Installation Guide for Shimano Front Derailleurs

Installation Guide for Shimano Front Derailleurs

Introduction

In 2016 Shimano released the new Dura-Ace R9100 mechanical groupset and one of the major innovations was a completely redesigned front derailleur. This new front derailleur features a new ‘toggle’ mechanism that is completely different to the ‘pivot’ design of previous models.

Over the past few years, Shimano has updated other group sets including Ultegra (R8000), 105 (R7000) and GRX to feature the same modern front derailleur design. Shimano state the advantages of this derailleur to be;

  • Reduced shift effort at the lever.
  • More cable routing options (cable outer can now be terminated at the derailleur itself).
  • Integrated cable tension adjustment (to eliminate the need for an inline barrel adjuster).
  • Shorter minimum chainstay length of 410mm for disk brake equipped bikes (with 135mm OLD).
  • Precise and easy front derailleur setup.

Overview

Shimano’s new front derailleur design features a few variations to the installation procedure used for older versions of Shimano’s front derailleur such as cable tension adjustment and how to set the high limit bolt. I have written this guide based on Shimano Official Dealer’s Manual and my own experience. The images in this article are of a Shimano 105 front derailleur, but the installation procedure is the same for all mechanical front derailleurs for the following Shimano group sets;

  • Shimano Dura-Ace – R9100 front derailleur (FD-R9100)
  • Shimano Ultegra – R8000 front derailleur (FD-R8000)
  • Shimano 105 – R7000 front derailleur (FD-R7000)
  • Shimano GRX – front derailleur (FD-RX810, FD-RX400) – as advised by a contributor in the comments.

There are 2 mounting optons for the front derailleur; clamp mount or braze-on mount. The instructions in this guide are specific to the braze-on mounted front derailleur, but once the derailleur is fitted, the steps for derailleur alignment, cabling and adjustment processes are identical for both.

At this stage you will probably find yourself in one of 2 scenarios;

  1. The front derailleur is already installed but needs adjustment or;
  2. You want to install a front derailleur on a new bike.

If you only need to adjust a modern Shimano front derailleur, please read my article on How to Adjust a Shimano Front Derailleur.

Before deciding if this is a process you want to try, please note that this article is an overview of how I fitted my own front derailleur and should not be treated as professional advice. Please read my disclaimer at the end of this article. I also recommend reading through the whole article before commencing work.

Tools Required

The following tools are required to install the front derailleur.

  • 2mm Hexagon Wrench (Allen Key)
  • 4mm Hexagon Wrench (Allen Key)
  • 5mm Hexagon Wrench (Allen Key)
  • Cable cutters or pliers
  • Torque Wrench (with 4mm & 5mm Hexagon fittings).
    Highly recommended to avoid stripping the thread on the nut that secures the cable to the derailleur.

Adjusting a Shimano Front Derailleur

If your front derailleur needs adjustment, then at least one of these issues is likely the cause.

  • Incorrect cable tension
  • Incorrect adjustment of the High or Low Limit bolts
  • Incorrect positioning of the front derailleur with respect to;
    • Height above chain rings
    • Alignment angle in relation to the chain rings

At this stage it is important to mention that the cable tension adjustment and limit bolts work a little differently on this new derailleur when compared to older designs. If you are having problems adjusting your front derailleur, I recommend you perform each of the installation steps in this article to ensure all aspects of the front derailleur are correctly configured.

Installing a Shimano Front Derailleur

Here are the steps for installing your front derailleur.

1. Reset the Front Derailleur Bolts

If you have a brand new front derailleur out of the box, then all the bolts should already be set correctly for a new installation. However, if you have a derailleur that is already installed on a bike or has been used previously, then disconnect the shift cable and reset all 4 bolts as recommended below.

Reset the Low Limit Bolt and the Frame Support Bolt
Unscrew (turn anticlockwise) the following 2 bolts so they are fully retracted. We don’t want these bolts affecting the initial set-up.

Shimano Front Derailleur Low & High Bolts
Shimano Front Derailleur Low & High Bolts
Shimano Front Derailleur Limit Screws
Close-up image of the Low & High Bolts
Shimano Front Derailleur Frame Support Bolt (Rear View)
Shimano Front Derailleur Frame Support Bolt (Rear View)
Shimano Front Derailleur Frame Support Bolt (Front View)
Shimano Front Derailleur Frame Support Bolt (Front View)

Reset the Cable Tension Bolt
Firstly remove the black plastic cover from the top of the derailleur by rotating it anti-clockwise and lifting it at the same time. It should easily come off. Put it aside for later, don’t lose it.

Unscrew the cable tension bolt (refer image 1) and push the black rotating tension lever back into the housing (refer image 2). If you are having trouble moving the black rotating tension arm back in, unscrew the cable tension bolt further. Note: Image 2 shows the black rotating tension lever fully recessed inside the housing. Once you have done this then continue.

Shimano Front Derailleur Cable Tension Bolt
IMAGE 1. Shimano Front Derailleur Cable Tension Bolt.
Shimano Front Derailleur Cable Tension Arm
IMAGE 2. Black Tension Arm recessed into housing.
This is the initial setting of NO Tension.

Reset the High Limit Bolt
Unscrew the High Limit bolt until you are able to lift the upper ‘toggle’ section of the derailleur away from the derailleur body (refer image 1). Now gradually tighten the High Limit bolt (turning it clockwise). The upper ‘toggle’ section will begin moving down. Once this upper ‘toggle’ section of the derailleur sits flat on the derailleur body (refer image 2), stop turning the High Limit bolt.

With this High Limit setting, the shift cable will have maximum pull force on the derailleur to shift the chain to the large chain ring. Fine tuning of the High Limit bolt happens later on in the installation.

Front derailleur high limit screw - wound out
IMAGE 1. Front derailleur High Limit bolt – wound out.
Upper section can be lifted up.
Front derailleur high limit screw - wound in
IMAGE 2. Front derailleur High Limit bolt – wound in.
Upper section no longer lifts up.

