Front derailleur won't move at all.

[grellboy]

Bike cleaning purists look away now. Front derailleur stuck on little ring, won't move at all to get me back on the big ring. Have adjusted cable at clamp, messed with screws, adjusted inline too, nothing. Not the most fastidious of cleaners so am wondering is there now so much gunk in it that it has simply jammed? I live by the beach so drivechain forever getting grit in and I do clean it sometimes, but it's just so fine it gets everywhere. So, front derailleur won't move at all. Is it dead, a little hidden screw gunked up beyond repair? Or can I bring it back to life?

 

[fossyant]

Can you pull it outwards by hand. If not it's seized. Take it off the bike and first give it a good clean, then drown it in WD40/GT85 or oil. If that then fails you might have killed it if riding on salty roads. Front Mech's are quite hard to kill.

 

[ColinJ]

Grit and salty water are a very nasty combination! I'd soak the pivots with some kind of penetrating oil and leave overnight to see if that helps.

It's the kind of problem that is common in winter for us non-beach dwellers because councils put salty grit on the roads on cold nights. Living where you do, you need to keep your bike clean; you will have that problem all year round!

 

[Venod]

No help to the OP but I have had to fit 2 new front derailleurs this week on separate bikes, the outer plate completely broke of the first one, and the second one cracked through at the front and was ready to separate at the centre.

They were both Shimano 105 5700 10 speed, the second one has been dodgy for some time and I have had to straighten the outer plate on several occasions but the other was not that old, I blame the smart trainer were sudden changes in the elevation profile take me by surprise resulting in clumsy gear changes.

 

[mynydd]

I had problems with mine a few weeks back. Not quite as bad as yours mind...
I took it off, gave it a thorough clean with degreaser. I then soaked it in engine oil for a weekend.
Worked for me, it's fine now.
Worth a try

 

[Ajax Bay]

Have a read through this thread recently started (and finished) by @mynydd

 

[Tom B]

A few years ago I had an issue with an Fd that refused to move to the biggest cog on a triple. After much head scratching I discovered one of the pins that the mech operates on/around had moved out a couple of mm and was preventing the mech from moving. Simply punching it back in was enough.

 

[jonny jeez]

Bike cleaning purists look away now. Front derailleur stuck on little ring, won't move at all to get me back on the big ring. Have adjusted cable at clamp, messed with screws, adjusted inline too, nothing. Not the most fastidious of cleaners so am wondering is there now so much gunk in it that it has simply jammed? I live by the beach so drivechain forever getting grit in and I do clean it sometimes, but it's just so fine it gets everywhere. So, front derailleur won't move at all. Is it dead, a little hidden screw gunked up beyond repair? Or can I bring it back to life?

Sounds like a knackered cable to me.

Undo the cable and see if the mech moves back an forth with your fingers.

If so, replace inner and outer cables.

If not, go look for your wallet.