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I've recently converted into 2spd crankset so I've bought a new 2spd road lever. I'm really struggling now to tune the front derailleur. Could you please assist me by answering this questions:

  1. Why the shifter does 2 clicks instead of 1 when you go up? Is that normal? It's 2spd shifter isn't it supposed to have only 1 click? And at the same time ...
  2. When I do one click up with the shifter the derailleur moves but always seems like not far enough so I need go up for another click, which leads to ...
  3. When I try to go down the gears and I release the shifter that was clicked 2 times it goes all 2 click at once and the derailleur makes this ugly very loud clutch back to the first gear. It doesn't sound right at all.

Can you tell me what am I doing wrong here? I guess I'm missing something very important here, but I don't know exactly what.

I watched bunch of youtube instructions on how to properly tune a front derailleur, but I still facing the same problem over and over again.

Thank you in advance, and please ask if the question is not clear enough.

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    The 2 clicks are called "trim", it allows to slightly move front derailleur sideways, keeping the same front gear. This way you can cross chain without rub, i.e. on big/big combo. What shifter model did you buy?
    – Klaster_1 Нет войне
    Commented Feb 13, 2015 at 11:04
  • @Klaster_1 I use Tiagra front shifter and derailleur
    – LoomyBear
    Commented Feb 13, 2015 at 11:06
  • Not all brifters can trim in both shift directions, which is why it releases everything when you go to the small ring.
    – Batman
    Commented Feb 13, 2015 at 14:49
  • @Klaster_1 and others, thanks for your replies. Please tell me if this double clutch is ok and it doesn't damage the shifter, because it sounds like it's about to fall apart when I switch down from click 2 to 0.
    – LoomyBear
    Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 8:39
  • Yesterday I've setup FD5800 front derailleur with R685 shifter, and everything works exactly as you described in question. Downshift is pretty loud too.
    – Klaster_1 Нет войне
    Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 9:19

2 Answers 2

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The two clicks are just one shift. You can do a half shift from the big ring to the small ring by pressing the downshift paddle about halfway. This is to keep the chain from rubbing when you are in a low gear in the back and the big gear in the front. This half shift is known as "trim". So two clicks up for a full shift into the big ring, two clicks down for a full shift into the small ring, one click down to trim the derailleur away from the chain when you're using gear extremes (big-big).

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  • thanks for your reply. the question is when I go down from the 2nd gear through 2 clicks at once it sounds like the shifter is about to fall apart, the sound is pretty ugly. Is that a normal behavior? Is the shifter gonna be ok if I leave it like this? because maybe in theory it works out right, but in reality it sounds quite wrong. cheers!!
    – LoomyBear
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 9:09
  • Since I can't hear it, I can only venture to guess that it's probably fine. The 2nd click will be substantially louder. If you're worried, take it to your LBS. They'll be able to tell you very quickly.
    – joelmdev
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 14:30
  • ok the whole idea was to avoid LBSs )) I wanna try to play with chainrings position with spacers. Do you think it might be a good idea?
    – LoomyBear
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 14:33
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    Nope. You're just introducing more variables into a system that you already don't entirely understand. Take it to the bike shop, let them shift it a couple of times, and ask them to explain it to you. Learn through direct interaction with those with more experience.
    – joelmdev
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 16:49
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Check out this video by GCN "Global Cycling Network" --> How To Adjust Your Front Derailleur

Their channel is VERY helpful!

Hope you find what you need there ;-)

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