Steelman54 

OK, I've been trying to get this going for a while and can’t seem to get there. Campag Centaur 11 speed groupset, brandy new.

Initially, the cable hit the derailleur, so I ordered the little clip (FD-CE011). The clip got the cable off the derailleur, but just barely.

No matter what I do, this derailleur doesn't seem to have enough throw over to the big chain ring. It shifts onto the big ring in 3 clicks, but just barely, 4 clicks might do it, but I don't get 4 clicks or know if I should. The high limit stop is not preventing further movement. When in big ring and small gear, the chain rubs and I can't seem to adjust. I have not tried to adjust cable while in big ring, little gear. Maybe I should, although I would think this will just move the issue to the inner ring?Initial set up is on the inner ring, attach cable, pull tight, set limit screw to ~.5 mm clearance between chain and inner cage. At this point cable seems tight, i.e. tugging it moves derailleur without slop.

Also, the FD CE011 clip has a notch that locates on the derailleur arm tab, and I've routed the cable over the arm on the FD-CE011 clip as that seems correct. However, this makes the cable stick out horizontally, so it will need to be trimmed pretty short to avoid crank arm. Does this seem correct?

Any thoughts on what I’m missing here, this can’t be this hard. Laughing...

Thanks for any help.

Litespud

How many clicks do you get out of your LHS shifter? Granted, the systems aren't the same (I use a late 90's/early 00's Chorus 10 sp), but my LHS shifter gives me ~6-7 clicks, maybe more. When I'm setting up the FD, I start with the LHS shifter fully detensioned (clicked all the way down) and the downtube cable adjuster screwed almost all the way in. I give the shifter 1-2 clicks, then pull the cable tight (tight!!) and clamp it down at the FD. I set the inner limit screw (small chainring, large sprocket) before I start messing with the cable - as close to the chain as I can get without rubbing. I can shift from small to large ring in three clicks, but to get to that point, I usually have to back the downtube adjuster out quite a bit to get more tension in the cable - pulling the cable tight as I'm clamping it isn't sufficient. The way I have it set up, the FD hits the outer limit before I run out of LHS shifter clicks, so I don't count clicks or anything when I'm shifting either up or down - I just shove the shifter till the FD hits the limit and I'm there. Making sure the cable is tight when clamping sometimes results in the cable sticking out horizontally. In this case, just put your thumb to the cable right where it exits the clamp and bend it up - it'll bend fine and stay pointed up.
To minimize/avoid chain rub when on the small sprockets, I ensure that the inner cage is parallel with the chainrings. Since the cage is wider at the rear than at the front, this means that the outer cage rear flares outward. For 10 sp at least, this provides enough clearance for the chain when on the small sprockets

Steelman54 

Yeah, my old Campag 10 speed has like 5 clicks, this new setup best i can tell has 3 clicks, i.e. no trim. You raise some good points in your post. I'll give it another go. For whatever reason it is not quite as simple as Zinn and the internet make it sound. Thanks.

Litespud

DaveSSS 

If it works like chorus and higher level models, a cable tension adjuster is a must. Unlike most FDs, the big ring limit screw does not determine the cage location in the big ring. It limits the ovetravel needed to make the big ring shift. After the shift is made and the lever released, cable tension controls the cage position.

When everything is set right, the shift to the little ring only requires one click. The other two clicks trim the cage to the left.

The cable does exit the clamp bolt groove horizontally. Don't cut it short, bend it up to clear the crank and leave some excess.

Steelman54 

Thanks guys, will give it another go and report back.

RGMN

This is how my Chorus 11 is setup with the FD-CE011. Note that it is on the big ring - the end goes between the seat tube and the tire.

Steelman54 

RGMN, that is how my Centaur is with the FD CE011, only I have not yet bent up the cable. Decided I needed a day or 2 break from it as I was getting PO'd. Will report back.

Thanks for all the tips, I know it will work, so that leaves me as the problem....

robertorolfo

Your Centaur levers are Powershift, not Ultrashift, right? I don't know if that really makes a difference for the FD, but I know that my Centaur 10sp FD was a lot more finicky to setup than my Chorus 11sp FD

Steelman54 

OK, I'm back and with good news. I got it shifting and pretty much adjusted while on my trainer.

The FD cable had to be way tighter than i thought. In fact i could not seem to pull it tight enough. So, I put chain on small front ring and big cog at the back end and set the derailleur clearance to like less than .5 mm. I noticed that when i hooked up the cable the derailleur seem to adjust itself out of position (thinking it wasn't fully seated on screw, so i worked it back and forth a bit to settle it in). Anyhow, got the thing set to 0.5 mm or less as described. Then miraculously it shifted to the big ring in 3 clicks, no muss, no fuss. Not really any trim here, but i'll need to finish the build and get it around the loop in my neighbor hood. The derailleur was to far over on the big ring, but a bit of cable tension fiddling seemed to take care of it, no rubbing while spinning on my trainer.

My Campag 10 speed FD seems way better than this bad boy, but time will tell.

The 11 cogs at the back shift fine after a bit of cable tension twiddling.

Photo's of build coming once i get it, ughm , more built!

Thanks for all the help with this project.

Mike