2. Fit Front Derailleur to the Bike

  • Unscrew the derailleur mounting bolt and washer, then fit the derailleur to the braze on mount on the frame. The curved washer and bolt are fitted to the right side of the frame braze mount as shown below.
  • Tighten the bolt just enough to secure the derailleur in position as we will be adjusting it again shortly.
  • Tighten the Low Limit bolt and the derailleur cage will begin to move out toward the large chain ring.
  • Keep tightening this bolt until the front outer plate of the derailleur cage is in line with the teeth of the large chain ring. You can use the flat side of a hex wrench to check the alignment as shown in the image below. By holding it against the teeth of the large chain ring, it should just touch the outside edge of the derailleur cage.
Align Derailleur with Teeth of the Large Chain Ring
Align Derailleur with Teeth of the Large Chain Ring

3. Adjust Front Derailleur Clearance Above Large Chain Ring

If your derailleur is brand new out of the box, it was probably supplied with a plastic sticker to help with the derailleur height adjustment. If your derailleur does not have this sticker, that’s OK, just continue with the steps.

Loosen the derailleur mounting bolt and slide the derailleur up or down until there is a 1 to 3mm gap between the teeth of the large chain ring and base of the OUTSIDE EDGE of the derailleur cage.

Note: The teeth on the large chain are not uniform in height, so perform a full rotation of the cranks to find the teeth that sit at the highest point. Now double-check there is still a 1 to 3 mm gap.

Front derailleur clearance to large chain ring
Front derailleur clearance to large chain ring

4. Align Front Derailleur with Large Chain Ring

Next we will set the angle of the front derailleur in relation to the large chain ring, but make sure when doing this adjustment, you don’t change the height adjustment we just setup in the previous step.

Front Derailleur Alignment to Chain Rings
Front Derailleur Alignment to Chain Rings

Shimano recommend you initially setup the derailleur with the rear end angled 0.5 mm to 1 mm inward from the large chain ring as pictured in the INITIAL ALIGNMENT shown above. If you are able to setup the derailleur like shown, it will be adjusted to the FINAL ALIGNMENT (parallel to chain rings) when we tighten the frame support bolt later on.

If you are unable to setup the recommended derailleur angle, then set the derailleur to the FINAL ALIGNMENT (parallel to chain rings) instead. Regardless of which option you choose, the end result will be the same – Front Derailleur is aligned PARALLEL to chain rings.

Once the derailleur is in correct position, Shimano recommend tightening the derailleur mounting bolt to a tension of 5 to 7 Nm.

5. Tighten Front Derailleur Support Bolt & Fit Frame Protection Plate

Setting the front derailleur frame support bolt is an important step that can be easily overlooked as the bolt is hidden away from view. Setting this bolt correctly improves shift performance as this bolt provides a secondary contact point to counter shifting forces.

Tighten Front Derailleur Frame Support Bolt

Carefully turn the support bolt (clockwise) until it is near – but NOT touching the frame. Note the location of where the bolt would contact the frame. Now we need to attach the frame protection plate to the frame.

Shimano provide 2 different frame plates, one a little more curved than the other. This metal plate is designed to protect your frame (and paint) from stresses exerted through the derailleur support bolt when shifting the front derailleur. Fit the plate that best suits the shape of your frame in the location your derailleur frame support bolt will make contact with the frame.

When fitting this plate, you may need to move the derailleur and repeat steps 3 & 4. However, you should only have to fit this plate once, so it’s worth taking your time and getting it in the exact right spot. If you ever change the size of your large chain ring, you may need to do these steps again.

Shimano front derailleur frame protection plates
Shimano front derailleur frame protection plates (underside shown) with a small adhesive
backing tape to stick to the frame prior to the derailleur support bolt pressing it into position.

Once the frame protection plate is fitted and the derailleur is back in the correct position, screw the derailleur frame support bolt until it just makes contact with the frame protection plate, then follow one of these steps;

  • If your derailleur cage is already parallel to the chain rings, then only tighten the bolt to a point where it contacts the frame protection plate, but does NOT change the angle of the derailleur cage in relation to the chain rings.
  • If your derailleur cage is slightly angled inward from the chain rings, between 0.5 to 1 mm as recommended by Shimano, then tighten the support bolt until the derailleur cage moves parallel with the large chain ring.

6. Connect Shift Cable to Front Derailleur

One of the main advantages of this new front derailleur is that it does not require an inline barrel adjuster to adjust tension in the shift cable. Instead, cable tension can be adjusted using the tension bolt on the derailleur itself. Now we will attach the shift cable to the derailleur;

  • Press the INNER LEFT shift lever on your handle bar multiple times until it no longer clicks. This will ensure you have released all the cable from the shifter.
  • Feed the shift cable from the bottom bracket up through the cable stop fitting located on the back side of the derailleur.
  • Pass the cable under the silver washer and pull it out toward you.
  • Pull the cable tight to remove any slack.
  • Moderately tighten the cable clamp bolt so the cable will not pull free when testing the shifting in the next step. Use a torque wrench when tightening this bolt as it can be stripped if excessive tension is applied. Shimano specify a final torque setting of 6 to 7 Nm.
Fit Shift Cable to Shimano Front Derailleur
Fit Shift Cable to Shimano Front Derailleur.
Cable passes up through hole located at rear of the derailleur,
under the silver rotating washer and out toward you.

7. Front Derailleur Shift Positions

Before we adjust the shift cable tension, we need to mention the 4 shift positions of the front derailleur as illustrated in the following chart;

Shimano Front Derailleur Shift Positions
Shimano Left Shifter controls Front Derailleur – Shift Positions Chart

If you have a chain fitted to your bike, you will need to turn the cranks whilst shifting. Fit your bike into a workshop stand to make this process easier.

  • Pressing the left brake lever all the way to right moves the front derailleur to the HIGH position which is the most outward position of the derailleur in relation to the frame. This setting is for riding the large chain ring and the smaller rear sprockets.
  • Pressing the small inner shift lever once, moves the front derailleur to the HIGH TRIM position which is a small inward movement toward the frame. This position is for riding the large chain ring and the larger rear sprockets.
  • Pressing the small inner shift lever again results in a larger movement shifting the front derailleur to the LOW position and forces the chain to change to the small chain ring. This position is for riding the small chain ring and the smaller rear sprockets.
  • Pressing the small inner shift one last time, moves the front derailleur to the LOW TRIM position. Now the derailleur is closest to the frame. This position is for riding the small chain ring and the larger rear sprockets.

