Bad to have your FD cable too tight?

[DaveVTC]

I am currently having problems with chain lag/drag/wear against my FD when in the big blade of my crank (campy veloce FD, centuar crank)

 

the only way to stop this is to adjust the FD so that the cable is very tight. Is this bad and going to lead to a cable snapping?

 

Anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[Mudsimus]

Get a proper gear setup. I've seen a guy break a campag shifter because he didnt adjust his fd properly.

[jrussell]

Is this on a mtb or road bike?

[kennyg]

Check that your FD has not slipped down... even 3 mm is a lot..

 

I broke a shifter and a cable, before I realised what had happened.

 

[AndreZA]

In which gear does it touch? That is the way the system works. The cable gets pulled tighter and tighter the higher you go up the gears, front and back.

[DaveVTC]

it touches in all the gears when im in the big blade

[DaveVTC]

ps. campy dont make mtb grouppos

[droo]

Your tension's out. Make sure your limit stops are set right (top and bottom), and set cable tension properly. Park tools has the how-to if you need it. If your cable snaps from being too tight, you have way bigger issues than adjustment.

[shanejvv]

The cables nowadays are so robust, that you are more likely to break your ergolever.

 

Anyhow, very often cable drag is the culprit:

 

Make sure that the shifter cable and housing is clean and lubed. If the casing needs replacement, you'll need to remove your bartape and put new casing on. If the casing is still good and smooth, not grittty, great.

 

Next step, make sure that the bottom bracket cable guide has got lube on. Too often this little piece of plastic is ignored.

 

I like to use Squirt lube for cables, it's really good. Using water as the solvent/carrier, it does not have any strong solvents that can damage plastic.

 

Put everything together, tighten up and try it out. Don't forget to adjust the outer setscrew correctly to prevent the chain overshifting and falling off the outside of the cranks.

 

Let me know how it goes.

 

[shanejvv]

They used to in the good ol' days

[DaveVTC]

thanks guys! im sorted now

[Johan Bornman]

The cables nowadays are so robust' date=' that you are more likely to break your ergolever.

Anyhow, very often cable drag is the culprit:

Make sure that the shifter cable and housing is clean and lubed. If the casing needs replacement, you'll need to remove your bartape and put new casing on. If the casing is still good and smooth, not grittty, great.

Next step, make sure that the bottom bracket cable guide has got lube on. Too often this little piece of plastic is ignored.

I like to use Squirt lube for cables, it's really good. Using water as the solvent/carrier, it does not have any strong solvents that can damage plastic.

Put everything together, tighten up and try it out. Don't forget to adjust the outer setscrew correctly to prevent the chain overshifting and falling off the outside of the cranks.

Let me know how it goes.
[/quote']

 

Shane, I'm with you on the cable strength but nervous about some of your other suggestions.

 

Lubing the cable guide is not a good idea. Keep it clean yes, but operate it dry.

 

Squirt...well that is a 20-page fight in itself but putting it into the cables is more likely to cause harm than good. By definition it will introduce water in there that has nowhere to escape and will get up to mischief in captivity. No lube is the best strategy here, super-especially on mountain bikes.

 

As for the plastic liner inside the cable housing. No household chemical I know of will react with it. For all practical purposes it is inert. What solvent have you found that reacts with it?