SRAM AXS Front Derailleur Setup issues.....

[gSporco]

Well, finding my way back to 2x is very agitating so far.. I have spent 2 hours trying to get the FD setup as per SRAMs instructions and no luck what so ever..
What I have done:
RD is setup perfectly
I set the line on the inside (height) to FD in the center of the line (I tried, at the bottom of the line and the top)
I set the lines that align the front and back of the FR on the center of the largest CR
I set the in board and outboard limits within 2mm and even tried 1mm

My problem is the chain gets thrown off the big ring and onto the pedals… Inboard shifting is no problem no matter what the setting is.
If I set the outboard gap 1mm per spec on the outside of the chain the FD does not push the chain enough to get onto the big ring.. When I give it the 2mm gap then it has enough to shift into the big however on the stand if I aggressively go back and forth on the FD pedaling from the center cog.. every 5th shift throws the chain clear off the crank..
Im very frustrated and I know that SRAM now has this plastic guide thingy called “Front Derailleur setup tool” but it can’t be purchased anywhere in the US..
If in fact this plastic guide is the holy grail and tolerances are that tight, I am still worried that over time as things settle it will happen out on the road and if it were to damage my frame or crank I will be livid….

Any tips out there? Am I missing something.. Is the chain to tight or to lose (I have it at spec, 1 outer and 1 inner link overlap on the big big)
Thanks!

[DaveS]

The window for setting the height must reference the tallest teeth on the big ring. Try lowering the FD a bit. If it gets too low, the cage will catch on the big ring. The two marks on the cage must be set parallel to the big ring. When I first started the setup, I didn't see the mark at the front and only aligned the mark at the tail.

It's not unusual for the cage to move out of parallel during the final tightening of the clamp bolt. I found this out when the small screw that holds the end of the cage together touched the crank as I was pedaling. It should have cleared the crank arm by 2mm.

Be very sure that the there in no more than 1mm of clearance between the chain and outer cage, with the chain on the 10T sprocket.

I setup two of these recently. It wasn't real easy, but both work perfectly.

[gSporco]

The window for setting the height must reference the tallest teeth on the big ring. Try lowering the FD a bit. If it gets too low, the cage will catch on the big ring. The two marks on the cage must be set parallel to the big ring. When I first started the setup, I didn't see the mark at the front and only aligned the mark at the tail.

It's not unusual for the cage to move out of parallel during the final tightening of the clamp bolt. I found this out when the small screw that holds the end of the cage together touched the crank as I was pedaling. It should have cleared the crank arm by 2mm.

Be very sure that the there in no more than 1mm of clearance between the chain and outer cage, with the chain on the 10T sprocket.

I setup two of these recently. It wasn't real easy, but both work perfectly.

Thank you ill try aligning the markntonthe little tooth and see if that does the trick. Everything else I did unfortunately :/

[grover]

I've had most success with top of biggest tooth aligned with top of line for height. That is, on the lower side of their adjustment window. If too high it throws off the outside. I'll second that the rotation if quite fiddly and that it changes as you tighten the bolt. For me, I start with the tail slightly outboard and as I tighten the bolt the tail swings in so that both marks end up aligned with the big chainring.

[gSporco]

Didnt work.. I made sure the little ooth of the big ring met the line inside the FD.. Then made sure the chain hash marks lined up over the big ring back and front.. Shifted to the 10t and tried to get it to shift into the big ring and it just grinded away between rings.. then I manualy the chain in the big ring and made sure there was 2mm clearnce on the outside of the chain. no luck still grinds to get up and doenst get up.. The only way it works is if there is 3mm on the outside of chain in the big ring then it send the chain flying right off..

Im am about 2 seconds from ripping this thing off and going back to 1x... So so pissed!!!

[joko]

I had same problem with brand new sram red axs etap front derailleur, bike shop could not get it to work it over shifted. Bike shop found out that the front derailleur cage joint was loose (cage moved to much on sideways) and it over shifted for that reason. Sram sent new front derailleur for warranty and now it works as it should.

[gSporco]

Its 4am here in and I can't sleep because this issue is driving me nuts and i have a big ride planned and wanted to try the 2x setup badly and didn't want to sit in one ring for the ride.

