Prowler 

I’ve been having a intermittent problem lately with shifting the FD on my Nishiki. Generally it would do fine but, rarely, the chain would bind on the upshift. I’ve been checking and re-checking the alignment and elevation of the FD and trying it a whisker higher or lower. Nothing has fully eliminated the rare chain jam. And nothing else has really changed to cause this to start. Until….

Recently, about 10 minutes from home, the chain jammed pretty badly and I pulled over. From my saddle the FD looked bent. Ugh. I left it on the small ring and rode home. Took the FD off the bike and over to the bench. Then I found a problem. The inner cage plate was loose.

LOOSE? What are you talking about? I’d never checked it as I had no idea it should be checked. FD cages are formed from a single piece of metal sheet, eh? Well, this 1980 Suntour NSL FD has a two part cage. The outer plate is formed from the same aluminum sheet as the FD body. The inner plate is a separate steel piece, screwed to the FD with 3 really tiny machine screws, each takes a 2mm Allen key to install or remove them. All three screws were loose, one quite loose, and the cage was wobbling, ready to catch or misguide the chain during a shift.

As my Dad used to say: “Well cut off my legs and call me shorty”. I’ve never seen a two part FD cage before so never thought to check those screws. You can even see in the photo that there are two wee holes in the outer plate - access holes for two of the screws. The third is below the outer plate and needs no special access.




So cleaned everything with OMS and dried it all well. Blue Locktite thread lock when putting it back together. As things go, I left it sit for a day or two. Earlier, when I thought the cage was bent up, I was actually seeing that the FD had been rotated on the ST and that loose inner cage plate was skewed relative to the outer plate. When cleaned up and reassembled the FD looks AOK, not bent at all. I reinstalled the FD and sorted the bike out.

Yesterday I took the bike around the block - 15 mile hilly circuit around the neighborhoods with a score or two of FD shifts back and forth. It all worked beautifully. This NSL FD is a very nice unit and I’m quite pleased. It is “backwards” as it homes (the cable relaxed position) to the big ring. Usually takes a minute or two to get used to that after riding my ‘normal’ bikes but then it works great. I do like the idea of “both pedals to the metal” when you want faster n fastier.




So, as the story goes “if you know anyone in a similar situation or YOU are in a similar situation” keep this in mind. An FD cage could be a two part design, screwed together and the screws could be loose. If you have a two part FD cage, check those screws from time to time.

steve sumner

only Suntour would take something as simple as a front changer
make it more complicated and think it was an improvement
you can remove the front derailleur without breaking the chain
was their ad speak to which I say so what!

Pompiere

This is timely, as I am about to re-assemble my Fuji S12-S LTD with the original NSL derailleur. I knew about the screws, but I will go back and put some blue Loc-tite on them just to be sure.

The Golden Boy 

It's a screw. That's not exactly "complicated."

Looking at the Deore, XTR and Dura Ace FDs I have in use- they all use a similar screw to allow the cage to separate to remove the FD without breaking chain.

stardognine

As do most other front derailleurs, whoever made them. 😁😉

That’s a new model to me, never heard of it before. 🤔

Now you have me wondering about my early Suntour XC front, I better give it a look. 😉

Prowler 

Yes, all the others I've seen have the one screwed connection on the tail. That's the "gumption trap" I was in when I bought this bike back in 2013. Did not even notice the two other screws nor that the whole inner plate was a separate piece. I never checked them. I had to rattle that FD around for 6 years to loosen the screws, then the problem started.

Other than that, I'm real pleased with the NSL and expect many more years together.