Problem with Chain Disengaging

Hi Doug,

Best to get the bike shop the set up the front derailleur.

Until then, a couple of suggestions:

Front Downshifts to the Small Chainring, do this before you run out of gears on the rear, say about 3 sprockets in from the end, if it is a 12-25 cassette, shift the front down at the 21t.

The other thing, check the Low Limit Screw on the body of the Front Derailleur with the Chain on the Inner Chainring and the Largest Cog of the Cassette. If the clearence betwen the Side Plate of the Derailleur and the Chain is more than 2mm, just adjust the Low Limit Screw until the clearance is 1-2mm. Note your start positions just incase you move the wrong screw.

Now Shift to the Middle Chain Ring and again check the clearance between the Front Derailleur Cage and the Chain with the Chain on the Largest Rear Sprocket. This one should be .05-1mm. If more than 1mm, use the Inline Cable Adjuster to reduce this clearance.

Road Test and see how it goes. 😉

If all else fails, read the instructions: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75

also, don't shift while putting maximum effort into your pedalling. you want to shift before the steepest part of the hill, not on it.

DougFNJ said:

Hello all, I am new to these forums, this is my first post....any help would be appreciated.

I have just gotten a nice Cannondale Bicycle after many years of not biking at all, and have been putting some good mielage on the bike.

3 weeks ago I found out the hard way why not to keep the chain on the 2 smallest......upod shifting I bent the chain to the point where it kept skipping and popping off. I brought it back to my Bike store and they replaced the chain and adjusted the gears for me, and everything rode fine. At this point I mainly keep the front gear in the middle and shift with the rear.

So today, I am on a middle gear riding up a steep hill and decide to move the front gear to the small one and once again the chain pops off......is there something I can do to avoid this problem from persistently occuring? Thanks in advance for any help.