Triban 3 Front Derailleur + Slight Rear Issue

[harveymt]

I have a 2012 Triban 3. Learning how to service it all myself. Last weekend I stripped down the front and rear hubs, replaced the bearings and then indexed the gears.

The front derailleur has always given some issues. I thought I'd have a play with it and ended up making it worse. At the start it wouldn't change down to the smallest ring at all. It would go to the middle ring but then sometimes wouldn't change back up to the largest. There didn't appear to be a barrel adjuster like on the rear but reading around it appears there may be one in an odd place? Is there one? I tried tightening up the cable but that left the cable so tight it wouldn't move at all. Also the lower limit adjuster moves the front derailleur but the upper limit one does not move it at all. Therefore I'm wondering if I have a broken front derailleur? The cable also has become fairly frayed at the end so I think I would be better off replacing it.

Is there anything obvious I'm missing here? Or would I be better having a LBS take a quick look? I only need the largest cog for my commute. I shift to the middle cog only on a few very steep hills I'd ride on weekends. I've therefore left the chain on the large cog and tightened the cable to keep it there.

As to the rear it now changes from largest cog to smallest very smoothly. However, changing the other way, smallest to largest, isn't quite as smooth. There's some noise when you change that way which you can eliminate by changing to one smaller than you want then shifting back to the larger one. Everything runs smoothly again. What do I need to adjust to sort that?

 

[MrWill]

The front mech will always give you issues on that bike. The mish mash of components it not designed to work together. I had one and got sick of it eventually.

 

[G3CWI]

The front mech will always give you issues on that bike. The mish mash of components it not designed to work together. I had one and got sick of it eventually.

I know what you mean. I think it's impossible to get it perfect. I aim for "mostly working" on my T3.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

For the front derailleur, if you adjust it just right it can be made to work perfectly. As you need a new cable anyway, disconnect the cable and make sure the derailleur moves fully through its range when you move it manually. If not, loosen the relevant screw by a turn and try again. (Low screw adjusts movement onto small chain ring and stops it falling off into the gap. High screw controls how the derailleur pushes onto the largest ring and stops it falling off completely) Reluctance to move inwards can often be caused by grit and rust that make it too hard for the return spring to work - so try pushing it inwards and if it moves further you need to clean and re lube until it returns all the way freely. To fit the new cable put the chain onto smallest chain ring and make sure gear shifter is in slacked position, then take all the slack out of the cable so it is tight but hasn't started to move the derailleur outwards. Clamp the cable in this position and then try running up and down the gears adjusting the H and L screws to allow the chain onto the high and low chain rings without falling off over the side.
The rear derailleur sounds like you just need to tighten the cable a tiny bit further. (If difficulty is going from small sprocket to large the cable is too slack - if difficult going from large to small, cable is too tight)
I can't recall if my Trib had a cable adjuster for the front derailleur but if you follow the gear cable back up the bike you will see if there is an in line adjuster.

 

[G3CWI]

For the front derailleur, if you adjust it just right it can be made to work perfectly.

Possibly not. There were at least two frame designs for the T3 one of which has a design defect that means the chainline is wrong. The manufacturer bodged the frame with a recess to give more movement for the front mech - but could not bodge it enough to make it right.

By coincidence my front mech is off at the moment (it broke) so here is a photo showing the indent. The oval shape above the cable tie is the recess in the frame.

***Warning*** I'm no bike expert so I could be talking rubbish. However, the chainline does not measure correctly.

 

[BrianEvesham]

I had to take mine to the LBS to get front mech right, well as right as it will ever be.

There is an adjuster inline near the brake hood end.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

If the cable is starting to fray at the shifter end (inside) then you really need to start off by replacing the cable. I had all sorts of issues with my gears which all stemmed to the STI lever problems...
Front derailleur, well it is a balancing act and as other have said, it is a best you can get option and nothing more - I had one until Easter and my OH still has his - I replaced the front derailleur on his after falling out with it... his changes have been better since he had the new FD, but are still not great.

 

[harveymt]

I finally got round to looking at this. I've took off the front derailleur and gave it a good clean and then replaced the cable. I only spent a little time on it trying to adjust last night but it wasn't right. A quick read round this morning would suggest I've attached the cable too tightly when in the bottom ring. It would change up to the biggest gear but would not come back down. The gear wire was very tight in this position like a guitar wire nearly and the button to change down would not work. I think if I manually get it down into the small ring, then loosen the wire a tad it should be better.

The rear derailleur is a little better. I just tightened it a small amount. I think before I was tightening half and full turns rather than the maybe 1/8th turn it needed.

My frame has that oval in it.

 

[harveymt]

Also, I got a chain wear tool when I was in getting new gear cables. It says I need a new chain. I had kinda thought this as it didn't look to be sitting right on the front big ring.

Off the top of my head the Triban is an 8 speed cassette so I need an 8 speed chain? So something like the Shimano HG70?

 

[I like Skol]

Hadn't heard about the front derailleur issue on the T3s but having just bought one of the last 45cm ones for my son I can confirm the set-up is not optimal. On his bike the change is good and all the chain rings are easily accessible but there is no way to get it trimmed well enough to prevent rubbing at some point when going through the gear ranges. I'm not talking about total chain crossing (big:small and small:big) but running in the middle chain ring and using the whole of the cassette, something any triple chainset bike should be able to do IMO.
Looking at the set up it looks as if 3 factors are at play here. 1 is the shorter chainstays of the 650 wheeled bike not helping the chainline. 2 is a slightly wider BB axle than could possibly be fitted (but there isn't much room for error as the mech is close to the seat tube as has been pointed out already). 3 is the lack of the trim facility on the 2300 shifters, the front mech cage could be slightly wider to compensate but this might adversely affect the shifting.

I'm pretty good at setting these things up but in this case I think will have to settle for just good enough rather than perfection

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Yep - chain would be fine, or you could get a cheaper KMC 8 speed one which are more than adequate. I run them on my touring bike (which has hub gears) and had them on both of our T3's.
Is the chain wear saying 0.75% or 1%. If it is at the 1% then you will need a new cassette as well so you may as well leave it until your chain starts skipping.

 

[Steady]

Also, something I picked up from the Triban owners forum is that a lot of them seem to recommend the KMC 9 speed chain as it reduces chain rub and frees up a few more gears and still runs flawlessly on the 8 speed drive train.

It's something I'm definitely going to try out myself once the chain deems it neccessary, especially since I've 51cm frame.

 

[sgl5gjr]

Had similar FD rub on one I recently picked up..... set up from scratch as per the usual setting up...... changed the chain too (bike had only done 50 miles from new) and still there was some "run out"..... Bottom bracket felt fine but I removed the stock one and replaced with a Shimano one of same specs....all sorted and wow what a bike...... quiet and fast....