8. Adjust Cable Tension Setting

Now we need to set the correct tension of the shift cable. If your chain is fitted to the bike, turn the cranks when moving the left brake lever all the way to the right to move the derailleur to the HIGH position. At this early stage, the chain may not shift to the large chain ring. If the derailleur doesn’t move much, you will need to loosen the cable clamp bolt and pull the cable tighter (and repeat step 6). Once the slack has been eliminated and the derailleur is moving out further, we can fine tune the cable tension setting.

On previous designs of Shimano front derailleurs, there was no way to accurately judge the correct amount of cable tension. However, this new derailleur design features 2 markings that allow you to fairly accurately set the cable tension and therefore eliminate most of the guess work. Whilst the tension adjustment marks may be in visual alignment, the cable tension can be varied by small amounts whilst the 2 indicators remain aligned as discussed further in the Troubleshooting section later in this guide. This is how we set the cable tension;

  • Move the left brake lever all the way to the right (turning the cranks if a chain is fitted). When the lever will travel no further, we are in the HIGH position.
  • IMPORTANT: Press the small inner shift lever once to move the derailleur down to the HIGH TRIM position.
  • Once in the HIGH TRIM position, we look at the 2 markings on the rear of the derailleur as pictured. We want both the lines to line up to form a straight line. To achieve this, turn the CABLE TENSION bolt as required. This bolt was identified in step 1 (at the top of this article). Turning the cable tension bolt clockwise will move the upper line anticlockwise and visa-versa.
Front derailleur high limit screw - wound out
Front derailleur – Cable tension line markings (upper & lower).
When they make a single straight line,
the cable tension is perfect.

Once the alignment is correct, use the front derailleur shift levers to move the derailleur through a full range of movement a few times, then return to the HIGH TRIM position to check the alignment is still perfect. If not, make a small adjustment otherwise this step is complete.

An inline barrel adjuster should not be required to fine tune cable tension. Try to use the cable tension bolt only. If the bolt is not able to adjust tension adequately, then the shift cable is either too loose or too tight. Loosen the cable clamp bolt and adjust the cable in or out (as per step 6) to fix the problem. Attempt this step again.

9. Adjust Front Derailleur High Limit Bolt

The HIGH LIMIT bolt is designed to control the outward movement of the front derailleur, but this bolt works differently on the new Shimano ‘toggle’ style front derailleurs when compared to the traditional ‘pivot’ style front derailleurs of the past. The difference being;

Traditional Pivot Style Front Derailleur: the high limit bolt simply RESTRICTS how far out the front derailleur can travel. In essence the high limit setting resists any over-tension of the shift cable when shifting onto the large chain ring. You would adjust this bolt so the front derailleur does not rub the inside of the crank arm and the chain does not rub inside the derailleur cage when riding on the large chain ring and smallest sprocket. This setting would only affect the front derailleur in the HIGH shift position.

New Toggle Style Front Derailleur: the high limit bolt still determines how far out the front derailleur can travel, but it it achieves this in a completely different way. The high limit bolt works in conjunction with the shift cable tension, not against it. The high limit bolt determines where the derailleur is positioned relative to the tension of the shift cable. For this reason, the setting of the high limit bolt also changes the position of the front derailleur in both the LOW and HIGH TRIM shift positions as well. Keep this in mind.

Shimano instructions recommend you adjust the High Limit bolt to stop the chain rubbing the front inside face of the front derailleur cage (closest to the frame).

This setting is done with the chain on the large chain ring and largest sprocket. This gear combination may seem a bit counter-intuitive as it is not recommended practice to ride with a crossed chain, however, you MUST change to this gear combination before adjusting the High Limit bolt. Also, the chain must be fitted at this stage of the installation.

Gear Selection for Shimano High Limit Screw Adjustment
  • Move the left brake lever all the way to the right whilst turning the cranks. When the lever will travel no further, we are in the HIGH position. The chain should be on the large chain ring.
  • Shift the chain is on the largest sprocket at the rear.
  • The chain is now on the large chain ring and largest sprocket.
  • Important: Press the small inner shift lever once to move the derailleur to the HIGH TRIM position.
  • Now slowly turn the cranks and adjust the High Limit bolt until there is a 0 to 0.5mm gap between the inside front face of the derailleur cage and the chain. We want to achieve the smallest possible gap between this surface and the chain. If you create too much gap here, you could experience rubbing in other gear combinations, so start with a very conservative gap. It can be readjusted at any time by repeating this step.

Note: In my experience, adjusting the high limit bolt can be fiddly and require some time and patience. In step 11 of this article, you will most likely need to fine tune the high limit bolt further.

10. Adjust Front Derailleur Low Limit Bolt

The final adjustment is the Low Limit bolt. This adjustment is designed to set the lowest position the front derailleur can shift down to. This setting is designed to eliminate any chain rub on the inside face of the front derailleur when the bike is in it’s lowest gear ratio. But, if the low limit bolt is screwed in too far, you may effectively cancel out the LOW TRIM position of the front derailleur. If this happens, shifting from LOW to LOW TRIM or visa versa will result in no visible movement of the front derailleur as the low limit bolt is stopping the front derailleur shifting down to the LOW TRIM position.

Gear Selection for Shimano Low Limit Screw Adustment

Important: Press the small inner shift lever whilst rotating the cranks. When the shift lever no longer clicks, we are now in the LOW TRIM position.

The chain should now be on the SMALL chain ring.

Shift the chain to the LARGEST sprocket at the rear.

The chain is now on the small chain ring and largest sprocket.

Slowly turn the cranks and adjust the Low Limit bolt until there is a 0 to 0.5mm gap between the inside face of the derailleur cage and the chain. We want to achieve the smallest possible gap between this surface and the chain. Again, start with a very conservative gap. It can be readjusted at any time by repeating this step.

Note: Depending on your bike, you may need to over-shift the lever a little past the ‘click’ to shift the front derailleur from the LOW TRIM to the LOW position. This is due to a combination of acute cable angle, high spring tension and small cable pull.

11. Test All Gear Combinations

Now all the hard work has been done and you are familiar with how to set these adjustment bolts, we need to do a final test shifting through all possible gear combinations. At this stage, you can fine tune the HIGH and LOW limit bolts further if there is still some chain rub. I also recommend doing a test ride on a quiet road to double check for chain rub in all gear combinations when riding.

The good news is that once the derailleur height, angle and limit bolt settings are correct, you shouldn’t need to touch them again for a long time (unless you need to change the derailleur or your largest chain ring). Cable replacement should be a breeze with the built-in tension alignment feature of this front derailleur.

