Front derailleur won’t stay in gear.

[Bdschoolf]

My front derailleur will not stay in second or third it will shift all the way to the third gear but once I let go of my shifter it will spring back to first. So unless I hold the shifter on my handle bar in the proper position I cannot stay in second or third. Haven’t adjusted anything I just bought the bike off marketplace.

[Painkiller]

sounds like it could be a bad shifter, try to post pics of what you have

[Talha]

(05-16-2023, 01:15 PM)Bdschoolf Wrote:  My front derailleur will not stay in second or third it will shift all the way to the third gear but once I let go of my shifter it will spring back to first. So unless I hold the shifter on my handle bar in the proper position I cannot stay in second or third. Haven’t adjusted anything I just bought the bike off marketplace.

there may be an issue with the front derailleur or its cable tension. Start by looking at the cable that links the shifter and front derailleur. Make sure it is firmly attached and appropriately tensioned. It could be necessary to fix or replace the cable if it is frayed or loose. Next, you need to check the limit screws.

The limit screws control the range of motion. If the derailleur is not staying in the proper position, it's possible that the limit screws need adjustment. Also check the derailleur alignment.

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

If the shifter isn't clicking, then there's definitely something wrong with the mechanism inside the shifter.

Easy fix possibly though. Just buy a replacement and any local bike shop will slap it on for a bench fee.

If it was doing something like sticking, and not down shifting, that could be due to too much pretension on the cable or due to the spring being worn out in the front derailleur.

[meamoantonio]

(05-17-2023, 06:08 AM)Talha Wrote:  

(05-16-2023, 01:15 PM)Bdschoolf Wrote:  My front derailleur will not stay in second or third it will shift all the way to the third gear but once I let go of my shifter it will spring back to first. So unless I hold the shifter on my handle bar in the proper position I cannot stay in second or third. Haven’t adjusted anything I just bought the bike off marketplace.

there may be an issue with the front derailleur or its cable tension. Start by looking at the cable that links the shifter and front derailleur. Make sure it is firmly attached and appropriately tensioned. It could be necessary to fix or replace the cable if it is frayed or loose. Next, you need to check the limit screws.

The limit screws control the range of motion. If the derailleur is not staying in the proper position, it's possible that the limit screws need adjustment. Also check the derailleur alignment.

I think this is the closest mechanically sound explanation of what's happening, vouching for this guy's answer, I run a bike shop in the Philippines and this is usually the case with problems like this