[Kevin]

Trying to set up my front deraileur. Ive never done this before but I figured Id gove it a try. Cant be that hard right?
Now when I turn the H and L adjustment screws nothing happens.
Am I doing something wrong or is it just broken?
Its a Shimano SLX and its still in good shape otherwise...

Any help is welcome!

 

[jonKranked]

keep turning them? do you have the cable routing correct? pics?

sometimes on FD's you really have to dial in the limit screws

 

[Kevin]

The der was allready installed on my bike and suddenly just stopped shifting to the biggest cog.
Cable routing etc should be good, but I can screw them all the way in and out and nothing happens...
But as far as I can see nothing is missing or broken.

 

[jonKranked]

check your cable tension. drop it into your granny gear and see if its loose.

 

[jonKranked]

if its suddenly not shifting - its more likely your cable tension than the limit screws.

 

[Nick]

try it now?

 

[Nick]

just kidding

Now when I turn the H and L adjustment screws nothing happens.

Jon's right; if it just stopped shifting to the largest gear you probably needed a bit more tension. (cables do stretch) But if you already messed with your high/low limits, you're going to need to reset those.

Take the chain off and loosen the shift cable so you can move the der. freely with your hand.
The high and low stops set the distance the der. can travel. Think of this as preventing the der. from moving too far and allow the chain to drop or shift off your big ring. Adjust each stop and move the der. with your hand to check for good alignment over the smallest and largest chainrings.

Put your barrel adjuster a few turns out from all the way. Gently pull the shift cable by hand and tighten the bolt to reattach it to the der. Shift through all gears and check alignment visually. Reinstall your chain and cycle through the gears. If the chain doesn't shift UP easily, add tension with the barrel adjuster. If the chain doesn't shift DOWN easily, reduce tension.

 

[Kevin]

Cable tension looked fine because the cable was tightened in the same place as it was before.
Is it possible that it stretched out enough to not shift properly anymore?
I got a little movement out of the adjuster screw but isnt it supposed to be adjustable even with the cable loose?

 

[Kevin]

just kidding



Jon's right; if it just stopped shifting to the largest gear you probably needed a bit more tension. (cables do stretch) But if you already messed with your high/low limits, you're going to need to reset those.

Take the chain off and loosen the shift cable so you can move the der. freely with your hand.
The high and low stops set the distance the der. can travel. Think of this as preventing the der. from moving too far and allow the chain to drop or shift off your big ring. Adjust each stop and move the der. with your hand to check for good alignment over the smallest and largest chainrings.

Put your barrel adjuster a few turns out from all the way. Gently pull the shift cable by hand and tighten the bolt to reattach it to the der. Shift through all gears and check alignment visually. Reinstall your chain and cycle through the gears. If the chain doesn't shift UP easily, add tension with the barrel adjuster. If the chain doesn't shift DOWN easily, reduce tension.

Ok thanks, ill run through those steps tomorrow.
If that doesnt work, Ill just switch to 1x9 like my DH bike, rear mechs are so much easier to adjust...

 

[jonKranked]

Is it possible that it stretched out enough to not shift properly anymore?

its actually pretty much guaranteed that a cable is going to stretch. that's why most bike shops offer free 30 day tune ups when you buy a new bike from them. cables stretch as they get used. you can pre-stretch them , but they'll still stretch a touch.

 

[Kevin]

Works like a charm now, cheers!