You may hear noise when riding in either of the 2 crossed chain positions;

  • Large Chain Ring & Large Sprocket
  • Small Chain Ring and Small Sprocket

The noise may be front derailleur rub or caused by the teeth of the cogs interacting with the chain at extreme angles. Riding with a crossed chain is not recommended (and not necessary) as there are very similar gear ratios that can be achieved by shifting to a different front/rear gear combination. Professional riders sometimes do this, but they don’t have to pay for their equipment. Riding with a crossed chain will increase wear on components and it can be noisy.

It may not be possible to completely eliminate chain rub in all gear combinations, particularly when riding with a crossed chain or a nearly crossed chain. You may need to find a compromise when setting the high limit bolt so there is no chain rub in the gear combinations you regularly use.

Disc Frame Notes: If your bike is fitted with disc brakes, you may experience chain rub when your chain is on the smallest chain ring and second smallest sprocket. This is because road bikes fitted with disc brakes (135 mm quick release or 142 mm thru-axle) both have the same wider rear hub spacing of 135 mm versus a traditional road bike with rim brakes narrower 130 mm rear hub spacing. This extra 5 mm width results in the cassette being located 2.5 mm further out from the center line of the frame, but Shimano have NOT moved the chain rings to compensate for this difference. So there is an increased chain angle from small chain ring to the smallest sprockets.

Finally, the chain stay length of some disc brake road frames is shorter than Shimano’s specified minimum length of 410 mm. Bike manufacturer’s do this to give the bike more snappy handling, but shorter chain stays can affect the chain line to a small degree.

12. Troubleshooting

Problem: Having followed all the steps in this guide, you are still experiencing some chain rub in the front derailleur cage using these gear combinations;

(i) Front derailleur in HIGH TRIM position, Chain on large chain ring and second largest sprocket (almost cross-chain). Chain rubs inside face of front derailleur cage.

(ii) Front derailleur in HIGH position. Chain on large chain ring and smallest sprocket (highest gear). Chain rubs outer face of front derailleur cage.

Solution: This is most likely due to shift cable tension being either a little too loose or too tight. Whilst the tension adjustment marks may be in visual alignment, the cable tension can be varied by small amounts whilst the 2 indicators remain aligned. By making small adjustments to the cable tension bolt and the high limit bolt independently, you should be able to find a setting that provides front derailleur clearance for scenarios (i & ii) mentioned above which are generally the problem areas.

13. Fit Front Derailleur Top Cap

Once you are happy with the installation;

  • Wrap the cable under and around the top section of the derailleur. You will need to use the shift lever to move the derailleur and get clearance to do this.
  • Pass the cable through the larger hole of the plastic top cap.
  • Fit the top cap to the derailleur.
  • Cut any excess cable and crimp a ferrule onto the end.
Shimano Front derailleur cable travels under upper toggle
Shift cable loops under front top section.
Shimano Front derailleur plastic cover (front & rear)

Shimano derailleur top plastic cover.
Left image: Cable entry hole (larger).
Right image: Cable exit hole (Smaller).

Shimano Front derailleur cable exit point
Shimano Front derailleur with top cover fitted to cable.
Shimano Front derailleur cable side exit point
Shimano Front derailleur with top cap installed.

14. Clearance Between Front Derailleur and Crank Arm

I was asked a question about how much clearance there should be between the front derailleur and the inside crank arm ie. when front derailleur is shifted to the HIGH position ie. chain on large chain ring, front derailleur shifted fully outward from the frame.

I measured this gap on my 105 (7000 series) group set to be approximately 3.5 mm. The gap to the crank arm was about the same for both the black upper body of the derailleur and the outside face of the metal chain cage.

Note: This gap may be slightly different on your bike, but you need to make sure that the front derailleur does NOT touch the crank arm when riding under load. If the front derailleur is too close or touching the crank arm, you may have allowed for too much clearance between the cage and chain when in the Large chain ring / Smallest rear cog gear combination. If so, first check the cable tension is correct (in High Trim position), then re-adjust the high limit bolt to move the front derailleur closer to the frame. Ultimately, you only want the MINIMUM distance required to achieve NO chain rub inside the front derailleur cage when riding in this highest gear combination.

Modern Shimano Front Derailleur Crank Clearance
Clearance between front derailleur and inside face of right crank arm is about 3.5 mm on my Shimano 105 (7000) setup. But it may be different on your bike.

Hopefully you now have a perfectly tuned front derailleur setup. Enjoy the ride.
If you are curious about how Shimano’s latest 12 speed di2 groupset performs, check out my article on Ultegra R8170: Best Ultegra groupset ever?

References

I hope you found this article interesting. I have listed the following website pages as general references.

Shimano Dealer’s Manual for Front Derailleur Installation

Disclaimer!

Please remember that this information is only to be used as a guide.
I consider myself an enthusiast, not an expert. The information I have presented in this article is only a guide.

Whilst I enjoy working on my own bikes, I am not a qualified bicycle mechanic. The content of this article is purely illustrative and does not constitute professional advice. For your own safety, any type of work should only be undertaken by a qualified bicycle mechanic. Incorrect assembly of parts could result in equipment damage, personal injury or death.

About Me.

I have been riding and working on my own bikes for many years now. I wanted to share my experiences, knowledge and research with others. My aim is to inspire people to get involved in all aspects of this amazing sport. Cheers.

Comments.

I welcome reader feedback in the comments section. Should you wish to suggest an amendment, please include a note advising the source of your information so that myself and other readers can ascertain the accuracy of your information. Note: Trolling or argumentative comments will be removed as they are counter-productive.

68 thoughts on “Installation Guide for Shimano Front Derailleurs

  • This is a great guide (and also applies to the new GRX FDs, source: https://si.shimano.com/#/en/iDM/GAFD001/installation/TOC_INSTALLATION). It seems like even a decent number of professional bike mechanics aren’t familiar with the correct installation and adjustment of these new toggle FDs. I got a new bike with tons of drive train noise in gear combinations where there shouldn’t be chain rub. After asking the bike shop to adjust it twice and them making things worse I read through the dealer’s manual and realized that they forgot to extend the support bolt. That fixed a lot of issues and I’ve slowly been getting a better sense for adjusting it, but these instructions are much more clear than the dealer manual instructions!

