OK guys, on a roll today with all my questions...took the roadie for first ride today...in middle ring I was getting some chain rub on FD in about top 1/3 of cogs....pulled over and thought I was loosening the dr so I could slightly rotate it...well, I was loosen something else (on DR side of bike, their is a screw....loosened it and realized it was not what I thought it was...tightened it back up)....loosened DR, rotating just a BIT and now it is all out of whack....now to ride (as I did today) I had to keep chain on 3rd ring and DR in 'middle ring position' to prevent rubbing.....help with adjust front DR please? Of all the things I know about bikes, I never forced myself to front DR adjustment...looks like I am forced as I won't let anyone here touch my bikes (reason, they just don't do good work...bought my wife a medium level Trek bike....brought it home and NOT ONE bolt had grease on it...not even the pedals....another Italian 'shortcut'...but I digress....Scotchy Scotchy Scotchy Scotch loves me, I love Scotch...wooooo I really digress..it is 6:45pm here and I am getting ready for dinner..hehehe)

Go to this link: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75

It will be much easier than people trying to explain over the forums I think.

Per the advice from Ridgetop, you need to start over. It sounds like you tried to change the position of the front derailleur while there was still tension on the cable - VERY hard to do without things getting whacked. All you likely needed to do was tweak the barrel adjuster on your down tube. Go to the Park Tools web site and start from scratch.

The solution was probably a lot more simple than you think. If you are running a triple it is common to have to do some trimming of the shifter to keep the FD from rubbing.

Ok..messing with FD and have managed completely unthread the barrel adjuster on the downtube......now I am trying to thread it back in and it goes about 1/2 turn and then gets very difficult....how far should I thread it in? :mad2: Oh, and managed to strip the clamp bolt for the FD....:mad2: :mad2: :mad2: Guess I might as well upgrade to an Ultegra FD now....

Your LBS is going to love you.

Your LBS is going to love you.
I just zip tied the FD on...:)

I ASSUME that there was not a 'flat space' on the seat tube where the front dr goes....I believe when I was making adjustment during the ride I must have over-tightend the clamp bolt.....now there is a 'flat' area where it appears the front dr clamp bent the aluminum...is the frame ruined (i.e. should I be concerned) or just forget about the dent!?!?

I agree with Brian. I don't think your FD needed any adjustment in the first place.

I think there's only one useful piece of advice to give you at this point. Take the bike in to your LBS.

that 'dent' you describe is probably normal, most frames with oversized seat tubes have an intentional dent in the bottom of the seat tube to allow the front derailleur enough inward swing.

there is absolutely no reason you should need to rotate the derailleur unless it wasn't parallel to the chainrings. what kind of shifters do you have? many have a trimming function that shifts the derailleur a tiny bit to rid chain rub. that's probably all you would have had to do.

take your bike to your LBS, they know what they're doing. they probably wouldn't be in business if they didn't. contrary to your opinion, absence of a slathering of grease on every bolt does not indicate shoddy workmanship. in fact, most bolts should NOT have grease on them, as grease alters the torque readings, and you end up undertightening bolts if you grease them. pedals only require a small coating of grease, you shouldn't be able to see it at all. a little bit goes a long way.

most bolts should NOT have grease on them, as grease alters the torque readings, and you end up undertightening bolts if you grease them.

This is true if 1) you WANT bad torque readings and 2) you don't care if your threads gall and seize when you try to remove them. It may come as a shock to know that those torque specifications are typically for greased threads. And, if the torque spec was set assuming no grease, then greasing the threads would result in overtightening, not undertightening. Other than these points, you have it all right :)

Going for a ride and thinking that 'rotating' your fd while in middle ring will stop chain rub:

1. Rotate dr making rub in one gear gone but worse in all others
2. Not paying attention and overtightening clamp bolt
3. Feeling of arms and legs quickly going numb realizing you may have ruined frame by 'denting' seat tube by overtightening fd clamp bolt
4. Stripping clamp bolt in front dr preventing you from riding until you get a new one (harder than said)
5. Sending non-bike fanatic wife (because shop is only open Mon - Fri 9am-11am and 1pm to 4pm) to local Italian bike shop today with stripped clamp bolt and exact description of bolt needed (clamp bolt for Shimano 105 FD 9 speed) - wife returning with a "I have no idea what it is thing". Amazingly, the bolt that came with the "I have no idea what it is thing" actually is correct size, though about 1/16" shorter than original clamp bolt. - Cost euro 8 (~$10). Using said bolt, installing original dr and adjusting so that shifting is 'acceptable' but still wondering, "is that clamp bolt with a cr$p"?
6. Ordering two shimano clamp bolts AND a new 105 FD from UK on-line webstore late Sunday night to have the correct bolts and yet another front dr delivered today minutes after installing original FD with 'questionable bolt'. Cost - $55.
7. Re-installing original frong dr using correct clamp bolt, having a spare clamp bolt and spare brand new fd.
8. FINALLY realizing if you don't know what you are doing, AT LEAST ask a question on this forum before doing anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summary - $65 and about 4 hours for a $1.50 bolt and a lot of ignorance (now I know a lot more and I LOVE the barrel adjusters - use them frequently on mtn. bike and wish I would have known they are on the downtube on road bikes.........:D)...RIDE ON!!

So, no damage to the bike itself? That's good. Glad it all worked out for you. Even after a lot of playing around with DRs I still screw them up from time to time. Drives me crazy. Of course you've got the advantage of living in Italy which pretty much wipes out any feeling sorry for you :). I think you live near the area I will be riding in September. We're taking two weeks to ride from Bologna to Elba just kind of zig zagging our way down. I'm hoping it's as good riding as everyone is making it out to be.

feel bad...FD's suck......I would rather install and adjust a RD any day of the week and twice on sunday.....they are far easier. FD's appear easier, but are actually kind of a PITA until you do it about a dozen times..then it gets a LITTLE easier.

People take themselves waaaaay to seriously, myself included sometimes. Your self depricating humor is a breath of fresh air. Now pick-up a good repair repair book (I like Lenard Zinns books) and enjoy your new bike.