Front Derailleur Issue

Dirt in the mechanism, old sticky corroded frayed or kinked derailleur cable, dirty or worn out control lever, broken return spring on the derailleur mechanism, incorrect installation of the derailleur. Look a the easy stuff first--spring, installation, cables, and dirt. The problem with shifting to smaller cogs is that all you have actuating these shifts is a relatively weak spring, and it doesn't take a lot of resistance to keep it from doing its job.

There are several threads in this forum on front derailleur issues. Some of them are current on this page. They have useful information.

Or, you might simply need to upgrade to Campagnolo control levers. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif[/IMG] (pre-emptive sarcasm not intended for you)

HMmmm ...

It [U]is[/U] curious how people who use Campagnolo shifters do NOT seem to have a problem with their drivetains ...

Coincidence?!?

oldbobcat said:

Dirt in the mechanism, old sticky corroded frayed or kinked derailleur cable, dirty or worn out control lever, broken return spring on the derailleur mechanism, incorrect installation of the derailleur. Look a the easy stuff first--spring, installation, cables, and dirt. The problem with shifting to smaller cogs is that all you have actuating these shifts is a relatively weak spring, and it doesn't take a lot of resistance to keep it from doing its job. There are several threads in this forum on front derailleur issues. Some of them are current on this page. They have useful information. Or, you might simply need to upgrade to Campagnolo control levers. 😉 (pre-emptive sarcasm not intended for you)

Like oldbobcat said: check cables and housing to be sure they are in good shape; give the derailleur a good cleaning and lubing; check the cable guide under the BB to be sure it isn't gooked up (you may also want to clean and lube that area). Any system--Shimano, Campy, SRAM--can malfunction as yours currently is.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Like oldbobcat said: check cables and housing to be sure they are in good shape; give the derailleur a good cleaning and lubing; check the cable guide under the BB to be sure it isn't gooked up (you may also want to clean and lube that area).

Any system--Shimano, Campy, SRAM--can malfunction as yours currently is.

Tru dat!!

Sometimes, however, a component's design may actually have been flawed or simply appear to be a poor design because the material may not have been properly spec'd which subsequently results in less-than-ideal performance ...

• for example, the original iteration (c1981) of the SHIMANO DEORE front derailleur was not (IMO) stiff enough ...
  
• who knew that SRAM would try to replicate the dodgy shifting of what may have been Shimano's one inferior front derailleur & think that it was okay?!?
  

Regardless, maintenance is (as oldbobcat & you have suggested) the first avenue which should be investigated ...

BUT, if maintenance (including changing the cable & housing) doesn't resolve the problem, then I will weigh in on another possibility.

Went out yesterday morning and I tested the derailleur before I went out and it seemed to be functioning properly. When I hit my first big climb it didn't work. I stopped and messed with it a bit and it worked fine the rest of the ride. Whatever! Cable replacement is next.

I'm sure that you have probably stated it before, but precisely

what shifters/[B]etc.[/B] are you actually using?

BTW. Did the shifting problem ALWAYS exist?

I am using all 105. And no, it just started a couple weeks ago when the really hot/humid weather set in. It also happened last year for a bit but then I took it to my LBS for a tune up and it's been fine ever since. I noticed this morning that it does shift, just not as far as it should. I rode a flat route this a.m. so never went to granny gear except for testing before ride.

Okay ...

This is like pulling teeth ...

Is your setup 9-speed OR 10-speed?

In the meantime, I've made this statement/suggestion, before ...

• I prefer to use coiled BRAKE CABLE HOUSING for my derailleur cables rather than the parallel stranded housing which someone (¿Yokozuna?) convinced Campagnolo & Shimano to relabel as their own ...
  

Regardless, I recommend that you lightly lube the cable regardless of whether or not everything is supposedly pre-lubed ...

• IF you must use the parallel stranded housing for religious reasons, then consider slightly enlarging the holes in the housing's end caps through which the cable passes BECAUSE friction is your enemy -- ensure the the holes are burr free
  

THERE MAY BE ANOTHER PROBLEM (which is what 'I' actually suspect) ... but, IMO, you are not very forthcoming with details about your bike's setup.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alfeng [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Okay ...

This is like pulling teeth ...

Is your setup 9-speed OR 10-speed?

... but, IMO, you are not very forthcoming with details about your bike's setup.

My apologies. Didn't realize 9 or 10 speed would make a difference on whether a FRONT derailleur was sticking. Mine is a 10 speed. If this will help, here are my bike's specs: bianchiusa.comvigorelliOpen ↗

Everything matters ...

BUT FIRST ...

NICE BIKE ...

This is THE final (?) test for you to do the next time the front derailleur balks ...

1. STOP the bike ...
   
2. RELEASE/(detach) the derailleur cable from the front derailleur ...
   
3. pedal a few yards (between a half of a crank rotation to two) and see if the chain moves to the inner chainring
   
4. if the chain doesn't move onto the inner-most chainring when the derailleur cable is not detaiched then your inner stop isn't set properly ... turn it 1/4 turn counter-clockwise & retest
   
5. THIS could affect shifting up to the outer chainring!?!
   

• obviously, this would be better if you could do it when the bike is on your workstand instead of actually being on the road
  
• heck, I guess you could do it while the bike is on the stand ... then, you can adjust the screw for the inner stop as you turn the crank
  

• BTW. The term "Granny" is usually reserved for the innermost chainring on a Triple; and, not the inner ring on a "Compact" crankset.
  

AN option is to change to a TRIPLE-capable, 10-speed Shimano front Road derailleur ...

• the ramping on 105 chainrings is NOT as good as the ramping on Ultegra-and-DA chainrings ... and, changing to an OUTER (yes, outer) chainring with better ramping will allow you to adjust the inner stop slightly more inboard than it currently is which will ensure that the chain moves onto the inner chainring when you want it to
  

ALSO, I don't know what the difference in width is between various 10-speed chains, but if you aren't using a Shimano 10-speed chain, then that is possibly exacerbating the problem.

ANOTHER option is always to switch to Campagnolo shifters (I had to say it, of course!) ...

• I've stated it before, but during the course of testing the limitations of Campagnolo shifters, I determined that I got BETTER shifts with old-and-comparatively-thin, unramped-and-unpinned chainrings with Campagnolo shifters than with a 9-speed Ultegra 6500 shifters + 6500/6503 front derailleur + 9-speed Shimano chain with a crank with ramped-and-pinned chainrings ...
  
• with the derailleur's stops set properly there are no overshifts in either direction ...
  
• of course, I suppose that one of these days I could get a mis-shift
  

... after you make the change to Campagnolo shifters, you'll wonder why you waited.

He determined by his "seat of the pants" method. Oddly, his seat of the pants method doesn't give results congruent with that of the majority of Shimano users.

OK. Here's the latest: spent some time doing meticulous cleaning and relubrication of all the moving parts in the drivetrain and lo and behold it works perfectly. Whatever it was catching or sticking on finally let loose. Guess the real test is when I hit the road in the morning and come up on that first steep climb. But I'm confident that we are back to square. Thanks for the input everyone.