A Tuned Front Derailleur...

[Ski Monkey]

...is such a nice thing. Finally got the bastard tuned in just right.

[InspectorGadget]

The buddy of mine that is so interested in buying my Epic took it home to ride for a few days. He calls me a says that the bike isn't shifting for shit - front or back. Granted it's been months since I last road it, but I don't remember it shifting poorly.

[powderhound]

Originally posted by Ski Monkey
...is such a nice thing. Finally got the bastard tuned in just right.

especially when you're going up hill and need to drop into grandma gear. can't tell you the # of times i've had to clip out and kick the chain down. tempermental piece of chit.

[Viva]

Originally posted by InspectorGadget
The buddy of mine that is so interested in buying my Epic took it home to ride for a few days.

So, tell him to get some tools and get to work. Seriously, how old are the shifter cables? May be time to replace them.

[Ski Monkey]

Originally posted by powderhound
especially when you're going up hill and need to drop into grandma gear. can't tell you the # of times i've had to clip out and kick the chain down. tempermental piece of chit.

Yeah, that was the problem last week. Thought it was tuned when i did a couple laps in the driveway, get on the trail and... you little bastard.

[altagirl]

Originally posted by Ski Monkey
Yeah, that was the problem last week. Thought it was tuned when i did a couple laps in the driveway, get on the trail and... you little bastard.

I hate that. Used to have that problem with my old bike every now and then - test rides it was perfect... right up until I'm dying in the middle of a climb and it won't go into granny gear. Get back on the flats and it would be fine again...

[Big E]

Originally posted by Ski Monkey
Yeah, that was the problem last week. Thought it was tuned when i did a couple laps in the driveway, get on the trail and... you little bastard.

Which brings up my question - when I have the bike up on the stand, it seems good, shifting smooth and crisp. I take a spin around the block, no problem. But when I get out on the trail, I usually discover that something's still off. So, how do get it tuned so it works right when your working hard, rather than just on the stand?

[altagirl]

I think that means its because of the suspension - the cables are stretched out more or something when you compress it, and when you're doing your test rides you're not bouncing around. Either rerouting or lengthening the cables might help.

The other problem I ran into once was that I got dirt inside the cable housings and it was doing all sorts of weird things to the shifting. Changing to gore-tex (Ride-On) cables helps with that.

[Ski Monkey]

What did it for me was spending extra time on getting the cable tension right. No matter how much I tweaked the high/low screws it still didn't go right when I was out before I played with the cable.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Originally posted by Ski Monkey
What did it for me was spending extra time on getting the cable tension right. No matter how much I tweaked the high/low screws it still didn't go right when I was out before I played with the cable.

Its usually quicker to slack the cable off and then adjust the set screws. All they to is create end points for the dr travel. Set the handle bar adjust in the middle, then tension and tighten the cable.

If you can't shift into granny under load when climbing, try toeing in the front dr.

[Theodore]

I still need to futz with my front derailleur. When I'm on my 2 smallest cogs it rubs a bit under heavy load. So far its just an annoying sound, still shifts fine.

[fez]

Originally posted by Theodore
I still need to futz with my front derailleur. When I'm on my 2 smallest cogs it rubs a bit under heavy load. So far its just an annoying sound, still shifts fine.

one of my biggest reasons to use gripshift is for more flexible front derailleur adjustment. I hate a noisy bike.

Mine is getting too old to be quiet though.

[Ski Monkey]

Originally posted by Foggy_Goggles
Its usually quicker to slack the cable off and then adjust the set screws.

That's what I meant by getting the tension right. Probably should have talked me better engrish.

[spanky]

Originally posted by Ski Monkey
That's what I meant by getting the tension right. Probably should have talked me better engrish.

Engrish - hehehe http://www.engrish.com

On the topic of derailleurs, what about the rear? Mine won't shift to the smallest cog no matter what I do. I had goretex cables on my old bike and never had problems. I think I'm going to do the same with this one.

[Ferniefreeheels]

Originally posted by spanky
Engrish - hehehe http://www.engrish.com

On the topic of derailleurs, what about the rear? Mine won't shift to the smallest cog no matter what I do. I had goretex cables on my old bike and never had problems. I think I'm going to do the same with this one.

Sounds like your high limit screw may need to be backed off to allow the derailer to move over enough to get on the small gear...?