    • Hi Austin, thanks for posting your comment. I am SUPER HAPPY you found the guide helpful.

      I completely agree with your comments. I suspect a lot of mechanics just assume it works the same as the previous ones, but there are small differences that can greatly affect the end result.

      I believe the support bolt was first added on Shimano’s 1st gen di2 electonic front derailleur (7970 series). It was added to provide an additional point of contact with the frame to counter the powerful shifting forces exerted by the electric motor. The support bolt concept was then also applied to the mechanical versions of the group sets that followed; beginning with Dura Ace 9000 series which had a longer (and more powerful) pivot arm design.

      Enjoy riding the bike and keep on tinkering!

  • Hi there

    Thanks for the great guide. I haven’t been happy with the shifting from the small ring to the big ring with my R7000 front derailleur. Compared to the 5800 FD on my old bike, it requires much more effort. However, I’ve just realised the FD was installed without the cable stop. Could this be the issue do you think? If so, do these cable stops come with the FD or can they be purchases separately? Thanks for your help.

    • Hi Tom. Just to confirm, when you say installed without the cable stop, do you mean the plastic or steel ferrule that goes onto the end of the gear cable outer?

      If your gear cable outer terminates at the front derailleur, I don’t think a ferrule cap will make much difference, but any bike shop should have heaps of them around the workshop and give you one. These ferrules are supplied with the gear cable kits, not the front derailleur. On my bike, only the shift cable travels from the bottom bracket to the front derailleur (not the outer) and it shifts with a nice action at the lever.

      I think you may need to investigate the shift cable rather than the derailleur setup. The original R7000 (105) Shimano cables are optimised for low friction shifting, so it may be you don’t have an original Shimano [Optislik] cable and that is causing extra friction, or the cable may be kinked, or the path of travel may need to be checked.

      It may well be worth replacing the cable. You can buy just the Shimano Optislik inner cables as a pair or you can buy a complete shift cable kit which includes the outer cables as well. When installing the cable, if the cable is internally routed inside the frame, try to ensure it does not get wrapped around any other cables that are also inside the frame as that may add extra friction.

      Once the cable is correctly routed from the shifter to the front derailleur, you can feel the resistance in the cable by gently pulling on it from either end. For this to work;
      1. don’t pull the cable ferrule inside the shifter
      2. don’t cut the cable and connect it to the front derailleur yet.
      When you pull the cable, you want it to feel smooth and consistent, not grabby or very resistant.

      Best of luck, let us know if you figure out the cause.

  • This is such a helpful guide, thank you! After months of waiting I received new bike in August and have been attempting to figure out how to adjust the front derailleur (105 R7000). All the guides I’d seen refer to traditional FDs… No wonder I was getting confused.

    I need to fiddle a bit more I think but one thing I’ve noticed is that even with the cable tension bolt fully screwed in, the lines don’t quite align (step 8). Do I need to pull the cable tighter by loosening the pinch screw, then fine tune, do you think? It’s only slightly out, like maybe 5-10 degrees away from being a perfect straight line.

    • Hi Ben, I’m glad you found the guide helpful. I certainly recommend getting the cable tension indicators to align using the bolt. But you don’t want the cable tension bolt screwed all the way in to achieve this as you need to be able to add tension in the future using this bolt to eliminate any cable stretch or housing compression. It may be a bit fiddly getting the cable tension just right now, but once it is done, it will be quick to adjust the tension in the future using just this bolt.

      Here are a couple of ideas on how to add more initial cable tension;

      1. If you have an inline barrel adjuster fitted to your front derailleur cable, you could also loosen the cable tension bolt on the front derailleur, tighten the inline barrel adjuster to add more tension to the shift cable, then use the cable tension bolt on the derailleur to add the last bit of tension required to align the 2 indicator lines.

      2. You can manually pull the derailleur outward (away from the frame) and wedge something small (like a small piece of rubber, plastic etc) between the derailleur and the frame to stop the derailleur returning back to it’s original position. Then pull the shift cable tight and fastened it to the derailleur as usual. Finally, remove the wedge from behind the derailleur and let the derailleur return back to it’s original position. The shift cable should now be tighter. Be careful to use a wedge that won’t scratch your frame. This technique works well for older pivot style derailleurs.

  • What a fantastic reference this is , I am building a new bike with a new frame and swapping over my
    Shimano 8000 groupset. I knew somewhere you had to reset the 8000 F.D limit screws if they where already set on the previous bike. I was not really sure until I found this. Brilliant step by step setup. Big Thank you for your time on this.

  • Hands down this is the best guide I’ve come across! I like to think I’m a somewhat competent home bike mechanic, but I’ve spent way to many hours trying to dial these in. New ones I could install just fine following the Dealer Manual, but when it was time for new cables, I could never get them set up as well again. I always had my suspicion it had to do with the limit screws, since these operate quite a bit different than traditional FD limit screws. The part about ‘resetting’ the H/L limits was like finding the Holy Grail. That and shifting though all the positions then re-checking the alignment were the missing links. Thank you for publishing this. Great work!

    • Hi Casey, thanks for posting your comments which are really appreciated. I completely agree with you, many of us have been left a bit perplexed with this new design. Interestingly Shimano released this new toggle front derailleur design (after decades of every group set manufacturer using the same FD pivot design) and then drops mechanical shifting from 2021 Ultegra and Dura-Ace line-up.

      • Hey Rouleur,

        That’s funny because I thought the same thing to myself last night after getting my derailleur set up. This has only been out for one generation, and it’s already on it’s way out on Ultegra and Dura Ace? Dura Ace, I get, but I’m bummed about Ultegra. I’m a simple guy who still likes mechanical shifting Hopefully they keep GRX 800 mechanical for some time.

  • This is exactly what I needed to help me install a used derailleur. The note about re-setting the screws (especially the high-limit) made all the difference. Many thanks.

  • Thank you so much! This guide in its clarity and step-by-step instructions is so helpful and easy to follow! Amazing work.

  • Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to post this – consise, clear-as-mud (!) step-by-step instructions and images to help visualise the instructions, with explanations of ‘why’. Great article. Cheers!

  • First of all thanks for this guide. Helped a lot in helping me inderstand how it works.

    Im currently facing the problem in section 12 (ii) where my fd is rubbing the chain in the big ring and 3 small sprockets. When tensioning the cable, does my left hand shifter have to be in a certain position (eg. high, high trim, low, low trim)?