So I gave it one last crack... but I noticed something.. why is there aluminum dust all over the chain? Well from testing the crap out of this in the stand the constant scrapping of the chain against the ramps of the big ring was shredding it... thats not right... so I thought maybe there is to much tension in the chain and the ramps cant do its job with that much resistance. So I did a little test and shifted the front derailer while gently pressing on the rear derailer pulley to create some slack and Wala it shifted it into the big ring.. I tried it again and it worked. So even though the chain was sized correctly with one outer and one inner link overlapping I decided to add another outer and inner link to create less tension. With this set up I can shift from the little ring to the big ring from the 5th cogs to the 12th cog (33t) however I still can't shift from the little ring to the big ring from the 4th cogs to the first cogs (10t).

No I am more confused than ever...

[Visus]

eTap front shifting is a mess. Trying to find the spot where the combination of your frame, cassette size, chain length and tension, crank rings and chainline lead to reliable front shifting can be exhausting. Play around long enough and you'll (maybe) get there. SRAMs tolerances are too small.

I had same problem with brand new sram red axs etap front derailleur, bike shop could not get it to work it over shifted. Bike shop found out that the front derailleur cage joint was loose (cage moved to much on sideways) and it over shifted for that reason. Sram sent new front derailleur for warranty and now it works as it should.

That's not what happened.They couldn't find the correct setting and got lucky with the second derailleur

[DaveS]

You should never shift to the smallest sprocket and then try to shift to the big ring. You're just asking for problems.

If sequential mode is used, it will shift up to the big ring as early as the 17. Of course, the RD will only shift to the 11 when you're in the small chainring.

[JMeinholdt]

I wish I could help, but I had no issues whatsoever setting up mine. It was literally line up the marks, set the limits, install the wedge, and have nothing but flawless operation since.

Are you using a non-AXS front chainring set up?

I would just double check derailleur height. Set it as low as possible without hitting teeth. Ensure that the cage is dead straight and set your H limit as close as possible. If you haven't installed the frame wedge, due so to ensure there's no deflection during the shift.

[kode54]

@gSporco, I feel for you. I had similar issues...and ended up going back to 1X on eTap. I swapped out the rear cassette to have a wider range which helped me stay 1X.

For the life of me...after looking online, YouTube and everything else...I've always had issues with the FD. Maybe it was my chainline...not sure. Chain too short? not sure either.

[ghostinthemachine]

You should never shift to the smallest sprocket and then try to shift to the big ring. You're just asking for problems.

??
Every group i've had since 5 speed was a thing all the way through to campag EPS 12 will do that shift witout complaint. I mean, sometimes the chain rubs on the inside of the big ring when i end up in small/small for whatever reason, but the shift is fine. (And the shift the other way as well!)

Though, to be fair, it's not something i do a lot.

[Llanberis]

I had the same issue with my set-up and managed to eleminate chain drop by (following all the set-up procedure outlined in the SRAM tech doc and) very fine tuning the FD high limit screw. It was literally a few very micro adjustments which in fact made huge differences. I remember someone in the forum mentioend that he had to get the gap between the cage plate and the chain so tiny that the two almost rub each other, and that's where I am now.

I do still have problems with between about 19-28T when shifting the front to the big ring (not enough push), which I'm now adjusting the high limit screw milimetre by milimetre to see if would improve. Not sure if this helps, but don't give up..

[gSporco]

You should never shift to the smallest sprocket and then try to shift to the big ring. You're just asking for problems.

If sequential mode is used, it will shift up to the big ring as early as the 17. Of course, the RD will only shift to the 11 when you're in the small chainring.

Actually it was the 11 as Sram software prevented a shift to the 10 when I was in the liite ring.

Plus what does it matter... Its in the stand and i want to see what works and what doesn't, I definitely wont do it on the road.

[gSporco]

@gSporco, I feel for you. I had similar issues...and ended up going back to 1X on eTap. I swapped out the rear cassette to have a wider range which helped me stay 1X.

For the life of me...after looking online, YouTube and everything else...I've always had issues with the FD. Maybe it was my chainline...not sure. Chain too short? not sure either.

The funny thing is, is that it all worked on my last 2 bikes. I just built up another Aspero ( went with a different size) and took the groupo off the original Aspero and onto this bike . It was working fine on the other bike ( chainstay length is identical).