Help - Front Mech

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martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Hi,

Hope someone can offer advice. My front mech is driving me nuts. It just won't shift down to the small ring. First I turned it upside down, messed about with the limiter screws etc till it was shifting properly. Took it out on the road, half way up a steep hill, shift down and nothing! Stopped pedalling for a bit, still nothing when I pushed forward, backpedalled for a bit (well you never know) but still no movement. The mech moves ok just not the chain.

Anyway back to the house and I've now got it where if you lift the back wheel off the floor and push the pedals it shifts. Out on the road still nothing.

I admit I'm c**p at gears and brakes but either I've got a ghost in the bike that only plays on the road or I'm missing something easy.

Ta for any advice.

M
 

RecordAceFromNew

Swinging Member
Location
West London
Since you get to the small front ring when there is little cable tension and the front mech is sprung back to its natural position, if I were you I would check if the cable is sticky / kinked / rusty.
 
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martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I'll try changing before the hill and see if that works then I'll have a look at the cables or may get LBS to do that (I am seriously bad with gears!!!! :sad:)

M
 

karan733

New Member
I had exactly the same problem last week, where I couldnt change to the small ring on a double. I played with the stop screws, but the thing that solved it was loosening the gear cable at the front mech till it was happy shifting down, then tightening it up slightly so it was happy shifting up too. Once the cable is the right tension, I fine tuned the stop screws so the chain wasnt being shifted off the rings altogether.

Its something well worth doing if, like me, you are new to bikes. It is just a question of diligence and persistence to find the right settings, but it gives you a great deal of confidence to tackle harder tasks once youve sorted it :tongue:
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Just get your 3-in-1 and dribble it down the cable housing, adjusting the whole bike as necessary to get the tube as vertical as you can to help the oil penetrate. Wiggle the shifter as well ('shift' up and down, to drag cable through - this also helps the oil get into the tube).
 
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martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
I haven't actually been on the bike for over a week (tendonitis in my foot) so i nearly fell off the thing today when I changed down (I've kept trying it just to see what happens) as smooth as butter!! Trouble was the bl**dy thing wouldn't change back up again when I got to the top of the hill. More trial and error tonight I think.

The frustrating thing is that how it behaves on a stand and how it behaves on the road have nothing in common.
 
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