FD Chain Cage movement

By the way, I should mention that I haven't crashed (yet!) so the FD hasn't taken a direct hit.

sergen said:

What do you think the most likely casue of this was?

Cables on new bikes stretch while they're being broken in. There's a tension adjustment barrel at the cable stop on the down tube.

artmichalek said:

Cables on new bikes stretch while they're being broken in. There's a tension adjustment barrel at the cable stop on the down tube.

What he said. Cable stretch is a given.

capwater said:

What he said. Cable stretch is a given.

like they said.

Its not that the FD moved inwards cause it didnt. Because of the slack the shifter is not able to pull the cage far enuf to clear the chain, hence the rub.

Relieve the slack with a few turns on the barrel adjusters.

Adjust the "low" limit screw in 30/27, so the chain won't rub the cage. They do bed in to the derailleur arm a little. Then check the FD movement in the middle chain ring. You may be using the trim in the middle 39 the wrong way. Yes, expect some cable stretch.

sergen said:

I've had my new bike for about 3 months now - the drivetrain is Ultegra 30 speed (the cassette is a 10 speed 12-27). I am 100% sure that the FD chain cage has somehow moved slightly inwards towards the bike but cannot think how this is likely to have happened.

Previously, when I was in 39x15 I did not have to use the trim feature on the front derailleur shifter to move the chain cage out away from the bike. Now I do. OK - so that's no big deal as I can just get used to using the trim each time I go into that gear.

But the thing that is annoying is the fact that there is now a very slight chain rub when in 52x12. Again, this is a gear combo only used on long downhills but it's still annoying that the FD chaincage has clearly moved inwards.

What do you think the most likely casue of this was?

And how easy is it to reposition the FD chaincage? Given that I'm not the best when it comes to technical stuff I'm scared of causing more harm than good.

If you bought the bike from a shop, they should give you complimentary tune-up/adjustments during the first few months. It would be worth the time to spend a few minutes on the park tool website or with a decent repair/maintenance manual (such as that by Lennard Zinn) to learn the basics of tuning your own bike. The FD adjustment that has been suggested to you by the others is a two-minute fix. If you are riding a lot, you will have many other little adjustments coming up over time.