Front Derailleur Help

Hello -

It has been awhile since I have been here - life, ya know? Anyway spring is here and I just got a road bike ( Trek 1000 ) and I am having trouble with the front derailleur. It needs to be adjusted but I just can't seem to find the right combination and I am sure somebody here can steer me in the right direction.

I can shift from the 1st chain ring to the 2nd - the 2nd to the 3rd - the 3rd to the 1st and the 2nd to the 1st - but I cannot get this bike to go from 3rd to 2nd... I keep turning screws but if I DO manage to get it to go from 3rd to 2nd then some other combination is screwed up.

Is it just that I don't know what I am doing?? Because I admit that I don't but from everything I've read I'm doing what I should be doing - I really want to figure this out and I just cannot imagine that it can be that hard. Am I being extremely naive???? :rolleyes:

I would truly appreciate any and all suggestions.

Pat

What type of derailleur does your bike have? Probably some Shimano model. Have you been turning the limit screws on the derailleur body or just the adjusting barrel? The barrel will control where the indexing stops points are. The limit screws will keep the derailleur from going too far in either direction, ie. they only impact the lowest low point and highest high point. Your problem sounds like an adjusting barrel issue. Note that sometimes a front derailleur can't make a proper shift or be used without scraping the chain in certain gear combinations that you shouldn't be using anyway (the cross-over gears). Try reading about front derailleur adjustment on parktool.com.

The limit screws work as Deb had mentioned... so unless the chain is being thrown off the big chain ring or on the smaller one....( or is rubbing the derailleur) there Is NO reason to be adjusting the limit screws again. It does indeed sound as though the cable tension is too tight . I would suggest that you have your LBS shop check it, watch what they do, and then you'll be able to tackle this yourself next time. Perhaps you can also check Sheldon Browns website for more info... There are any ways to adjust the front derailleur and one really needs to understand all of the facets of it, and why it works the way that it does before tackling it... other wise you might fix one problem and cause another.

Good luck!

Thanx for the helpful replies - I use the Park Tool website and have read a bunch of stuff about front drailleur adjustment. I finally got it adjusted properly this morning.

Thanx again for the help - it is much appreciated :)

I am also having trouble tuning my trek 1000 drail. I can not get it to stop rubbing aginst the actual (front)deraileur. Especiallywhen I am in the smaller sprocket on front and 2nd or 3rd smaller in back. ( I am not cross chaining). Any suggestions? My LBS is of no assistance. :( I am a half novice at this !
Thanks B