    Thanks!

    • Hi, glad to hear that the article has been of help. You can tighten or loosen the cable tension bolt with the front derailleur in any position. But when checking the alignment of the 2 front derailleur tension markings, the front derailleur needs to be in the HIGH TRIM position (as per section 8).

      Presumably you already have the markings aligned but are still experiencing chain rub as described. Make MINOR adjustments of the cable tension bolt (and possibly the high limit bolt) to get the clearance just right in all non-crossed gear combinations. I also recommend that after making an adjustment to cable tension, press the INNER shift lever multiple times to shift the front derailleur all the way back into frame, thereby releasing cable tension, before shifting the front derailleur back out to the position you are testing for clearance. This step will ensure the front derailleur is now positioned in it’s new location based on your adjustments.

  • This is such a concise guide, thank you for taking the time to do it. I have a question regarding the spacing between the crank arm and the outer edge of the FD cage. I have the FD set up as per your fantastic guide, however there’s very little clearance between the Ultegra crank arm inner and outer edge of the FD cage – around 1mm<

    Is this correct? It seems dangerously tight to me..

    • Thanks for your kind feedback. I measured this to be about 3.5 mm which is a fair bit more than the 1 mm you currently have. Your 1 mm clearance reminds me of my 1980’s vintage steel bike fitted with Campagnolo Super Record, which is about all you get! Thankfully in the modern age the clearances are far more generous. I have updated the article with further discussion and a photo.

  • Thanks so much for this! My chain was rubbing on the highest gears, and I couldn’t fix it with the limit bolts without affecting the other lower gear end. By going through this guide I soon noticed that the derailleur was not parallel with the chain ring.

  • Mate, thanks for sharing, and all your efforts. It’s a very technical little item. Shimano kickbacks would be approved.

    • Thanks for posting, a Shimano kickback would be nice! Yes it a bit more technical and still surprises me that Shimano completely re-invent the mechanical front derailleur only to discontinue mechanical group sets in the next iterations of Ultegra and Dura Ace.

  • Hi, thanks for this great article. I went through the process of adjusting my front derailleur using the older, traditional method and, as you can imagine, the end result was worse then where I had started. Your instructions above helped me get things back on track. However, I went through the full installation instructions twice and both times ended up with the following issue that I was wondering if you might be able to help troubleshoot. With the chain on the small front ring, it rubs on the outer face of the front derailleur cage (furthest side from the frame) when I get to about the fourth smallest cog in the rear. I understand that there might be some rub on the very smallest cog due to the crossed positioning, but it seems to be happening too soon. I also have difficulty discerning any movement in the front derailleur when moving back and forth between the low and low trim positions and suspect that this is a related issue (it almost seems as if it goes directly from high trim to low trim and I can’t get into the low from either direction, which is where I think I would want to be in that gearing combination). I know you mentioned above that this lack of movement between low and low trim could be caused by the low limit bolt being screwed in to far, but I’ve reset it in accordance with your instructions above. And when I try to fine tune in order to eliminate this rub, it creates rub on the other side in other positions. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

    • Hi Bob, chain rub in small chain ring and 4th smallest cog sounds like a setup issue. I doubt the chain angle of your bike is more extreme than my road bike which has disc brakes and short 405mm chain stays. I experience front derailleur (FD) chain rub in the 2 smallest sprockets when on the small chain ring. There is a possibility that if the cable tension is too tight, the shift lever may not be able to move to all 4 positions.

      First thing to check; whilst rotating cranks, shift the FD ALL the way out to HIGH position (big chain ring). Next press the inner shift lever 3 times as follows. The first click is HIGH to HIGH TRIM, the second click is HIGH TRIM to LOW, the third click is LOW to LOW TRIM. If you are not able to get 3 clicks, try disconnecting the shift cable and repeat the test. If it still doesn’t click 3 times, probably an issue with the shift lever, however if it DOES click 3 times after disconnecting the shift cable, then the shift cable was too tight and restricting the internal mechanism.

      Otherwise if the shifter clicks 3 times, here are some more tips;
      Assuming the FD alignment and height is correct and there is nothing behind the FD restricting inward travel, I would start by loosening off the low trim screw (to remove it from the equation), then gradually increase cable tension to see if you can get the front derailleur shifting to the 4 different positions. Remember it will only be small movements for some positions. The cable tension is likely about right when you (sometimes) need to slightly over-shift the lever to move the derailleur from LOW TRIM to LOW positions. Once the front derailleur is moving to all 4 positions, then shift the FD all the way down to LOW TRIM position and set the low trim screw as described.

      Unfortunately, changing cable tension will affect the derailleur position in all settings, so you will probably need to re-adjust the high limit screw. When testing, always pay attention to the trim setting of the derailleur as it is easy to get confused thinking the chain rubs, when the derailleur is in the wrong trim position. If you really get stuck, visit an experienced mechanic at your local bike shop should be able to sort out the issue pretty quickly as these derailleurs are pretty common now-a-days.

  • Cheers, great article. But i received a 2nd-hand one without the frame pads. Maybe this is the reason, but even after following the guide, operation is better, but still worse than i could setup with a FD-6800 in 10 minutes. Imho this is over-engineered to point of being a joke. 🙁 Happens to all technology nowadays i guess.

    • Sorry to hear that Steve. It is certainly more tricky to setup than traditional front derailleurs. The small metal frame pad is required to protect a carbon frame (or the finish on an alloy or titanium frames). The support bolt is required to provide a crisp shift up to the large chain ring. Assuming the derailleur is aligned and positioned correctly as per the guide, most problems are related to either cable tension or the high limit bolt setting. Hopefully there is a good bike mechanic in your area that can assist further. Once setup, they generally work well. Alternatively you should be able to fit a traditional Shimano front derailleur from any of the previous (1st generation) Shimano 11 speed group sets. Looking at the Shimano Compatibility Chart (pages 17 & 20) all parts are compatible across Shimano 11 speed Road groups.

      • Yeah, i tried to substitue a hard piece of plastic attached with double sided tape (for the missing frame pad) but the point of contact is well back on a round tube, and is also hindered by the deraileur clamp. Any force from the screw just dislodges the plastic. … I wonder if this happens much with the shimano plate.

