The 105 R7000 front derailleur won't shift

bikegangster

This front derailleur is rubbish. I don't like it. The previous model is better. I can't remember the name of it. Its got a long arm at the top. It might be the 5800 FD. Wish I bought another old derailleur off eBay instead of the new model. Anyway...

The R7000 is harder to pull than the old front derailleur. Sometimes I can shift to the 50 teeth ring, sometimes I can't.

First of all, my cable is too short. I am able to thread it in the derailleur and clamp it with the silver bolt on the top but no cable length left to go under the black adjustment bolt and then through the top cap. I don't think this bit makes a big difference. Shall I replace the cable with a new one?

I did check the two silver lines did match when adjusting tension. What else could I do to diagnose/troubleshoot? Cheers.

Edit: I looked at the silver lines again. They're not perfectly in line, just very close. I tightened the adjustment bolt a little more so the lines match up more. Will test the bike next time I use it.

The adjustment bolt is the only thing I like on the R7000, the 5800 FD don't have one.

seanoconn

Started again from scratch when I messed up my front r700 derailleur. This video helped a lot
https://youtu.be/9zZWAUp6oOE

There’s another one from the same guy if you have the braze version.

woodywmb

The cable clamp has to be spot on with 105. Altering the cable approach even to the minutest degree one side or another can determine whether shifting is or isn't precise.

photonic69

Nope. A well set up R7000 is so much smoother to pull with less effort. The 5800 on my other bike is fine but the R7000 is much better.
It's got to be your cable run or the way it has been clamped. Do you have the plastic cable 'protractor' thing to show which side of the bolt the cable goes?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Need to find motivation to properly look at my 5800 front mech, sometimes won't shift to big ring on new chainrings and chain. A tweak of the tension barrel by head tube usually sorts it, so presume it's a slight lack of tension.

me-109

Usually this is where it is clamped on the wrong side of the bolt. Don't use Shimano to be able to check, but their online tech docs should confirm.

bikegangster

seanoconn said:

Started again from scratch when I messed up my front r700 derailleur. This video helped a lot
https://youtu.be/9zZWAUp6oOE

There’s another one from the same guy if you have the braze version.

I used a similar video from Sick Biker! I screwed the black bolt inside the derailleur to push against the seat post even more so the cage is parallel with the big ring. Thats something i didn't do last time.

At home doing maintenance the shifting feels more responsive after following people's advice here. When you actually take the bike outside sometimes it shifts sometimes it won't! Its annoying!

photonic69 said:

Nope. A well set up R7000 is so much smoother to pull with less effort. The 5800 on my other bike is fine but the R7000 is much better.
It's got to be your cable run or the way it has been clamped. Do you have the plastic cable 'protractor' thing to show which side of the bolt the cable goes?

I made sure the protractor thing is pushed all the way to the right, against that silver clamp thing.

jonosas

Follow this link , it shows you how to set it in detail and gives a more understanding how this new version works. Worked for me just make sure you follow the correct procedures in setting it up correctly. https://cycling-obsession.com/installation-guide-for-shimano-front-derailleur/

photonic69

I have found that I need to back off the adjustment of the tiny grub screw as too much tension (the two lines lining up) means I get more chain rub on the front derailleur when in the larger gears on the cassette. I've got a 48 chainring so naughtily cross chain a bit.
If you are still getting resistance I'd suggest looking at the whole cable run from the shifters, the small white cable guides under the hoods, the outer cable under the bar tape, the cable stops in the frame and the run under the bottom bracket. If that is all OK then I'd be at a loss at what to do.