Front Derailleur Frozen

[tlahwright]

Hi,

I have a three year old Scott road bike. The shifter is stuck on using only the middle main sprocket. I can not use the 1st & 3rd sprockets. The lever moves in and out of 1st but won't budge for the 3rd sprocket. I tried to move the derailleur by hand but it is frozen. How do I sort this out?
A bit of a newbie in this area, my first venture trying to fix something like this.

Thanks

Tim

[jr14]

Hmm...Questions.

1. How often do you ride?
2. If not much, how long has it been sitting in storage?
3. If it was sitting in storage, what conditions was the storage area? Dry and cool basement? Moist and warm shed?

It SOUNDS like the derailleur is corroded, and disassembly is required. Take the whole damn thing apart, wire brush off any corrosion, and reassemble, then lube moving parts.

Of course, this is very basic info, and depending on your specific model, you might want to consider bringing it into the shop if you're uncomfortable with doing the work yourself.

[tlahwright]

Hi,

The storage is dry. But we live in Northern England and it is so moist and damp, and it has been sitting around for 7 months.Maybe I should just by a new one. Thanks

Tim

(04-20-2010, 06:21 PM)jr14 Wrote:  Hmm...Questions.

1. How often do you ride?
2. If not much, how long has it been sitting in storage?
3. If it was sitting in storage, what conditions was the storage area? Dry and cool basement? Moist and warm shed?

It SOUNDS like the derailleur is corroded, and disassembly is required. Take the whole damn thing apart, wire brush off any corrosion, and reassemble, then lube moving parts.

Of course, this is very basic info, and depending on your specific model, you might want to consider bringing it into the shop if you're uncomfortable with doing the work yourself.

[jr14]

Well, I think you should weight he cost differential between repair and replace. It will be easier to replace, but maybe cheaper to repair. Bring it to the shop and get a second opinion. Like I tell everyone, it's VERY hard to diagnose a problem from a brief text description when we can't see it.

[tlahwright]

Thanks. I will try a few things and then get some counsel from the Bike shop. They are very fair and trust worthy. This is great to have a place to share these thoughts.

Tim

(04-21-2010, 06:14 AM)jr14 Wrote:  Well, I think you should weight he cost differential between repair and replace. It will be easier to replace, but maybe cheaper to repair. Bring it to the shop and get a second opinion. Like I tell everyone, it's VERY hard to diagnose a problem from a brief text description when we can't see it.

[cyclerUK]

Disconnect the cable from the mech'.
Hold / pull the cable in your hand and operate the shifter with the other.
If the shifter goes through it's 3 positions properly then it's the mech'.
Try moving the mech' with your hands but be careful not to trap fingers as the spring is strong.
It could be that the cable is stuck so check that that is free as well.

[tlahwright]

Hi Guys, thanks for the pointers and help. Its the mech. and I am looking into a new one. Not sure how to select a new one and started a new question to answer that question.

Cheers

Tim

(04-21-2010, 10:42 AM)cyclerUK Wrote:  Disconnect the cable from the mech'.
Hold / pull the cable in your hand and operate the shifter with the other.
If the shifter goes through it's 3 positions properly then it's the mech'.
Try moving the mech' with your hands but be careful not to trap fingers as the spring is strong.
It could be that the cable is stuck so check that that is free as well.