6800 front derailleur set up

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

rliu

Veteran
I'm having a real tough time setting up the 6800 front derailleur, at the moment it is not shifting up from small to big at all and I have a lot of trouble eliminating slack in the gear cable on the small ring before screwing down the allen bolt that holds the cable. I'm trying this without an inline gear cable adjuster at the moment as I did not need one on my old 6700 set up, can anyone advise if that is the main issue? I was sceptical about how much difference a barrel adjuster would make.
 

Roadrider48

Voice of the people
Location
Londonistan
If the cable is tight enough it will be the limit screws that need adjusting properly.
 

lpretro1

Guest
Make sure you are using the pucker Shimano coated cables and outers with the 6800 otherwise shifting will be poor. Check that you have routed the cable correctly at the fd pinch bolt - its is different to old 6700 stuff. You should have got a little tool with the fd that helps you ensure the cable is running at optimum too and use that. read the Shimano tech docs - they give good and clear pics and instructions about how your cable should be routed - if you get it wrong you will get the problem you are having
 
OP
OP
R

rliu

Veteran
Unfortunately I got my components second hand and I don't have the set up tool, and to make matters worse the little converter pin thing you are supposed to rest the cable against has snapped off. I tried to make one of my own from a pin from a chain that I JB welded on but it didn't work, so I routed the cable like you do on 6700 or other 10 speed derailleurs - ie from the left side of the bolt. I am getting the lever to move when shifting and it is showing the 4 different trim positions, but the chain still would not move to the big ring, it is just catching momentarily but dropping back down again. I am running a Rotor 3D compact chainset so wondering if this is also anything to do with it, anyone got any other thoughts?
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
At the start, wedge the cage across a bit (ie away from seat tube) and take up all the slack before securing the bolt. Release (unscrew quite a bit) the top limit screw. Check that you can push the cage across, by hand, far enough to move properly onto the large chainwheel. Should then work, once you've adjusted it. If not, take a photo and post - @lpretro1 has already given good advice - look at the tech docs: maybe you can think of workarounds to do without the tool.
Read this. Shimano 6800 front derailleur set up guide.
http://si.shimano.com/php/download.php? ... 03-ENG.pdf
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom