FD4700 Stiff

[Shearwater Missile]

I bought a new bike last year with Tiagra gearing, the rear mech perfect. The front mech was always troublesome. It was so stiff to operate from small chain ring to large, usually after an initial change it was`nt too bad but it always wanted a lot more force than both my 105 and Sora bikes. I checked and double checked the cable routing in case it was set up incorrectly, but no all was well. I changed the inner cable and checked the outers and the cable guide under the BB, all was good. What I worked out was, the cable pull was from a slightly different angle to both the other bikes. Laws of physics and fulcrums came into play. I decided that the cable would be better coming from the wrong side of the pin in the FD. So for a try I routed the cable the wrong side of the pin, up and around the clamp screw instead of under and up. Guess what ? It is perfect. Light action as the other two bikes. I just wondered if anyone else has had similar problems or just me ? Incidentally the bike is a Willier Montegrappa but that should not have any bearing on it. I enclose the picture of my routing but don`t tell Mr Shimano !

 

[I like Skol]

I have experienced this on a couple of occasions and it seems to be a bit of a design flaw in the mech that results in the cable pull direction being through or very close to the pivot point.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I have experienced this on a couple of occasions and it seems to be a bit of a design flaw in the mech that results in the cable pull direction being through or very close to the pivot point.

I am glad you said that because that was my impression. The cable runs quite close to that pivot point. If I screwed the L stop screw so that the arm does`nt go all the way across ( obviously there would be chain rub) it would make it easier to shift, less tension. The 105 I have is a 5800 but the cable position is further across, bearing in my that the 5800 and 4700 are very similar if not identical. Thank you Skol for your confirmation. I was`nt going mad then !

 

[I like Skol]

A few factors at play. Chainring position for one, and any differences in the cable routing under the BB which can improve or worsen the situation. You're not going mad

 

[si_c]

A few factors at play. Chainring position for one, and any differences in the cable routing under the BB which can improve or worsen the situation. You're not going mad

This was going to be my suggestion - check the cables are properly routed under the bottom bracket, usually the front mech cable is on the outside way from the chainset, if not the difference in the angle the cable travels to the derailleur is enough to cause the issues OP noted.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

This was going to be my suggestion - check the cables are properly routed under the bottom bracket, usually the front mech cable is on the outside way from the chainset, if not the difference in the angle the cable travels to the derailleur is enough to cause the issues OP noted.

That had all been checked even though it was like it from new last year, not that means anything these days. I think the chainrings on this bike are closer to the bottom bracket so consequently the cable has more of an acute angle to pull. This is whether the "Converter" is on or off. That is why the re-route did the trick. If this helps anyone else then great. Honestly, before you almost needed to be in a strong man challenge to shift up and my wrists are not what they were !
Thank you both for the replies

 

[wafter]

This video may be of interest - covers different cable runs / anchor points for the FD:

 

[Shearwater Missile]

This video may be of interest - covers different cable runs / anchor points for the FD:

Thank you for the post. I had watched that video and made sure that the cable routing was correct. As I mentioned in the original post I have changed the routing and all is well, the FD is as light as my other two bikes, they use 105 5800 and Sora 3000. Those two bikes have the cable routing as Mr Shimano intended.

 

[the_mikey]

One thing I've found with the Tiagra Front Shifter is the default Shimano gear cable is substantially thicker than some after market providers and that seems to generate some extra friction and wear in the shifter housing. I've replaced the front derailleur cable with a cable from Clarks and it has been pretty good since.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

One thing I've found with the Tiagra Front Shifter is the default Shimano gear cable is substantially thicker than some after market providers and that seems to generate some extra friction and wear in the shifter housing. I've replaced the front derailleur cable with a cable from Clarks and it has been pretty good since.

I changed the cable to Clarks and it was still the same. All is good now, just a good old fashioned re-route !