Fine tuning front delailer
 

Hello

I am trying to fine tune my front derailer. It is a double 53x39. I need to know what makes it shift to the big chainring smoother. Taking the tip/end of the derailer closes to rear wheel quick release lever and moving it closer to the wheel (into the frame) or further away from the wheel (away from the frame). Thank you in advance for anyone that can give me any help with this adjustment.

P_S, I don't quite understand, but both of the wheel's quick relese levers should be on the left hand side of the bicycle.

Brad

There are literally 100s of different front derailluers and most are slightly different in adjustment. Either a picture or a manufacturers name, model number and year would be very helpful. Roger

The q/r and wheel have nothing to do with front derailleur shifting, and precious little to do with the rear derailleur. As note in New Posters please READ THIS go to the Park Tool or Sheldon Brown sites. Actually just Google (front/rear) derailleur adjustment. There are really few differences among derailleurs for those procedures.

After you have gone through the entire procedure return here with what you did and what specifically is not working.

..also it will be easier to help if you proofread to avoid typos and use complete sentences.

it is a sram red black (double). I am just wondering what affect piviting the rear of the front derailer in or out will make it shift to the big ring smoother

Again, you should follow standard procedure for derailleur adjustment. Playing with rotation outside of spec is at your risk, but if you want an answer, try it. We can't tell you ahead of time the result in your situation. There are MANY other things that can affect front shifting performance. You do not say if shifting has been worse recently, how old the bike is, if you have made any changes, etc.

Just about every modern derailleur, including Sram Red, is deigned to give best shift performance with the outer cage plate parallel with the chainrings. You can possibly improve shifting to the larger ring by bringing the heel in and toe out a bit, but this comes at the explece of chain clearance when riding on the outer cassette sprockets.

Probably the bet thing you could do, is shorten the cable very slightly, and ease out the high gear limit. I would tinker with that before re-aligning the derailleur.

Years ago, skilled mechanics would bend the front tip of the inner cage plate outward a bit for crisper shifting, but today's plates are heat treated to a point where there's a high risk of cracking if you try to bend them.

Thank you FBinNy I will give your adjustment advice of shorten the cable very slightly, and ease out the high gear limit a try and go for a ride now. Thank you very much. Have a great day.

I second the suggestion to go through the entire front derailleur adjustment, step by step without skipping any. Here's a good one: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...ur-adjustments Do not open up the high limit adjustment any farther than needed to shift reliably; any farther will risk dropping the chain.

It is also possible that your technique could use some fine-tuning. When shifting to a larger ring ease off tension on the chain but keep pedaling at the same cadence. Any tension on the chain will fight against it moving up onto the larger ring. Assuming indexed shifting. it might also help to hold the shift lever over momentarily until the chain shifts and then release it rather than just "clicking" it into position and waiting for the chain to shift.

I third the suggestion to just start entirely from scratch and follow either generic (i.e. Park Tool) or Sram's own installation and adjustment instructions step by step.

For my own Sram Force FD used with a 50-34, I got it to shift very, very well doing the above. The critical parts that I think I improved the second time were the clearance above the large ring (I made it as close as I possibly could and still clear - a dime's worth at most), and the alignment.

For the alignment, after I thought I had it aligned parallel, it really didn't shift crisply up to the large ring. So, I turned the tail outward very slightly. It improved shifting greatly, and the chain rub and trim were still fine. My theory is that what I actually did was align it parallel when I thought I was turning the tail outward. Why? Because really it's kind of tough to actually figure out if a derailleur is parallel to the rings, especially with poor eyes and imperfect lighting. Looking at it now, it does look parallel, but it looked parallel before the tweeking too.

So, if after you really do a good job setting it up, it still doesn't shift well to the large ring, try turning the tail out a tiny, tiny bit and see if it helps. It could be that you're mis-estimating "parallel".

This thread scares me. Can't touch it.

I speak from recent experience, when I say front derailleur adjustment = Worms: 1 can...

You didn't even try, did you?

I'm just tired of explaining it to people who are too lazy, unresourceful, incurious, ham-fisted, stubborn, or cheap to consult any of the online sources (Park Tools, Sheldon Brown, YouTube, the Bike Forums FAQ and search engine, etc.), consult a book (Zinn or Park Tools Blue Book), or simply take the bike to a shop where a good mechanic could finish the job in ten minutes.

But you're not too tired to post this rant. You must be in a cranky mood.

I agree that most people (or everybody) should take the time toreview any of the dozens of tutorials available for FREE. But sometimes, they may miss a detail, or may have done the tutorials but still had a question. Or maybe they don't want to learn the whole job, and just want to confirm that their's in normal (whatever that is).

In any case, there's a big difference between what people should do and what they actually do, and rather than get worked up over it, you could simply ignore the thread. You've posted twice here to say nothing except that the thread bothers you, and people should behave differently.

IMO, and for what's it's worth (nothing) there are only two rational responses to a thread. Respond constructively (i count humor as constructive) or ignore it and don't respond at all.

BTW- please accept this in the positive spirit intended, and also you have my best wishes that the Colorado fires haven't affected you, your family, or friends too severely.

My method is: Respond snarkily, hit cancel, respond less snarkily, hit cancel, and repeat until I've either achieved non-snarkiness, or realized this was not the thread for me. :)

53-39, its a 14t jump, if the difference is less it will shift smoother..
Paris-Roubaix gear .. 46-53, or Cycloross gearing .. 46-39..

Technique: rather than parts..
shifting may need some terrain reading.. to shift Up,
when the chain is less under strain, on crests of rises, of the road.

pedal-Less-strong, for at least a moment, for the FD shift.. :rolleyes:

You're right. I'm out.

Incorrect. The new SRAM Red, with the new yaw feature, uses different setup procedures; see SRAM tech docs on the subject.