Racemic

I searched all over but I could not find a solution to this. Sorry in advance if this is in the wrong place.

I am a bike noob and I just picked up a used bike from craigslist with a Tiagra groupset. I am having trouble with adjustment of the front derailleur. It has three chainrings and I just can't get it to shift to them all at one adjustment.

The problem I'm having now is that the cable feels tight and the shifter won't click up. When I release the cable I can hear 3 or 4 clicks up, but when I have it tightened to the derailleur, it stops at 2 clicks. If I try to go up any more there is too much resistance and it just won't go. The cable is pretty frayed near where it goes under the allen nut of the derailleur, but I don't think this is relevant because it is not slipping out. This is with the barrel adjuster all the way loose.

Any help is appreciated!

jco1385

check if your limit screws are keeping it from moving.

Racemic

No, they aren't. I'm having this problem even trying to get from the middle to big ring. If I release the cable I can move the cage all the way over with my hand.

jco1385

make sure the cable is routed correctly then. is there a lot of dirt and grime build-up?

AndrewP

With the cable disconnected from the fd, can you feel actual movement of the cable as you make the clicks? Get a new cable as it may be frayed in other places.

kludgefudge

make sure you're shifter is set to its lowest setting when installing the cable in the derailleur. some guy i worked with rode in one day totally cross geared, on his brand new tiagra equipped masi. i asked him why and he said he couldn't shift. all i had to do was loosen off the fixing nut, set the shifter, and reinstall. this was on a bike that had been built by a shop, so as you can see even pro's make mistakes.

Racemic

Thanks for the help guys. I've got it shifting up now. I thought I had limiter screw all the way out but I did not. There was also some dirt on the housing.

But, shifting up to the big ring is still giving me some problem. The chain is kind of getting stuck against the derailleur cage unless I go really slowly during the shift. Once it clicks into the highest gear it stays.

I'll play around with it some more and try to clarify more if I can't get it.

jco1385

is the FD parallel to the rings? is it too far up the tube?

AdamDZ

https://bicycletutor.com/adjust-front-derailer/

Panthers007

I get to post this once a day on average - hence it's a Copy & Paste. I suggest making a copy. The front-derailleur can be very difficult - until you learn the basics. Here you go:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Take the cable off the FD. Now install it from scratch as per Park Tool Repair:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75

And BicycleTutor:

https://bicycletutor.com/adjust-front-derailer/

When you have it properly trimmed and are ready for the cable - a new one wouldn't hurt - you want to pull the cable taut - not too tight, taut. Then apply 48 to 60 inch-pounds to the pinch-bolt. Then put it through it's paces.

It's always easier and faster to install a FD from square-one, than it is to make adjustments with it already attached. This tends to fix one thing - while throwing another out of kilter. Start fresh. You'll get it.

Adding an inline barrel-adjuster can solve many problems with the cable coming loose - or being too tight.