How to get maximum tension on front gear cable

[Lauris]

So today my front mech shifter arrived.
Hopefully final piece of the puzzle of replacements.

I am struggling to get tension in front mech.
I attached a picture is this the right way to tighten it?

I know that barrel adjuster should do the job but its not.

Front mech is not seized or anything as I can move it by hand.

 

[simongt]

Remember that the mech will naturally pull inwards towards the frame, so you'll need to wedge it with something centering on the outer chainring to get the tension about right then tweak it from there.

 

[iluvmybike]

Not very clear from photo and you haven't said which mech it is but do check you have routed the cable correctly - that doesn't seem quite right. There may be a pin it has to go around. If the barrel adjuster isn't working then it has got to the end of its travel. Slack cable off - wind barrel adjuster in - route cable correctly and tighten at pinch bolt - then use the barrel adjuster to fine tune.

 

[Ian H]

Adjust the inner limit screw so the mech is over the inner ring. Set the lever to smallest gear. Barrel adjuster fairly well in. Pull the cable taut (pliers help) and tighten the clamp. Now spin the pedals and check the gear changes. if it's an indexing lever you will need to fine-tune the adjustment so that each click is in the right position. Adjust the outer limit screw as required. Keep tuning until you're happy with it.

 

[si_c]

Wind in the barrel adjuster so that it's not taking any slack up at all. Drop the chain into the small ring (assuming it's a double) and slacken off the retaining bolt. Use a pair of pliers to grip the cable and pull as hard as you possibly can on the cable to pull it through and then holding the tension tighten the retaining bolt.

That's what I do and it works every time, sometimes need to tweak the position with the barrel adjuster but if the cable stops are set correctly this normally does the job.

 

[Lauris]

Thanks managed to get it to shift now.

However, its not a very smooth shift.

It is a shimano claris shifter so don't if thats the reason.

For example my rear mech shifts way smoother than my front mech.

Its very stiff, like I mentioned in my previous thread ages ago. If you are knackered it can hard to shift with one hand.

But like I says it could that its a claris.

 

[C R]

Thanks managed to get it to shift now.

However, its not a very smooth shift.

It is a shimano claris shifter so don't if thats the reason.

For example my rear mech shifts way smoother than my front mech.

Its very stiff, like I mentioned in my previous thread ages ago. If you are knackered it can hard to shift with one hand.

But like I says it could that its a claris.

I don't think stiffness would be to do with the shifter.

Wrong cable routing at the clamp could mean that the leverage in the derailleur is less than it needs to be, another thing to check is that the links in the derailleur are moving freely.

 

[Lauris]

I don't think stiffness would be to do with the shifter.

Wrong cable routing at the clamp could mean that the leverage in the derailleur is less than it needs to be, another thing to check is that the links in the derailleur are moving freely.

I will play about and see.

Basically it really hard to shift with the lever(brand new by the way ) It does shift correctly but with a lot of effort!

 

[the snail]

The front mech is usually harder to shift than rear, but make sure the cable is clamped correctly, everything is clean/lubed e.g. under bottom bracket, and your cable run is as smooth as it can be.

 

[C R]

I will play about and see.

Basically it really hard to shift with the lever(brand new by the way ) It does shift correctly but with a lot of effort!

I would definitely check routing. Does the inner move freely when released from the derailleur clamp?

 

[iluvmybike]

Should not be hard to shift Claris or not

 

[Cycleops]

Shouldn’t be stiff. Did you use a new cable? If you haven’t change it and remember to apply some grease to it. If you can be bothered change the outer too.
Your picture is not too clear from that angle but the routing appears to be okay.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I echo/amend what @the snail said "The front mech is usually [always] harder to shift than rear" (road bike and STIs/Ergos).
The perforce disadvantageous cable approach angle to the front derailleur (FD), coming up from beneath the bottom bracket, and the FD arm angle when in the lowest chainring (the difference is <40 degrees on mine; the OP's looks even less) means that the mechanical advantage of the FD is much less than the constant angles and the advantageous parallelogram design at the rear mech (RD). Also the FD cage has to shift further (~8mm) as opposed to =5mm at the RD (though this doesn't impact on the tension issue per se).
The cable tension required to shift from lowest to next/large chainring is much larger than that required to move the RD cage across one sprocket.
The left and right STIs (shifters) have exactly the same mechanical advantage. So since a greater tension is required to shift the FD, a greater force will be required at the STI lever - not quite the same as 'stiffer' but I suspect this is what the Op is describing (Post #8).
Side note: OP will likely catch their heel on the cable end (in OP image).

 

[T4tomo]

I will play about and see.

Basically it really hard to shift with the lever(brand new by the way ) It does shift correctly but with a lot of effort!

it sounds like something still isn't quite right, as people above have said, it takes a bit more of a push to change the FD, but it should feel really stiff as you describe

 

[Ajax Bay]

its not a very smooth shift.
It is a shimano claris shifter

What type of front derailleur is that? It's not a FD-2400 (Claris) I think (not that it 'needs' to be but the clamping arrangement is slightly odd).