Front derailer tension...far too stiff.

[Mushroomgodmat]

Hi,

Iv just swapped out all my cables due to my gear changing being too stiff. In the process of doing this I tried moving my front derailleur (Shimano 105) by hand (with no cable attached)....and it's really stiff. I don't think it's a case of lubrication as the movement is nice and smooth, it's like the tension spring is overly strong.

Now I have a ultegra front derailleur on my other bike, and doing exactly the same thing (ie moving it by hand) is about half the effort when compared too my 105.

Anyway, iv removed the derailleur, iv cleaned it and re lubed it, iv even left the lube a good hour to soak in. And that has made no difference at all...still way too much tension.

Anyone have any idea what the problem might be?....as far as I know it's always been like this. Iv only just got my ultegra bike so only just now have I been able to compair the two derailleur.

I might be missing something, but it just seems weird that one is so much stiffer than the other

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Now I have a ultegra front derailleur on my other bike, and doing exactly the same thing (ie moving it by hand) is about half the effort when compared too my 105.

What I do know is when I lined up about 10 different Shimano front mechs from different groups and vintage and pushing them at the cable fixing bolt they were not equally stiff. The stiffest was probably twice as stiff as the weakest.

If it is not friction (which I think you can tell it being different to spring resistance), then it is probably normal if the mech was never modified. I would have thought an advantage of stronger spring is it would be less susceptible to cabling issues. But if it is way too stiff then it can't be good for the shifter.

 

[Mushroomgodmat]

What I do know is when I lined up about 10 different Shimano front mechs from different groups and vintage and pushing them at the cable fixing bolt they were not equally stiff. The stiffest was probably twice as stiff as the weakest.

If it is not friction (which I think you can tell it being different to spring resistance), then it is probably normal if the mech was never modified. I would have thought an advantage of stronger spring is it would be less susceptible to cabling issues. But if it is way too stiff then it can't be good for the shifter.

Yep! I suspect there is nothing wrong with it, im just surprised at how stiff it is in comparison to the other... I'm going to take it into my local bike shop tomorrow and see if I can compare it to another like for like. Should help. Otherwise, Ill just buy another.

 

[Smurfy]

I've only ever had one front derailleur with a spring tension adjustment, it was the most expensive Shimano XTR model. I suggest getting plenty of WD40 in the pivots and working it by hand for 10-15 minutes to see if it loosens up.