I just recently bought a Cannondale Comfort 5 Bike and have some questions.?

Question

Here are the specs on the gear shifters and deraileur's:

Front Derailleur Shimano FD-M311

Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio

Shimano SL-RS41 Revo Twist

I love the bike and would be willing to upgrade the gear shifter and deraileur if necessary. Whenever I shift gears on my front deraileur I get a lot of noise. Any thoughts? Do I just need to adjust the deraileurs? Are these low, medium, or high quality components.

Answer 1

Typically, ft. derailleurs are noisy on shifts compared to the back. I would certainly have it fully adjusted before going further. the shifters should be fine and are rarely the issue. Shifting on the chain-wheel is always touchy and a little care is needed when shifting.

Answer 2

The good news is that you probably don't need to change or upgrade any of your components.

Most beginners don't realize that front derailleurs need to be trimmed.  Start by making sure it is properly adjusted, then learn how to trim it -- slight movements in the control, short of an actual shift.  This is normally a greater problem with triple front cranks.

The other issue is cross-gearing.  If you run from the largest cog on the front to the largest on the rear (or smallest to smallest) you are creating a sharp chain line angle and it's almost impossible to avoid rubbing noise when you do that.  Not every gear combination on a multi-speed bicycle is usable, and you should avoid cross-gearing.  This is another typical beginner mistake.  A link to Sheldon Brown's article on shifting is below.

For a general article on noises and trimming, see the link below.

I hope this helps.