okay, just checked it again.

It seems the cable is routed fine. the nut inside the shifter is seated right. the BB routing is right, the cable over the locknut is right.

but the problem is still there. the cage doesn't move enough. From the lower limit to the upper limit, it rubs on the lowest gear (big chainring, little cog).

when the cage is at the lower limit, the FD stops at the limiter screw, and there is very little cable slack, if i touch the cable at all, it moves the cage. (small chainring, biggest cog, 1mm clearance)

When I shift to the big chainring and the smallest cog, the FD cage rubs, and there is still more room for the FD Cage to go before hitting the upper limit screw. When I just pull the cable more (from the downtube), it moves the cage to the upper limit screw, and it's set to 1mm of clearance.

So is this a problem because the FD-6400 is really designed for 7-speed?

could it be a problem with the type of cable housing?

maybe it always rubbed and I just always ignored it? Since I seldom use the lowest gear?

thanks,