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Help shifting front gears

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Old 07-18-17 | 06:36 PM
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Help shifting front gears

Hi everyone, I don't much about bikes but recently I have been problems shifting front gears. The rear gears shift fine but the front just don't shift and when I try to shift it from the smallest cog to the middle one, it doesnt shift but stays in the smallest cog and chain starts making noise and when I shift it back to the smallest cog it works fine, so right now I can only use the smallest cog. If anyone can help me with this problem that will be awesome.
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Old 07-18-17 | 06:49 PM
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From: West Orange County, CA

Bikes: '84 Peugeot PH10LE

Sounds to me like there is too much slack in your derailleur cable.
Jon
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Old 07-18-17 | 07:17 PM
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Thank you for the reply. I wanted to know how to tighten the cable
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Old 07-18-17 | 08:03 PM
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Bikes: Trek 5500, Colnago C-50

Sounds to me like you have a Shimano triple road crankset. You will need to go 2 clicks to reach the middle ring. But don't try to count two clicks, just give the big lever a good shove to shift from the smallest to the middle ring. If you are riding in the middle with the chain on the extreme left side of the cassette you may need to trim the front derailleur back one position. When on the middle ring you can trim on either the 2nd or 3rd position to avoid chain rub. The 4th position is for the big ring. While riding on the big ring the 3rd position can be used from trimming but is not often needed.
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Old 07-19-17 | 07:30 AM
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If this is a New Recent problem
then you should *probably* try to figure out What Changed Recently to cause it.
tightening the cable might fix if, but you should ask: why/how did it become loose in the first place?

a damaged cable or housing?
cable clamp slipped?
derailer mounting clamp moved or misaligned?
etc.
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