is no problem and it shifts as you'd expect. What to do?

Comments

  • Andymaxy
    Andymaxy Posts: 197
    Sounds like too much cable tension to me.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Release the cable clamp - does it automatically spring to the lowest position? If the pivots are a bit stiff, give it an ample dose of WD40/GT85 or similar and work the mech by hand to see if it frees-up. Downshifts are really down to the mech spring unless the cable is really damaged / clogged up. If the problem persists, it could be down to the shifter sticking / not releasing the cable
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    And if it does turn out to be stiff pivots in the derailleur itself, save yourself a lot of @rse-ache and several litres of WD40 / lubricants, and just buy a new mech straight away.
  • Bumo_b
    Bumo_b Posts: 211
    This might seem a little odd but you could also try release the upper limit screw a quarter of turn. I had the same problem when I used a triple and the mechanic (I normally fix my bike but couldn't figure it) told me that the upper limit screw could be adding extra tension when put on the large ring if you can only just squeeze it on there. Had no problems after he did that. Don't loosen too much though, otherwise you will obviously throw the chain off.

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