Adjusting front derailleur

TheEveryman
TheEveryman Posts: 28
edited February 2018 in Workshop
I need an idiots guide for this, total newbie to bike repair and maintenance.

I have 3 front rings, videos online always show 2 and they whizz through a bit quick.

Comments

  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,410
    This:
    https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-he ... -section-2

    Set derailleur up for the big ring then trim tension to suit the other two along with the limit screws


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • I took it to my local bike shop and he fixed it, installed new cable for the front derailleur aswell all for just £5.00 fitted.

    I have another problem now, I have 3 front chain rings. I can go from the small ring to the middle ring to the big ring as normal but when coming back down from the big ring it jumps directly to the small ring, skipping the middle ring. But then it climbs back up again as normal.

    Bike shop man says it's the shifter inside the handlebars but how does it hold the middle ring only when coming from the small ring but not when coming down from the big ring ? Something obviously holds that gear.

    Hope that makes sense.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Sounds like he hasn't fixed it then.

    The shifter is a ratchet inside (not sure what you mean by inside the handlebars?)

    If it works one way it should work the other.

    Sounds like still needs indexing properly.
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  • I'm fairly new to cycling and this is the first time I've had to get a bit technical, inside the handlebars I just meant the ratchet inside the handlebars/shifters.

    Why would it find the middle ring OK on the way up but not on the way down ? I wish I could see inside the shifters because I don't understand how it works in there.

    I can deal with riding it I'll just go from big ring to middle ring via the small ring, a pain but I should be driving around september then I won't need the bike anymore.

    If he missed the problem my only other option is my local halfords, if I try anything myself I'm more likely to mess it all up again than I am to fix it. It's running better now than it was when new, gears drop straight in so I'm not tinkering anymore.

    Thanks.
  • trekvet
    trekvet Posts: 223
    Could be holding lever over too long, try just flick it.
    The Wife complained for months about the empty pot of bike oil on the hall stand; so I replaced it with a full one.
  • jlloyd
    jlloyd Posts: 131
    The Ratchet inside could be worn and doesn't catch on the way down. I think it catches on the way up as you are 'easing' it onto the ratchet. On the way down, you are 'dropping it' with more force and slips off the ratchet.

    I have the same problem on my Triban (microshift). A mechanic mate managed a temp fix on it, but did say it would go again, and it did.

    I can get it to change down from big to middle, by not releasing/keeping the pressure on the lever as I change down. It was bit of a faff at first, but got used to it and works for me.

    Hope that's of some help
  • JLloyd wrote:
    The Ratchet inside could be worn and doesn't catch on the way down. I think it catches on the way up as you are 'easing' it onto the ratchet. On the way down, you are 'dropping it' with more force and slips off the ratchet.

    I have the same problem on my Triban (microshift). A mechanic mate managed a temp fix on it, but did say it would go again, and it did.

    I can get it to change down from big to middle, by not releasing/keeping the pressure on the lever as I change down. It was bit of a faff at first, but got used to it and works for me.

    Hope that's of some help


    Tried that with the bike on the stand and it worked!

    I have a Triban 500 se with microshift shifters so probably the same as you have.

    Bike shop man said that as he dropped it down he could just hear it touching the ratchet but then slipping off as it went down to the smallest ring, he says it's just plastic inside and it's probably worn so there's some faith in my local shop restored.

    What was the temporary fix you had done ?

    Thanks.
  • jlloyd
    jlloyd Posts: 131
    Sorry for the delay - Yeah, same bike - tho did get almost 15,000 miles out of it before it went

    I think he shaved the the ratchet with a sharp knife. to create more of a catch. Like I say, it was temporary, lasted less than 150 miles.

    Am thinking of either replacing shifters to keep the triple, or try and pick up a cheap compact groupset and replace the whole lot. It's my winter bike/turbo at the moment, so not in too much of a hurry.