Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
$150 for a 2 year old bike that listed for $550 is a pretty good deal.
Sometimes manufacturers make component changes during mid year.
You might look at some other bikes to see how the seat tube shim (if used) is installed.
Many replacement FDERs come with a couple different shims for different dia. seat tubes.
Have you disconnected the cable to see if the FDER will go to the small ring? IF it's installed "too short", it'll hold the FDER from the fully relaxed position.
IF the shim looks "right" and with the cable loose if the FDER won't go to the small ring, then you need a longer Bottom Bracket.
That's NOT a MAJOR job for the LBS. Else you can buy the tools and do it yourself, although it's hard to justify the cost for a one time job.
There should be a lot of bike co-ops in Chicago?
Doing this on phone and missed some posts. I don't think anything is original on the drivetrain at all. I finally found model numbers of the parts and compared them. I'm not even sure if the rims are original (I suspect not) and can't find an identification. Wheels were definitely different but those wear anyway. Either way I'm guessing is a lesser bike now.
Unfortunately I made the problem worse. It used to shift to all gears but not smoothly. It would rub on the first gear and was hit and miss on the third. Now I only get the middle and outer. I can't position it right to sit freely in the first gear with zero tension and set screw all out. If the cost of the tools and parts are comparable to an LBS doing it I'm OK trying it myself. This of course assumes the derailleur is compatible which isn't looking so good.