Mechanical Shimano Front Derailleurs--do they just suck? EDIT: No, I do

[rothwem]

Its been ~10 years since I've used a Shimano front derailleur--I've been a SRAM road user since 10 speed Force came out and the "yaw" design for the FD is excellent. However, my new bike is disc brake and SRAM does an awful job with hydro discs, so I went with a Shimano R8000 mechanical/hydraulic group on this build.

The brakes are awesome, the ergonomics of the hoods are great, the rear shifting is light and effortless, but that ****ing front derailleur is making me crazy. I'm pretty sure I have it positioned right and adjusted correctly, but I feel like I need to trim the cage position every time I shift the rear because every shift seems to make the chain drag on the FD cage. Its also *slow* to shift, it feels like it takes more revolutions to climb up to the big ring or drop down to the small ring than I'm used to on my other bike. I even experienced a small amount of chainsuck today on my ride as I tried to downshift from the big to small on a hill, I guess I didn't let up on the pressure enough.

FWIW, I consider myself an okay bike mechanic. I worked at a bike shop for several years in college putting together new bikes, and I generally know what I'm doing. Its been almost two decades since that though and I've never encountered one of these derailleurs before now.

So, do these derailleurs just suck, or am I doing it wrong? I have FSA 10/11 speed chainrings on my bike btw, not sure if that makes any difference. I used them on my other bike for a while and they were fine, maybe the Shimano FD is more sensitive?

Lastly, anyone used a SRAM Yaw front derailleur with a Shimano shifter? I'm thinking about trying it if I can't get this one to work the way I want it to.

Edit:it was the chainrings. They're not compatible with the Power2Max spider I was using and the spider put them in the wrong spot.

[gravelreformist]

In general Shimano front derailleurs are the best in the business. Most likely this is install error. Did you read the installation directions completely?

In short, the process is:
- Install the derailleur.
- Adjust the support bolt so it is just touching the frame, but doesn't affect the position of the cage.
- Adjust clearance to large chain teeth to 1-3mm.
- Adjust angle so rear of cage is rotated 1mm towards rear wheel, and set low limit screw so inner cage clearance to chain is 0-1mm in easiest gear front/rear.
- Adjust support bolt so cage is now parallel to chainrings.
- Adjust high limit screw so clearance in highest gear is 0-1mm to outer cage.

https://si.shimano.com/en/pdfs/dm/RA...001-05-ENG.pdf

Use of non-Shimano chainrings also means all performance bets are off.

[Davist]

I've had an r8000 fd for over 34,000 miles, only adjust it when I change cables, so about every 8 months over the last 7 years. Use the shimano website guide for adjusting, cable tension is a little different if you're not familiar link No way it should be giving you that much trouble, and good luck!

[yarg]

I have Shimano 8000 on my road bike and I don't have the problems you describe. I think the front derailleur shifts fairly quick and smooth without any trimming unless I'm on either end of the cassette.

[phishrabbi]

All Front Derailleurs suck.

Unlike the rear, which is a marvel of engineering, the Front Derailleur uses force, under load to wack the chain. They suck.

1x is the way.

[prototoast]

Shimano 10 speed front derailleurs were the easiest to set up and they worked flawlessly.

First gen Shimano 11 speed derailleurs (with the long arm) were incredibly sensitive to where the cable passed under the bottom bracket--sometimes worked great, sometimes were a huge PITA to get right.

Second gen Shimano 11 speed front derailleurs are much less intuitive to set up than previous versions, but if you follow their instructions carefully, the net effect is they shift... about as well as the 10 speed front derailleurs.

[pdonk]

Just went through setting up a r8000 front derailleur for the first time. I was told it was simple, and it was, once I did it over a few times to fix minor issues.

They are not as intuitive as older derailleurs and seem more sensitive to needing to be square and offset from the chain rings just the right amount.

I'm currently only using it on a trainer and hopefully, once it gets outside it works as well as it is now.

[Xrslug]

My R8000 front on my Canyon wasn’t set up correctly from new, once I fixed it (more cable tension as I recall) it’s been good. It did surprise me how many steps it took to set up, but the result has been very good front shifting. Rarely need to trim it to avoid rubbing. Not as quick going from small ring to big ring as I would like depending on where I am on the cassette, but I think that’s just a front derailleur issue (or actually a rider error issue).

[cgolvin]

After a lifetime of Campy, I built up a gravel bike using GRX. The FD setup was a bit more complicated but after following the guidelines provided by a YouTuber it worked flawlessly.

Unlike @phishrabbi, my experience with front derailleurs has been overwhelmingly positive.

[Hilltopperny]

Shimano FD can be tricky to set up properly at times. YouTube a good set up video and try it again!

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by rothwem

So, do these derailleurs just suck, or am I doing it wrong?

The latter.


I can't believe I just read commentary that has SRAM as the better front shifting design. It was bound to happen eventually.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by phishrabbi

All Front Derailleurs suck.

Unlike the rear, which is a marvel of engineering, the Front Derailleur uses force, under load to wack the chain. They suck.

1x is the way.

Seems extreme. I quite like my 2x drivetrains. FD gets a lot of action on rollers.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

I can't believe I just read commentary that has SRAM as the better front shifting design. It was bound to happen eventually.

That was my initial thought too.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by phishrabbi

All Front Derailleurs suck.

Unlike the rear, which is a marvel of engineering, the Front Derailleur uses force, under load to wack the chain. They suck.

1x is the way.

Horses for courses. 1x is great for dirty stuff, but if your bike is going to mostly clean, 2x is better. Unless you bought a Shimano mechanical derailleur and didn't set it up correctly.

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

The latter.


I can't believe I just read commentary that has SRAM as the better front shifting design. It was bound to happen eventually.

I've got no complaints about my SRAM Yaw Front Derailleurs. Are they notoriously bad or something?

Originally Posted by pdonk

Just went through setting up a r8000 front derailleur for the first time. I was told it was simple, and it was, once I did it over a few times to fix minor issues.

Hahah, looks like we're in the same spot! FWIW, it works great in the stand, its just clunky while riding.

[spoonrobot]

Toggle Link derailleurs are a flawless product of mechanical genius.

If you're having trouble it's:

A. User error
B. FSA chainrings

What chain? If it's an FSA chain you're shooting yourself in the foot twice.