Neat

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 05/08/2019 at 06:50 • Filed to: Bikelopnik

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I’ve been tinkering with mrsztp’s mountain bike since it wouldn’t shift gears. Finally got the rear cassette working, and somehow managed to readjust the front derailleur to work as desired... Then i took it for a test drive....

Yeah, that front derailleur is warped. Not exactly sure on what happened, but it seems to have got snagged on something which yanked it out of its position.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 07:24

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Derailleur died a good death. But also a typical one. Which is why only two of my five bikes have a front derailleur these days.

zeontestpilot > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 05/08/2019 at 08:06

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I offered her to convert the front from three sprockets to one, since im not fully sure on 'why' the bike is set up like this; but she is unsure. It seems the front derailleur isn't nearly as reliable as the rear one; would that be a correct assumption?

Maxima Speed > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 08:25

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I was just adjusting my front derailleur last night. Mine is rubbing when in the highest  gear ratio and however when I adjust it to not rub it won’t shift. I need to adjust cable tension I believe.

zeontestpilot > Maxima Speed 05/08/2019 at 08:41

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I spent ten minutes tinkering with it before i tightened the nut. That was prior to what happened above.

Dakotahound > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 08:45

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Something similar happened to one of my bikes. It is a beater that I use for beach riding, so it is now locked into one sprocket. There is a bigger jump between gears on the front sprockets, so the front derailleur is more susceptible to failure.

PyramidHat > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 08:59

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Did you have it in the big gear on the front and the rear?  

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 09:02

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Many people just use the middle ring all of the time. The “granny” ring is for climbing steep hills, the big ring is for going fast.

You won’t be able to do much for “converting” the bike. Roadmasters are bottom-end bikes with one-piece cranks and chainrings riveted onto the carriers. While you could drill out the rivets to remove the big and small chainrings, then you would be stuck having to figure out how to reattach the middle ring. It’s really not worth the effort.

If she really wants the flexibility of three rings, get the diameter of the seat post, go to your local bike shop, and ask for a cheap bottom-pull derailleur. You can probably get one for less than $20.

zeontestpilot > Dakotahound 05/08/2019 at 09:05

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It seems that this broke when i pedaled backwards, and the chain got caught. Having the mount point be around the tube is just begging for a mishap like this.

zeontestpilot > PyramidHat 05/08/2019 at 09:09

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Dont remember, as i was trying to set the correct lenght for the cable. The front wasnt shifting at all. Playing around, i noticed the shifter cable was so loose it would never tighten the spring of the derailleur; so i opened it up to a lax position and tightened the cable so thete was no slack. Witj it upside down, i played with it yobmaje sure it was working, then i took the test drive.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/08/2019 at 09:11

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My initial thought was just remove the big and middle rings, since the small is already attached.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 09:45

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The derailleur mount is rotated to the front, so at some point it was caught by something going forward. It is bent to the back, so it was also caught by something going backward. It probably happened all at once - it was caught by a stick or over-shifted and got hung up on one of the chainrings, then it was bent backward when the rider tried to force it back into place.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 09:51

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Removing the rivets for the big and middle rings will be a pain. Leaving only the small ring will leave only low gears for the rider. As I said, most people leave it in the middle ring because it provides the most useful range of gears. The other problem you will have with that plan is serious cross-chaining. Older drivetrains aren’t designed to use the small chainring and the smallest cog (highest gear at the rear wheel). That will cause excessive wear on all the moving parts, especially the chain. If the chain isn’t well-lubed, cross-chaining can also cause binding in the chain and that will cause skips. If it skips when you’re standing on the pedals trying to climb a hill, the forward momentum can toss the rider over the bars. You can guess how I know that one.

vicali > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 11:17

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Wrecked em? Damn near killed him.

Consider yourself derailed.

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustment

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=TD+one+front+deraileur&_sacat=0

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/08/2019 at 12:36

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While listening to a work video, i looked at the picture i took and figured the derailleur got caught in the sprocket. Probably because i had to remove the slack from the line.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 13:30

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Remove the slack from the line? Do you mean that you had to tighten up the shifter cable?

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > zeontestpilot 05/08/2019 at 18:47

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That is the correct assumption.

However, g ood quality front derailleurs that are set up properly can be used for years with little issue. Unfortunately, yours was neither of these things!

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/08/2019 at 18:53

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Yes, as there was enough slack in the cable that the derailleur wouldn't budge. It came from beneath it, but the shifter did nothing to move the derailleur. So i opened the shifter to have the most slack, and adjusted the cable on the derailleur accordingly. Apparently it moved over too much.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 05/09/2019 at 01:04

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Derailleurs can be somewhat tricky to setup. There’s a fine line between being too close to the chainrings but not so far away that it won’t shift. Next time around, look for instructions on positioning the derailleur. Also , look closely at the derailleur and find the limit screws. These prevent the derailleur from moving too far in either direction. Finally, any testing should be done by rotating the cranks by hand. That way, if something is going to bind, there won’t be enough force on it to bend or break parts.