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Adjust

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

This guide is still being written: only the main steps are described for now.

Tools you need

  • Phillips screwdriver

    Otherwise: Multi-tool

  • Allen keys

    Otherwise: Multi-tool

  • Pliers

    Otherwise: Adjustable wrench

Step 2Set the limit screws

Rear derailleur from the side: the H and L limit screws side by side on the body, and the B-tension screw resting on the hanger.
  1. 1. H screw (smallest sprocket stop)
  2. 2. L screw (largest sprocket stop)
  3. 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.

  • 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