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Triple Front Derailleur Problem

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Triple Front Derailleur Problem

Old 07-17-21, 06:44 PM
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Goldrush
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Triple Front Derailleur Problem

I'm not the world's greatest bike mechanic but I like to figure things out. I have a triple that's been shifting fine. A few rides ago it was a bit hesitant shifting onto the small chainring. Today it refused to shift to the small ring at all. Back home in the repair stand I shifted to the small ring position and noticed that the cable went slack but the derailleur didn't move any further inboard. So it seems this is not a cable problem?

Trigger shifters on a recumbent. SRAM system.
Ideas?
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Old 07-17-21, 07:15 PM
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Can you push the derailleur cage in by hand? Is something blocking it? When the derailleur stays by the middle ring is there any noise, any rubbing, setting in?
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Old 07-18-21, 06:55 AM
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After checking the above, check for mechanical damage to the FD--cage bent, or spun on the seat tube (or equivalent mounting area on your 'bent).

Then try loosening the low limit screw 1/4 turn at a time.

If that doesn't do it, start from scratch and do the whole procedure shown in the Park Tools site, without skipping a step. Hopefully you have a stand for this.
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Old 07-18-21, 09:18 AM
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Problem solved. The derailleur was gunked up. A couple of baths withTri-Flow and it's working fine.
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Old 07-18-21, 10:33 PM
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Jeff Wills
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Originally Posted by Goldrush
Problem solved. The derailleur was gunked up. A couple of baths with Tri-Flow and it's working fine.
That's pretty amazing- the front derailleur on a Gold Rush is well shielded from road dirt. Did you just not clean it for a couple years?
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Old 07-18-21, 11:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Jeff Wills
Did you just not clean it for a couple years?
Most bike owners do not even shift. We are here a few grades above the basics.
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Old 07-19-21, 08:04 AM
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Probably 2 things going on here. I haven't been routinely lubing the pivot points and also I live in a flat area. The only times I use the small chainring is on overpasses.

So now I'll be using the Tri-Flow monthly and shifting into the small ring on a regular basis.

Thanks for the help. You for sure helped me sniff out the solution!!
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Old 07-19-21, 08:20 AM
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Unca_Sam
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Originally Posted by Goldrush
Probably 2 things going on here. I haven't been routinely lubing the pivot points and also I live in a flat area. The only times I use the small chainring is on overpasses.

So now I'll be using the Tri-Flow monthly and shifting into the small ring on a regular basis.

Thanks for the help. You for sure helped me sniff out the solution!!
Just a word of caution: Lube on pivots is good, but overdoing it will allow the grit to accumulate in dry, dusty conditions. There's a balance there somewhere.
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