Front Derailleaur Problem

[Drewski]

My bike shifts from the inside chain ring to the middle one ok but won't move to the outside one. I thought it just needed the cable adjusting but the lever has a lot of play when trying to select the outside chain ring, much more than when moving to the middle one. Is the lever kaput?

Gears are 21 speed Shimano, underbar levers.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Youtube yourself a video on adjusting the hi & low limiter screws on the derailleur unit itself.

These are the arbiters of how far the mechanism can move, the cable is just the actuator of that movement and is fine tuned for smooth shifting and running within the hi/low screw limits.

Park tools website is also a good source of maintenance advice.

 

[Drewski]

Thanks but I may have answered my own question........'just took the covers off the shifter and I noticed that if I push down on the larger lever while shifting, the derailleur moves to the outer chain ring, so I presume something has worn/broken on the shifter ratchet. It doesn't look too easy to pull apart so I'll just have to replace it. I've seen similar ones from the Far East on eBay for around £12 inc.

 

[si_c]

Thanks but I may have answered my own question........'just took the covers off the shifter and I noticed that if I push down on the larger lever while shifting, the derailleur moves to the outer chain ring, so I presume something has worn/broken on the shifter ratchet. It doesn't look too easy to pull apart so I'll just have to replace it. I've seen similar ones from the Far East on eBay for around £12 inc.

Should be able to replace it easily enough, shifter model should be on bike manufacturer website, and they're rarely expensive