Front Deraileur Change

[Alan Farroll]

Hi,

After much searching on a budget I have placed a deposit on a Ginat Talon 27.5 version 4 see link below.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/en-gb/bikes/model/2014.giant.talon.27.5.4/15005/66627/

As I was on a budget I had to compromise a little. The front chainring has a plastic guard on the front and I would be worried this broke on rough terrain and damaged the chain rings. Is it possible to take this off?

Also, if you look closely at the picture on the URL, the front shifter cable doens't come down the back of the seat post tube but intsead veers off to the front shifter exposed because the front shifter has no "extender" it seems. Is it easy and expensive to change the front shifter?

Thanks in advance

Alan Farroll

 

[Cubist]

The front chainring cover is nothing really to worry about. You can remove them, but you would need to buy shorter chainring bolts at the cover itself provides a spacer. Apart from being a trouser guard, the cover has a safety aspect to it inasmuch as it stops the outer chainring slicing into your leg in a spill. Also, any impact that would damage the guard would do more expensive damage to the teeth of your outer ring. It also helps with chain retention to an extent. I wouldn't bother.

The front mech is top pull. The only way to run that is with a cable that stops halfway down the seat tube in a cable stop, with a run of exposed inner cable running to the actuating arm of the mech. A neater solution is a bottom pull type, but for that you would need cable guides underneath the down tube, and a guide under the bottom bracket. Your frame is not designed to do that, and to be honest its better for it. Down tube cables are more vulnerable.

The exposed cable isn't a problem, as long as you don't neglect everything so much that it rusts, and to be honest if the bike was that bad the front mech cable would be the last of your worries.

Enjoy your new bike!