Dura Ace 7700 front shifter issue

[hockeybike]

I've been having an issue with my Dura Ace 7700 front derailleur. Without any cables/housing in place, the front shifter shifts up and down the rings without any real resistance (still feel the clicks, of course). The second I clamp it all down correctly, I get a ton of resistance shifting up and down. I haven't had a chance to replace the housing, but I did take it apart and cut off the ends of the housing where some of the strands had pushed through the outer rubber casing. No kinks in the inner cable, either.

Any suggestions? I've already tried dripping Tri-flo all over the front derailleur, but that didn't seem to do too much.

I doubt it's a busted shifter as I had much 'lighter' shifting action when I had a campy daytona derailleur there.

[oldpotatoe]

I've been having an issue with my Dura Ace 7700 front derailleur. Without any cables/housing in place, the front shifter shifts up and down the rings without any real resistance (still feel the clicks, of course). The second I clamp it all down correctly, I get a ton of resistance shifting up and down. I haven't had a chance to replace the housing, but I did take it apart and cut off the ends of the housing where some of the strands had pushed through the outer rubber casing. No kinks in the inner cable, either.

Any suggestions? I've already tried dripping Tri-flo all over the front derailleur, but that didn't seem to do too much.

I doubt it's a busted shifter as I had much 'lighter' shifting action when I had a campy daytona derailleur there.

5mm der housing, cut cleanly, metal ferrules, wee bit of lube inside, clean under BB guide, smooth moving FD....

[GregL]

I had similar issues when I ran DA 7700. I came to the opinion that the 7700 FD had a very strong return spring and the 7700 STI left brifter lacked sufficient rigidity. The end result was the less-than-optimum front shifting. I have found that DA 7800 has much better front shifting.

I used the same methods as oldpotatoe to arrive at the best shifting possible for DA 7700. I also placed a section of inner cable liner around the cables where they passed through BB cable guide. This helped keep them from getting gunked up by road grime and energy drink residue.

-Greg

[oldpotatoe]

I had similar issues when I ran DA 7700. I came to the opinion that the 7700 FD had a very strong return spring and the 7700 STI left brifter lacked sufficient rigidity. The end result was the less-than-optimum front shifting. I have found that DA 7800 has much better front shifting.

I used the same methods as oldpotatoe to arrive at the best shifting possible for DA 7700. I also placed a section of inner cable liner around the cables where they passed through BB cable guide. This helped keep them from getting gunked up by road grime and energy drink residue.

-Greg

7800 thinner than 7700 and IME, a 7700 works better with 10s(chain) than a 7800 works with 9s(chain). In fact, a 7800 FD with a 7800 STI sometimes doesn't have the travel and adjustability I would like. I just put a 7700 with 7800 STI onto a Moots RSL and it sure worked nice....

[GregL]

7800 thinner than 7700 and IME, a 7700 works better with 10s(chain) than a 7800 works with 9s(chain). In fact, a 7800 FD with a 7800 STI sometimes doesn't have the travel and adjustability I would like. I just put a 7700 with 7800 STI onto a Moots RSL and it sure worked nice....

Great point and one that is also applicable to Ultegra. On my cyclocross bike, I run a 6500 FD with 6600 brifters. The combo works very well with 46/36 front rings and a 12-25 10-speed cassette.

-Greg

[hockeybike]

Thanks all! I'll try re-doing the bike w/ some 5mm shift housing so that there isn't any degradation over time and some new cables. It's a bike I'm selling and buyer expressed concern. Shifts well, of course, but it's loud and can take some effort. I figured it was just a strong return spring (SRAM rival has the same issue..it can sound like you're breaking wood at times) or something like that.

[Black Dog]

7700 makes a really loud clunk when shifting from the big ring to the small. It is normal. Shifting in the other direction should be smooth and quick.

[hockeybike]

Just another thanks to OP and the rest--front shifter works way better with the 5mm housing than it did with the 4mm housing. Don't even think the housing was all that old.