hanknstein

I have been having issues with chain drops on my 2+ year old Specialized Rubaix (when I shift up front). The bike came with a FSA compact crank & worked fine the first season. I started dropping my chain in during the second season with increasing frequency & brought it in to a bike shop for a tuneup. They replaced the chain with an ultegra 10 speed (the original chain was a KMC) & I dropped the chain 6 times in my first ride. After bringing it back for an adjustment, it still drops once or twice a ride. I brought my bike to a different shop & they looked at it & thought the front derailer was "all over the place". I have never had to replace a front derailer, do they wear out? Ive got less than 3000 miles on this bike.

Anybody have any similar stories or suggestions before I put a new derailer on?

streetlightpoet

Check your housing for friction, and double check your limits.

hanknstein

Hi Streetlightpoet.

I have been playing with the limits, but couldn't seem to nail it. What is the "housing", the cable housing?

markyore

Probably just needs a derailleur adjustment but a deda dog fang

https://www.dedaelementi.com/En/Produ...ctIDMaster=447

Or a third eye chain watcher should be very useful

https://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-3...inwatcher.aspx

streetlightpoet

Sorry for not being clear. Shift into your big ring, then shift just the lever to create some slack at the cable (but not actually shifting at the chain.) Work your housing free and slide it along the cable and see how freely it moves. Maybe use some triflow if it doesn't feel to bad, if you feel any sort of resistance though replace the cable.

roadwarrior

If that does not work, possibly the housing is worn out...if the OP does not know what that is, my guess is that neither the cables or housing have been replaced. If you are riding a decent number of miles, it's best to replace them annually.

Why a mechanic did not look at that is beyond me. Having a derailleur that "is all over the place" that's the first place to look after the obvious adjustments. If the limit screws were OK for a long while, generally that will not change. So it's almost always worn cables and housings.

hanknstein

Thanks all, I plan on picking up the bike from the shop tomorrow & see where I stand.

Davidlean

Something else to check. My front derailleur started acting up just a bit. I looked at the limits, the cable tension, and tweaked things. Eventually I gave up. Took it to an LBS. It took him about 7 minutes to figure it out: one of the allen screws attaching the derailleur to the frame was a little loose. The extra play threw things off. The weird part was it wasn't obvious; only under load would it slightly move.

edmaverik

Goto a different shop. The limits are off and at 3K miles, the cables should be tightened up.