Need advice to improve low-end MTB shifting
 

My son's mountain bike (passed on from my daughter) is around a 2015, with an Alivio Front Derailleur. I am not sure of the shifters, but they are not integrated with brakes. The derailleur is a 34.9 clamp on, with the cable running from below, triple chainring.

I can adjust the derailleur so it shifts properly, but the force necessary to apply to the shifter is too much for my 11 year old. I can do it, but even for me, it requires more force than seems reasonable. I have tried lubricating everything, without success. My instinct is that the derailleur itself is the culprit, but I would like some advice so I can order the right parts.

So, the question is: should I change: (i) the derailleur, (ii) the derailleur and shifters, (iii) the derailleur, shifter and cable; or (iv) do something else I haven't thought of (e.g., replace a spring? cables alone?). A previous owner of the bike upgraded the read derailleur to a Deore and it shifts flawlessly with minimal effort.

Thanks!

Unclamp the shift cable and try going through the gears without any tension on the cable. If it's smooth then it's likely the cables, if not then its likely the shifter. I'd say derailleurs rarely make shifting easier from my experience, but the shifter and good cabling do.

Ditch the front derailleur and get a narrow-wide chainring. Maybe a bigger cassette if your kid's strength and terrain dictate it. 1x will be much less finicky from a maintenance perspective and easier for your kid to deal with on the trail.

Thanks both for the advice. I will tinker more tomorrow.

1x would be much preferred in terms of simplicity for him. We did a long bike path ride today where he didn't need to change the chainring, but not being able to shift limits us in getting to local trails.

Replace the cable and housing and it'll be A LOT better. Low end bikes always come with crap housing and the fact that it's 5 years old means it's only gotten worse.

You don't mention what type of shifters the bike has.

First, I'd replace the cables AND the housings.

Second, if the bike has SRAM twist shifters, take them apart and lube with the specific grease made for them. Regular grease will eventually damage the plastic and cause worse shifting problems.

The grease is white and used to be called JonnySnot, I think.

I hear great things about the Microshift Advent group: https://m.pinkbike.com/news/review-m...rivetrain.html

Reliable 9 speed 1x for $125 out the door.

I love the Advent stuff. I'm even thinking of replacing my 1x12 GX Eagle with their newer 1x10 Advent X group. Great quality, good pricing, and light!

Thanks. I tried this experiment and the shifter works well with the cable detached from the derailleur. I'll try replacing the cable first, but found a new Deore derailleur on eBay for $12, so ordered it as well. If this all fails, will replace the shifter too...

Thanks for the recommendation. If I can't get the 3x to work, will try the 1x route. That seems like a very fair price.

Don't replace the cable without replacing the housing too... that bike I would assume neither has ever been replaced and if it was a kids bike it could have been left out and abused.

This should be very easy to get working well. Alivio is/was not really super low end at all.

I have had no trouble getting cheaper MTB groups (SRAM/Shimano) shifting really well for family/friends who ask for help.

Most of these MTB triples work really well.. better than a lot of the lower end road stuff. SRAM in particular seems to have absolutely zero trouble making rock bottom price MTB triples that work so well that they make it hilarious that SRAM has had so much trouble with front shifting on road bikes over the years.

If there is an actual component problem it's way more likely to be the shifter than the derailleur, especially if it's a grip shifter.

1X is going to cost a ton to switch to compared to just fixing this bike.