        Anyway, I raised the deraileur to give about 3mm clearance, and can now get a rub-free crosschain on small to small. Probably doesn’t help i’m running a 10 speed crankset – Sworks! ;>. I guess bodges can only get you so far. Cheers

  • Great guide. I am almost finished setting up an R7000 groupset. Front derailleur is almost perfect. Followed all the steps. However, when I change from Low Trim to Low, there is a click but the derailleur does not move. Cable tension was adjusted with lines matching in the High Trim position. I set the high and low settings as Shimano recommends using the big chain ring and that works fine. However, because there is no outward movement of the derailleur when I switch from Low Trim to Low, the outer plate of the derailleur rubs the chain for the higher gears on the back cassette.

    Does this indicate that I need to tighten or loosen the cable at the pinchbolt? I would have thought that the tension adjustment (with the matching lines) would have taken care of this.

    • Hi David, there is some scope for adjustment of gear cable tension and the lines still match. May need to experiment a little to see if you can get a better adjustment. Using small chain ring with smallest 2 sprockets may rub on the FD. Shifting between Low and Low Trim is usually a very small movement. You may need to over-shift the lever past the click to get the FD to move from Low Trim to Low position. Also note, if the low limit bolt is screwed in too far, you may also effectively cancel out the LOW TRIM position of the front derailleur. Low and Low Trim will be the same position as the FD cannot move inward any closer to the frame due to the Low limit bolt setting.

  • Hi Rouleur. Thanks for your fabulous step by step guide. It all made sense by the 3rd attempt and I’m at a loss think what was confusing me on the first 2 attempts. But I still don’t think I’ve managed to acheive the optimal setup. The cage moves just fine when I click between High and High Trim but the movement between Low and Low Trim is weird. On the way down to the small chainring there’s a significant difference from Low Trim to Low but coming the other way the cage hardly moves at all. Any idea how to deal correct this?

    • Hi Clive, yes, shifting between High and High Trim is a much more noticeable movement than between Low Trim and Low (which hardly moves at all). If the front derailleur is not rubbing in the easiest gears (small chain ring, largest sprockets), nothing further to be done really. Also note, if the low limit bolt is screwed in too far, you may also effectively cancel out the LOW TRIM position of the front derailleur. Low and Low Trim will be the same position as the FD cannot move inward any closer to the frame due to the Low limit bolt setting.

  • Precious. I had been wading through so many YouTube postings in my hitherto futile attempts at understanding the peculiarities of 6 yr old “new” Shimano FD’s. Thank you, thank you and thank you. I suppose I’m among those who are able to make sense of a (well) articulated explanation, accompanied by the occasional well placed photo, over against a video that makes sense to its poster, but often to few others.
    Now I freely confess that I required multiple readings of your instructions before it all gelled. But when it did, it was mine. It was another man’s gift to me. Furthermore, from the very first brief perusal I knew that I had found the balm that would quell my mounting frustrations.

    Only someone that’s prepared to give so generously would offer his time to this measure. What more can I say? You led me out of the woods.

    Grateful in Medford, Jim.

    • Great to hear the post was able to help you sort out your setup. Thanks for posting your comments. Happy riding.

  • Rouleur, thanks so much for this installation guide. Super helpful. I have a question. I installed a new r7000 105 group set on an older road bike I recently purchased. It had an old Dura Ace (I believe 7800) 10 speed that wasn’t working well. And I needed more flexibility with lower speeds.
    Not really that experienced with this stuff. I got everything to work but for the front derailleur. It’s the brace-on type. It seems too far from the frame, even with the L adjustment screw fully unscrewed. It keeps rubbing the chain. It almost looks like the mount is protruding too far from the frame. Is it possible that the derailleur is not compatible with this frame? I can’t see this being a case because the old Dura Ace derailleur work just fine. Any thoughts?

    • Hi jdar, I believe the chain line for road bikes has been pretty similar over the years, so the new R7000 should work fine with your frame. Based on your comment that the derailleur is located too far out on the frame (assuming no cable tension and low limit screw wound out), I would be checking the width of your bottom bracket is correct. If the width is too narrow, then the chainrings will sit too close to the frame and likely causing this issue.

  • Awesome article, can you just explain “Note: Depending on your bike, you may need to over-shift the lever a little past the ‘click’ to shift the front derailleur from the LOW TRIM to the LOW position. This is due to a combination of acute cable angle, high spring tension and small cable pull.”

    • Hi Darren, sometimes you may need to push the shift lever past where it clicks (but not to the next click) to get the derailleur to move out from the frame. It depends on your bike and cable tension.

  • Awesome Guide and I use it always for setting up my front derailleurs ever since I discovered it.
    Just one question.
    Do you think fixing the chain rub issue (section 11.) with a 2.5 mm spacer on the crank spindle at the drive side is worth a try or at least not contra productive?
    Was thinking a bigger Q-factor would be beneficial for me as a bigger rider anyway and I could put some spacers on the non drive side pedal or move the left cleat to be symmetrical again.

    Many thanks.

    • Hi HeinzGurke, thanks for your comments, glad to hear the guide has proven useful for your bikes. Yes, changing the Q-Factor of the cranks would counteract the different position of the cassette caused by wider disc brake rear frame spacing, but the problem with increasing Q-Factor by fitting spacers between bottom bracket and crank arms is the length of the crank spindle is not designed for it. As Q-Factor needs to be increased evenly on both sides of the frame, by adding 2.5mm spacer to drive side, you also need to add 2.5mm spacer to non-drive side which means the crank spindle is now 5mm too short. You may recall when connecting the non-drive side crank arm to the notched end of the crank spindle and there is a little hole that a small plastic latch clicks into. This is a safety feature to ensure the crank arm is fitted correctly to the crank spindle and that latch will not engage the hole when the non-drive side crank arm is located 5mm further out.

      The simplest solution is to switch group sets. I believe both SRAM and Campagnolo marginally increased the Q-Factor of their cranksets to overcome some of the chain line difference caused by disc brakes. Shimano GRX is apparently 2.5mm wider each side, here is an article discussing this.

  • This article helped me tremendously to get a shifting problem solved on my FD-R8000 derailleur. Thank you for the very detailed and helpful article. Especially the part about the screw resetting, which isn’t mentioned in the Shimano dealer manual. (I understand that manual is probably from an initial installation perspective but it would be good if they add a sub chapter on ‘reinstallation’ and add that information).
    Correcting the height/distance of the derailleur cage to the chainring, resetting the screws, and starting with a lot more ‘initial tension’ on the cable before fastening the clamp bolt were probably the three major parts in the solution of my front shifting problem.

