Adjust the front derailleur
Set the cage height and angle, adjust the limit screws, re-tension the cable and check the shifts. For a chain that no longer drops off between the chainrings.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Time
- 30 minutes
Tools you need
Phillips screwdriver
Otherwise: Multi-tool
Allen keys
Otherwise: Multi-tool
Pliers
Otherwise: Adjustable wrench
Step 2Set the limit screws
- 1. H screw (smallest sprocket stop)
- 2. L screw (largest sprocket stop)
- 3. B screw (jockey-to-sprocket gap)
Put the chain on the small chainring and the largest sprocket. With the Phillips screwdriver (or else Multi-tool), set the L screw to leave one millimetre between the chain and the inner cage plate. Then shift onto the big chainring and the smallest sprocket, and set the H screw to leave the same gap on the outside.
Before anything else, check that the cage clears the teeth of the big chainring by one to two millimetres and runs parallel to it. Then re-tension the cable.
Read next
- Adjust
Adjust the rear derailleur
Check the hanger, set the H and L limit screws, re-tension the cable, fine-tune indexing with the barrel adjuster, then the B-screw. Crisp, quiet shifting.
Intermediate · 30 minutes
- Check
Check the drivetrain
Chain wear, cog and chainring teeth, derailleur hanger and shifting — enough to know in fifteen minutes what needs replacing or adjusting.
Easy · 15 minutes