pyroguy_3

I know why I have this problem, went from a 2.2 to a 2.4 tire and the new bigger one has larger knobs, and therefore I cannot use the smallest chainring otherwise it rubs the tire. Is there a way to adjust the derailleur so that it does not rub the tire? can I either move the bracket down the seat tube to get it away from the knobs, or is there any other adjustment/modification that can be done?

Thrifty1

Possibly your "L" limit adjustment........

pyroguy_3

If I didn't clarify enough, the part that is rubbing is the inside of the "tail" of the front deraileur. I think some selective hacksawing will do the trick, but I am hesitant to chop into my deraileur. If I had my full set of metal working tools it would be no problem, but I am at school... so no dice. Is there possibly a type of deraileur that is shorter than others? it's an 8 speed by the way.

Dannihilator

Rotate the deraillieur or run a narrower tire in the back.

pyroguy_3

Yeah, I found a similair post, with surprisingly the exact same tire I am having trouble with... 2.4 panaracer. Turns out if you spell derailleur deraileur, it doesn't come up. anyway, I'm going to try rotating the derailleur, on the seat stay I suppose? and if that doesn't work, I guess either put my old 2.2 on the back or get a smaller panaracer and just keep the extra 2.4 for a backup front tire. Or, I could try to find a shorter caged derailleur.

Dannihilator

No such thing as a short caged front deraillieur.

May I ask what bike is this?

pyroguy_3

07 hardrock sport. probably seems strange to have such aggresive tires, but I wash out so damn much on the trails I frequent I figured I'd try some beefier treads. There is really only about a quarter inch or so that is overlapping the tire knobs so if there are no cages that wouldn't hit, I'll try rotating and if that doesn't work, do some reconstructive surgery. I'm thinking cutting the end off the cage and putting a tube type spacer with a small bolt through it to become the closed end, in effect shortening the cage. I can't see any problems with this approach, any suggestions?

Dannihilator

Max tire width on the back for a hardrock is a 2.3 or a narrow 2.4. The panaracer 2.4 measures more like a 2.6.

born2bahick

This approach sounds intriquing! The only problem I see is if you cut it too short, it will act as a chain tensioner on the smallest front ring. It's definately not the recommended solution but if you like 2.4's, give it a try. front derailuers can be had pretty cheap!

pyroguy_3

I don't have to take too much off the cage to stop it from rubbing, but I think it will work. If it doesn't then oh well i'll just buy a cheap one to replace it and switch back to my orriginal tires. The purchase of the 2.4's was not intentional either, by the way. Kind of one of those what was I thinking, but my order is shipped already i'll just put them on, kind of things...

born2bahick

You know the more I think about it, It would be trying to tension the chain on the side that has no give to it. It could be that the tension of the chain under acceleration, would pull the cage down anyway. Without seeing the setup it's really hard to guess.

pyroguy_3

there is plenty of room to take off metal, but the way the cage is made, I can't run a bolt through to close the cage. I'm going to see if hacking off some corner material will do the trick. I have a feeling I'll just have to go back to a smaller tire on the rear which wont affect my washing out problem anyway, just less oomph when pedaling.

AlucardZero

Instead of hacking things off, bend it with pliers...

Thrifty1

Please try all the proceedures in:
https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75

BearSquirrel

Try a SRAM gripshift for your front shifter. It allows you to trim out the derailleur and eliminate rub. SOOO ... if you NEED to push the derailleur cage that far down to get the chain to shift, you can then adjust the rub out of the system out of the shift.

The other thing you can do is to dish the wheel off slightly to the non drive side. This of course assumes that you have some more room. A wheel off center to the non-drive side is actually stronger as it brings the spoke angles from either side closer together and hence their tension.

pyroguy_3

thanks, but I prefer my copy of Zinn. I finally just said screw it, after finding that the metal it is made out of is so ridiculously hard that my hacksaw wouldn't even cut into it. Granted it is a strange angle to cut at, without removing the derailleur from the bike. so I slapped my old tire back on and am going to run that one bald then probably get the panaracer fire xc for the rear, so the colors match duuuh... Thanks a lot for all the helpful insight though!