  • I just said to my parents “I need to leave a reply and thank that guy” – without your information regarding the H-Limit Screw reset position, I would be still sitting here trying to figure out what I did wrong. If you forget adjusting it to its reset position first, your cable tension will be all but correct.

    You will notice that if you cannot feel the four positions of the FD (up/down and both trims) anymore while shifting through all front derailleur positions.

    This was of so much value for me, I just screwed in the H-Limit screw so that the upper part of the inner parallelogram body (the one with the big cable tensioning bolt) does not lift upwards anymore, checked if the derailleur was still parallel to the large chainwheel – and voila. Everything working now like it should.

    It is a bummer Shimano themselves do not mention this “lovely” detail – but luckily you do and saved me and others some trouble. Thank you very much for your helpful article.

    • Hi Yannik, it gives me great joy to hear you got everything sorted out and thanks for posting your comment.

  • Nice guide! I have 3 questions please:

    Q1
    On part 4. Align Front Derailleur with Large Chain Ring

    “Next we will set the angle of the front derailleur in relation to the large chain ring, but make sure when doing this adjustment, you don’t change the height adjustment we just setup in the previous step.”

    What do you do to do the adjustment? Is this the part where you use the low limit bolt? Do you use the support bolt at all to do this adjustment?

    Question 2:

    How can you push the rear end of the chain guide so that it is inward of the big chain ring?

    Question 3:

    If I have an inline barrel adjuster for the tension cable, what should be its initial position at the very beginning? I imagine it should be loose at the very beginning so that we can tighten it later if the tension cable loosens up later on. Any thoughts on this?

    Again thank you for the great guide.

    • Hi Regi,

      A1. Depending on how the front derailleur mounting ie. clamp or braze mount, you may be able to set the angle of the derailleur to your preference of either parallel or slightly inward of the chain rings. The support bolt can also be used to change the angle of the front derailleur (if required) as discussed in step 5. The low limit bolt is not used to set the angle of the front derailleur, only clearance to the chain.

      A2. Not all bikes/mounting options will allow you to angle the rear end of the chain guide slightly inward. I can’t on my bike, but it is not a problem as we want it’s final position to be parallel.

      A3. The main advantage of this new derailleur design is that an inline barrel adjuster is not required. There is a special cable tension bolt on the derailleur with a marking to set the correct cable tension. I would remove the barrel adjuster and replace the shift outer housing with a new one to the correct length, but if you don’t want to do that, you can set the barrel adjuster where you like and no longer use it.

      • I also cannot adjust angle the rear end of the chain guide inwards because I have the braze on. Do you know what I can do if the rear end is outwards of the chain ring while the front end chain guide is still inwards of the chain ring? I am having trouble making it parallel because of this weird angle.

        • Hi Regi, that’s a problem, probably best to visit a bike shop to see that they can do for you.

  • A+ on the photos! Thank you. How can this be so much better than the Shimano instructions LOL!

  • Hi Rouleur,

    So glad to find your article as some of the Youtube videos are not either accurate or cover so many details. It’s really helpful! Thanks!
    Everything works well so far but I still have one thing to double-check: In step 1 I unscrewed both H and L, then adjusted H to make sure the upper ‘toggle’ was unmovable. But the L adjustment in Step 2 (derailleur cage is in line with the teeth of the chain ring) will set the upper ‘toggle’ free again. Is this normal or have I missed something? (What I did was lift up the upper toggle while pulling the cable)
    Thank you

    • Hi Michael, yes your observation is correct, tightening the Low Limit screw will cause the upper portion of the front derailleur to become loose again. The instructions for resetting the derailleur were the steps I used to set the derailleur to a default state as nothing is documented in the Shimano instructions. It would be interesting to see the factory setting for these screws on a brand new derailleur. I know from experience that if the upper toggle is too loose, the cable pull will not be enough to shift the chain to the big ring. Ultimately the tension screw setting + the high limit setting, determine how far out the front derailleur will travel when the shifter pulls in the shift cable. This is a departure from the traditional front derailleur design where the high limit bolt restricts the outward travel of the derailleur, rather than contributing to it.

  • After 5 decades of Italian bikes with Campy components my latest vintage rebuild is a Bianchi Mondiale SLX. It came with Shimano Tricolor Ultegra bits and pieces, of which the headset and bb were already fitted. Removal and maintenance of both requires standard tools, nothing Shimano specific there. But there are other components like a cassette hub I’d like to strip and service. I always use this site for tips for which, like in this article, many thanks. I also access VeloBase but this is no longer on the net as far as I can see. Anybody know what happened?
    Best from Bavaria
    Colin

    • Hi Colin,

      Glad to hear that my site is a useful source of information for you. Not sure what happended to Velobase unfortuantely. Best of luck with the Bianchi rebuild.

  • OMG…! This is fantastic. Your walk-through with explanations are fantastic; I followed it paragraph by paragraph. Your explanations are fantastic. I’ve bookmarked this particular Shimano-toggle-front-derailleur-escape-from-hell-directions and will scour your entire site because if you’ve done great work on this one point of irritation there’s a high probability your other work will also scratch my other itches. I’ve been working on bikes since 1986 and these new toggle derailleurs have bothered me to no end. I purposely avoid touching them if they’re ‘good-enough’. Today is the first day of the rest of my life because of finding your work. Thank you.

    • Hi JayDeePee,

      Thanks for your amazing feedback. Wonderful to hear that the article was able to help you with the new Shimano mechanical front derailleur.

  • Dude … THANKYOU so much for this very clear set of instructions. I’m an experience mechanic, and while my brain was still thinking about how to set up a traditional front derailleur (which of course wasn’t working), I found the Shimano Dealer Manual instructions utterly baffling. Despite using western letters and the English language, their instructions may have well been from a different solar system. Yours were SO MUCH CLEARER.
    Rich,
    Bike Education Director,
    Bike New York

    • Hi Rich, thanks for your nice comment, it’s fantastic to hear that the page has been so helpful for everyone.

  • Excellent guide. The key part missing from the other videos and articles I looked at was adjusting the high limit right at the beginning, to flatten the top cap. That solved my problems 🙂

    Many thanks!

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