I am having trouble getting my Shimano Decore DX front derailleur to work with a Shimano Tourney index shifter. I would like to know if anyone else has gotten this setup to work and am interested if anyone has had success with a different front derailleur. Also, of course, I am interested in any ideas folks might have, besides getting a second bike -- I am mobile and don't have the room -- and I'm both cheap and not rich. Swapping out parts and tires for various uses has worked for me, at least until now.

Here is my setup: 1990 Specialized Stumpjumper (basic model), Shimano Decore DX derailleurs are original to the bike. It has 3x7 gearing. 11-28 at rear, 26-36-46 in front. The only original gear is the biggest in front, a Shimano SG-X 46.

For my rode bike setup, I have a Shimano Sora Flight Deck index shifter on the right -- for my rear derailleur -- and a Shimano Tourney on the left -- for the front derailleur.

I used to have Sora shifters for both derailleurs, but, alas, the front shifter was broken when a family member mailed my bars to me without enough protective packaging. I bought the Tourney on the fly to make a 60-mile group ride.

Factors to consider in any answers folks might provide:

1. I was able to make the Sora shifters work with this setup.
2. The front derailleur is stock and pretty beat up. It has some slop and the cage has taken some hits. I have strengthened the cage in the past, so it's likely not perfectly aligned. In the past, this didn't matter. After writing this up, I'm going to see if I can find a replacement online.
3. I have confirmed the shifter is for a 3x7 setup by checking its model number.
4. I know how to adjust derailleurs and even checked in with videos by Calvin Jones of Park Tools to make sure I wasn't missing something.
5. Basically, the Tourney shifter only has enough travel to give me the bottom and middle gear or the middle and top gear.
6. Oddly, I can get the front shifting to work on my stand, but not when I give it a road test. My wife helpfully suggested my weight is the factor here ... (190, 6 foot).

Thank you in advance for any help you folks can provide. I've also asked this question on a bicycle forum on Stack Exchange, so some folks might see this as a duplicate.

Road shifters/FDER's utilize a different cable pull than mountain shifters/FDER's.

In this case, my pull is from below, so it is the same,

Direction is not the issue, it is whether your shifter is compatible with the type of derailleur

Right. I did get it to work with Sora shifters. I'm curious if anyone has gotten it to work with the Tourney I now have or some other derailleur.

Right. I did get it to work with Sora shifters. I'm curious if anyone has gotten it to work with the Tourney I now have or some other derailleur.

DX is flat bar stuff.
Tourney is flat bar stuff.
Only Shimano front shifter/derailer difference I'm familiar with is the drop vs flat actuation ratio.
(And double/triple).
AFAIK DX/Tourney should work.

Since the front shifter works on the tensioned part of the chain, it does take more force for front shifting. If you have the range on the stand, but isn't getting all gears on the road, then either something is flexing, or the limit screws needs to be backed out some to allow a little more overshoot.

Tourney currently comes in both Road and MTB flavors.
and they are Not compatible for Front derailers.

Sounds like OP has the Road style, with inadequate cable pull to get full travel out of his MTB derailer.

Ah, Didn't know that. Only seen the MTB stuff.
Which makes sense.
At least Shimano is consistent in their incompatibility policy.

But if the pull is close enough to get function in the stand, it does make it more difficult to understand why Shimano choose to use different actuation ratios in the first place.
Big enough to annoy, too small to have any engineering merit.

Interesting. The limit screws aren't the problem, I made sure of that. I bet it's my old derailleur or a soft spot in my cable system somewhere. Thank you! I'll check it out!

Isn't the Tourney left shifter non-indexed? The pictures I see look that way, plus I'm pretty sure I've got one in the basement.
Must depend on the model.
Looks like TOURNEY A070 and A050 series are road and TX-30 and TX-50 are MTB.

I generally find they are Not Close Enough to interchange function.

as for the reasonings:

Road derailers are shorter pull, it lets the derailer armature be smaller so you can really tuck the tire in close to the seattube when designing frames.

MTB derailers are longer pull, it makes them less sensitive to mud and dirt contaminating the housings.

Exactly, I have mounted drop bars and the tourney shifter I have is for a road bike.

Well, there's your answer
for Shimano front derailers, Road and MTB systems are Not Compatible.

to make it work, you'll need to change the front derailer for a Road version.
this will cause other complications of course, with the cage profile being inappropriate for the MTB crankset you have


alternately, you might be able to Modify the armature of the MTB F derailer to operate with a shorter cable pull. but this is beyond the scope on an internet posting.

See post #2

Yeah, I know, but I got it to work for years with my Shimano Sora road shifters. Maybe that was just a fluke since nobody else is chiming in. I just ordered a new MTB derailleur for not that much, so we'll see. I'll update once I've tried it out.

understands that MTB and Road groups not compatible

goes and orders a new MTB derailer anyway

?what?

..anyway
if you find a Traditional Swing MTB derailer, with bottom pull cabling
-the kind with the clamp up high, sometimes called bottom swing
(the old style of derailer shape)

then Modification to make it Road Pull Compatible isn't that hard...
you just dremel an alternate cable groove lower down on the armature, have it clamped by the existing cable clamping bolt...

I understand that many people think MTB and road bike derailleurs and index shifters are not compatible and I understand that may prove to be the case with my Tourney shifter. What you don't understand is that I have made it work in the past, with my Sora road bike shifter, without any trouble at all. So, we'll see. If it doesn't work, then I have a much bigger problem than I want. So, fingers crossed.

Yep, my bike (1990 Stumpjumper) came stock with a bottom-pull front derailleur. So, that's the type of replacement I'm getting. I'm unclear, however, on what your suggestion accomplishes. I think I need the cage to move a greater distance, since my chainring is MTB and my chain is wider than a roadbike's because of my 3x7 gearing. Anyway, that's my thinking right now.

I was reading through this thread again and realized I have yet to thank everyone for their input: thanks everyone! I appreciate you all taking time out to respond.

changing the effective length of the armature
alters the mechanical advantage, which means that the output motion of the derailer will change for a given cable input

ie, it makes the cage move a greater distance

I had to play around a bit with a lever -- using a pen and two fingers -- but I get what you're saying. Brilliant. I may try that with my beat-up derailleur (while I wait for its replacement) just to see what happens. Thanks!

OK, a quick update. I now have a full range of shifting thanks to a new front derailleur -- an $8 SunRace, the only new derailleur my bike shop could get for my 1990 Stumpjumper's 3x7 gearing. However, it's not particularly fast or crisp. It also wasn't consistent, which got me to look more closely at my bottom bracket. I have some slop in it. Not much, but enough to make the top gear work or not work depending on how I torque my feet. When I get a chance -- it might be awhile, I will soon be away from my bike for a month!! -- I will repack the bottom bracket and tighten things up.

(I didn't try to modify my old derailleur, it looked like there is not enough clearance between the moving parts to allow it)