Front derailleur problems

[Rolandfernandez]

I am having problems with my front derailleur. i have set it up so that it shifts into the lower gears ok, but it does not want to shift to the hight gears. I have a shimano revoshift setup on my bike. any tips? what should i do? I dont have a bake shop that i know of within 70 miles in each direction of my house, so i cant go somewhere to fix it. all advice and help appreciated.
Thank you,
Roland

 

[PeterF]

I am having problems with my front derailleur. i have set it up so that it shifts into the lower gears ok, but it does not want to shift to the hight gears. I have a shimano revoshift setup on my bike. any tips? what should i do? I dont have a bake shop that i know of within 70 miles in each direction of my house, so i cant go somewhere to fix it. all advice and help appreciated.
Thank you,
Roland

2 things I can think of in order of what I would try:

1. The cable tension may not be tight enough. There may be a barrel adjuster along the cable housing line that you will need to turn so it essentially lengthens the housing (thus shortening the cable). This can also be done by shifting the front derailleur all the way to the inside, loosing the cable binder bolt pulling the cable end to tighten and re-tighten the bolt.

2. If the cable tension is fine it could be the outer limit screw needs to be loosened a bit. This will allow the cage to move outward more. Just try a half turn at a time until it shifts on to the big ring. You don't want to over do this since it could result in shifting off the big ring toward your crank arm. Also the derailleur cage could also contact the inside of the crank arm causing friction and eventual failure.

If you bought the bike pre-built by a shop, the should have already set your limit screws so I would try cable tension first. New bikes experience what's called "cable stretch" after a few rides. The cables don't really stretch so much as the housing compresses. Either way it should be an easy fix that you can do at home. A bike stand is a nice luxury but for a front d adjustment not a necessity. A training stand can work well too, but also not a deal breaker.

Home bike tune ups are fun!!!

 

[Rolandfernandez]

well thats the problem. I put it together, and everything is lined up like it should be. it just wont shift to the higher gears. i cant figure it out. do you think i would need a ne derailleur?