My bike tipped over while I was cleaning it. It fell over on to the drive train side. I went for a bike ride later on and couldn’t shift the front small ring to the big one. I push the left shifter in and it won’t shift the chain up to the big ring no matter how hard I push. Could I have damaged the front derailleur when it fell over? The bike tipped over in the grass so I’m hoping this derailleur thing is fixable. Would appreciate any help. Thanks…
without posting some pics it’s very hard to say what’s wrong with it.
If the derailleur is not visibly bent try loosening the outer limit screw so that the derailleur is free to move further out when you shift. For a good explanation of how to do this (it’s very easy) go here: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75
Same thing happened to me on a ride yesterday but less pronounced - I could get into the big ring but the chain line to my two smallest sprockets cause heavy chain rub on the front derailleur cage. The above fix sorted me out.
One word of warning - if and when you get it working check you’ve not overdone it - it’s easy to have the throw too big which will push your chain off the front sprocket and into your cranks.
If it is an older DA 9 speed it could be the shifter itself. I have had 2 go in the past year. Both about 4 years old. thats where it gets pricey/
Thanks…that’s great info! How can you tell if the front derailleur is bent? Does that mean it’s bent too far inward?
It is very unlikely that the limits were effected by a fall in the grass. Not even very likely that the derrailleur cage was bent… the cage should be straight, and parallel to the chainrings.
Did you check cable tension? This seems the most likely culprit to me… There should not be any slack in the front derrailluer cable. Check that before you start turning limit screw or bending the cage. Otherwise, take it to a shop and have them show you what to do.