Front Derailleur not shifting?

[Mouldy123]

Hey, first post here.

I have tried a brief search with no luck on my specific problem.

I have a specialized Allez Road bike. I was out on it for the first time in a few month yesterday and noticed a big problem. My front Derailleur is not shifting. I had a look and there is no obvious damage. I did notice that when changing gears the cable is loosening off. the Derailleur moves by hand and the levers are fine, but still no movement together.
Any ideas what the issue could be or how to solve it?

Many thanks

Mouldy.

 

[Smokin Joe]

If it won't shift from small to large ring the cable is too slack and needs adjusting. You may have an adjuster on the downtube or if not then unclamp the cable at the mech and pull it tight.

 

[Mouldy123]

What do you mean by "the cable is loosening off"?

Apologies for my lack of technical terms.

Gear cables running on the underside of my frame, connecting the gear levers to the front derailleur. So when I change gears that cable will become slack, but the derailleur remains in the same position.
Does that make sense?

 

[Mouldy123]

Thanks, Yes it is stuck on the small ring. Ill have a look when I get home from work and see if changing the tension of the cable makes a difference.

Thanks for the replies.

Mouldy.

 

[jack smith]

shift the levers down as far as you can so the chain would be in the small ring, undo the cable bolt, pull the cable as tight as possible, pliers to hold the cable might help and re tighten the bolt, it should be fine as long as you havent mucked with the high and low screws

 

[Mouldy123]

Oh no. I haven't touched the screws. I wont touch anything without first researching what it does. I think I'll try adjusting the cable, then see what happens.

Thanks again for the reply.

Mouldy.

 

[jack smith]

Sorted?

 

[rliu]

Just dive in and play with it mate, pull it taut when the derailleur is on the small ring position, as the cable gets tighter when you shift from small to big.

 

[Mouldy123]

Hey guys, still no joy.

Moved the derailleur onto the smallest ring(manually), unclamped the cable and used some pliers to pull it tight. Tried it again still no change.

I will have another tinker tonight and if I still gt no joy I will have to cough up some cash and take it to a bike shop and getthem to do it :/

Mouldy

 

[Mouldy123]

Adrian, Yes, I have moved the shifter to the position that would be the smallest ring. I then had to manually move the deailleur to the smallest ring position. Cable was slack. I then unclamped the cable and tightened the cable. Cranked the wheels a bit to make sure there was no interference with the chain and the derialleur(there is none). I then tried shifting the gears while stationary, still no movement, Tried while pedaling, still no joy.

I will give it another go tonight. As I said earlier If I cant get it tonight I will just cough up some money and go to the Bike shop, Might need some reccommendations on that front haha.

Mouldy

 

[Cycleops]

If the cable is clamped on the derailleur end then the problem must be at the other end I.e. the shifter is not pulling the cable, so that needs to be investigated. Maybe best left to your LBS, probably something quite simple.

 

[Mouldy123]

With the cable detached from the mech, does the shifter pull cable and release it? Similarly, does the mech freely move far enough to sit over both (It is two?) rings?

Yes, So when the cable is unclamped the shiter is moving the cable. And the mech is free enough to move over the Three rings.

And cycleops I think you are right, I will try again tonight and if not successful I will (Reluctantly) admit defeat.

Mouldy

 

[2old2care]

" I then had to manually move the deailleur to the smallest ring position."

With the cable disconnected from the derailleur, it should automatically move to the smallest ring, rather than having to manually move it. Therefore there must be something wrong with mech itself.
Probably the spring is broken!

 

[2old2care]

Yeah quite right I assumed that the chain had been removed, and as you correctly pointed out the chain would prevent the mech from moving without the pedals moving Cheers.

 

[Mouldy123]

Hey guys.

Sorry for bumping the old thread i just realised my last reply didnt post.

Update: the spring as 2old2care mentioned has come loose. There was a tiny metal pin holding it in place and that has snapped off. So I have had to replace the front mech.
It was a lot easier than I first thought it would be.

Many thanks for the help. I wont hesitate to ask more questions in future.

Mouldy