Front Derailleurs for Dummies

barrel adjuster at cable stop

It bugs the staff cyclists no end to find "maintenance" tips written by people who've clearly never maintained their bicycles. Although the notion that anyone can reword text seems to have been shoveled into the open heads of certain college disciplines, the sad truth is that it doesn't work if you don't understand the topic. That's what seems to have caught eHow.com's Nicole Greenman when she tried to explain, "How to Adjust a Shimano 105 Front Derailleur" (now at SportsRec.com).

We suppose the image of a wheel (instead of a derailleur [or derailer, your choice]) was what originally caught our staffer's eye. In truth, Greenman managed to regurgitate most of the information she read somewhere, although her step,

"Set the L-limit screw (the one closest [sic] to your frame) with a Phillips head screwdriver..."

...should have included a warning that the L-limit screw isn't always the one closer to the seat tube. She managed to copy the suggested spacing between the cage and chainwheels, too, which is a big surprise seeing as the measurement is metric. But we digress.

Where Nicole's whole post went wonky was this last step:

"Turn the cable adjustment bolt (located on the cable leading to the front derailleur) counter clockwise about three turns."

WTF is a "cable adjustment bolt," anyway? Is Nicole suggesting that you whomp on the barrel adjuster for a full three turns? Since she just told you to take up the slack in the cable, why are you loosening it again? And let us tell you, three full turns of the barrel adjuster is hella lot!

That's not to mention that our Dumbass of the Day couldn't even tell you where her "cable adjustment bolt" can be found. FWIW, the barrel adjuster is located on the down tube where the cable housing ends at a cable stop. Greenman, however, would not know a cable stop if one bit her on the hiney...

DD - BICYCLES