[HillMan]

I have dropped my chain twice in the last 3 days as I have shifted to the big chainring. I recently had the bike into a shop where they took the front derailleur off and put some grease under the clamp in an effort to silence a mystery creak. I wonder if the derailleur was reinstalled incorrectly. How much space should there be between the bottom of the cage and the teeth of the chainring? Right now there is about 2mm.

 

[otoman]

tighten the outer limit screw on the front der. 1/4 turn. then go to parktool.com for complete how-to's on your shifting system.

 

[tornado]

2mm is correct. Limit screws shouldn't have been effected. I'd check that the FD is aligned properly (parallel to the chain).

 

[Kerry Irons]

Lower, lower

2mm is correct. Limit screws shouldn't have been effected. I'd check that the FD is aligned properly (parallel to the chain).

IME, the lower the FD is, the better. I get them so they just clear the large chain ring. That said, I'm also guessing that the unit got a little rotated when they greased it.

 

[melamst]

IME, the lower the FD is, the better. I get them so they just clear the large chain ring.

I reccomend caution with this approach, it works only on SOME FD's. On others, it can prevent the chain from upshifting completely (it get's jammed). I recently had to adjust a Sora derailleur 5mm above the large chain ring just so that it wouldn't jam.

Obviously not a problem in this instance, though.

 

[the bull]

You mean chain ring right?
I would think that it would be kind of hard to get a derailleur to be lined up parallel with the chain itself as it sits in between the the derailleur and chain angles can change depending on what gear you are in.