Road bike: how do you release front derailer cable?

[geekpie]

I am attempting to do up an old road bike (non indexed gears). When I came to replace the front derailer, I was unable to remove the (perfectly good) cable from the derailer. The cable was held tight at the derailer by a bolt with a slightly rounded head. I turned the nut on this bolt and it moved but after a while kept turning at the same position. I take it the bolt is not threaded all the way and the nut is not supposed to come off. However the cable was still held tight by the end of the bolt. What are you supposed to do to loosen the end of the bolt so that you can pull the cable through?

[DaveM]

You shouldn't need to completely remove that bolt for the cable to be released. It may be that the little plates or washers that the bolt clamps on to the cable are just wedged tight. Try taking needle nose pliers and just move around all the parts when the cable clamp is. Post a pic if you're still having trouble