Chain Won't Go on the Big Ring

Folks,

Over the past several rides I have had a harder and harder time getting the chain to hop up onto the big ring. I assume that's because my cable has stretched a little bit. I see a knurled adjuster on the cable. Can I make an adjustment there to bring it back into line?

Thanks,

 

That's one possibility. If you back that adjuster out (counter-clockwise), you will put more tension on the cable. Tension against the springs in the derailleurs is what allows for a shift from a smaller gear to a larger one (front or back). Adjust it 1/4-1/2 turn at a time, then recheck operation.

Some other things to check:

Are the cables clean (especially if they go through a guide under the bottom bracket)?

Are the cables lubed?

Is the front derailleur twisted (if it's a clamp-on model)?

If it still doesn't work, you may need to back out the outer limit screw on the front derailleur. Don't go too far--when you're in the big front/little rear combo, there should be about 1mm or so of clearance between the cage of the front derailleur and the chain, basically enough for the chain to not rub, but not so much that the front derailleur could shift the chain off the big ring to the outside.

Hope that helps.

Also, you can read up on just about every bike repair topic here: www.sheldonbrown.com

 

"That's one possibility. If you back that adjuster out (counter-clockwise), you will put more tension on the cable. Tension against the springs in the derailleurs is what allows for a shift from a smaller gear to a larger one (front or back). Adjust it 1/4-1/2 turn at a time, then recheck operation."

Chances are Jim this will be the most likely remedy. Here recently I had the same issue at hand and after toiling around with the cable and shifters for a few hours the cable tension issue dawned on me. if the barrel adjuster doesn't provide enough tension when turned all the way, the next step I took was to loosen the cable down at the derailleur and pull it tighter to provide more tension. The adjustments at the derailleur are for a larger amount of change and the barrel is more of fine tuning adjustment. I would, however, attempt to fix the problem at the barrel first.
Hope this helps!

-Zach