Road Bike Front Derailleur Cable Tension
If your question is whether it s normal for there to be significant tension on the shift cable when the front derailleur is in the outer position the answer is yes.
Road bike front derailleur cable tension. And if you re on a road bike. Indexing and managing cable tension in the front and rear derailleurs when time and miles have got the drive train shifting less than perfect. Chain shifts slowly or not at all to largest front chainring. Inspect and correct cage rotation as necessary check l limit screw setting.
Sensitive to small changes in position and cable tension they can require frequent attention. I show how to install and adjust a front derailleur including removing the old front derailleur. To tighten the cable if you have an adjuster start by screwing the inline adjuster all the way in so that you will have its full travel should you need it in the future. On your particular bike the barrel adjuster is inline with the shifter cable near the handlebars.
Adjust the cable tension by loosening the cable anchor pinch bolt use a cable puller tool to pull the slack from the cable before retightening the cable anchor pinch bolt. To set your front derailleur outer limit screw shift into the large chainring and the rear derailleur into the smallest cog. Sometimes the cable and or the housing is ruined and will need to be replaced. However an unhappy front derailleur needn t mean a trip to the bike shop just follow our tips.
Cable tension and derailleur position are usually the culprits and both can be adjusted relatively easily. Front derailleur cable tension too slack h limit screw too tight and or rotation of cage is off. Also a bent or broken front derailleur or shifter will require replacement. The shift lever and front derailleur need to be fully returned to their starting positions in order to take all tension off the shift cable so you can remove any slack.
Cable tension and limit setting. The gap between the lower edge of the front derailleur cage and the top of the outer chainring teeth should be 1 3mm for optimal performance. This tension must overcome the fairly strong return spring in the derailleur. The outward cage of the front derailleur should sit as close to the big ring as possible without making contact.
Front l limit screw too loose or rotation of cage is off.