Originally Posted by
SPiN 360
... the shifter will not shift into the granny gear (smallest cog in front). You press the shifter lever and it does not click and the derailleur does not move. The other 2 cogs can still be reached.
Although friction is a common issue it does not seem to be the culprit here. For one, the front derailleur spring is fairly strong, so it would take considerable friction for the derailleur not to move at all, especially after working fine on the other two rings. More importantly the lack of a lever click or any derailleur movement at all points to either an obstruction of some sort interfering with further inward movement or a problem with the lever mechanism. Retro suggested the correct approach based on the symptoms presented - isolate the parts of the system to identify the cause. Of course if it's still under warranty and taking it to the shop is practical that would resolve the problem, but it's still good experience to understand how to properly diagnose.