[Closed] Inbred owners... Front mech problem

Check the routing, on some mechs the cable doesn't come straight down to the fixing bolt, it goes under the boomerang bit and bolts to the clamp from underneath.
If it definitely comes straight down make sure it's attached to the correct side of the bolt, there should be a little groove that shows where it goes..

Thanks, I'll have a look...
I've routed it as it was, so I don't understand why the SRAM shifter worked fine and the shimano doesn't.

Cable should run outside of the lug on the arm, and under the bolt on that type of mech, running it inside the lug will alter the pull ratio.

Just had another look at this... If I run the cable under, and around the arm it reverses the shifter. It becomes high normal if you know what I mean.

Should it be this difficult!!!

Can you move the mech by hand ok?

Nope. Shimano and SRAM front shifters are the same. The SRAM shift lever might be a gnat's longer, meaning it's easier to push, but that's it.

Are you sure it's not the mech that's stiff?

It's one of two things:

1) Damaged mech not working properly

2) Cable routing.

My money is on cable routing. Check Shimano Techdocs here

Cable routing diagrams are top right
The bottom right of the 4 diagrams is (I have an 853 Inbred) how your cable should be routed. MAKE SURE the cable goes round the OUTSIDE of that little metal protrusion as if it doesn't, the leverage ratio is wrong and gives the symptoms you describe.

Also, are you sure the cable is properly seated in the shifter? Check that too. 🙂

I am with the OP on this as I have never had any success with the conventional front mechs (like the OPs) on my 456, blue pig or my GF's inbred! I never knew that side on which the cable attacted to made so much difference!

Also as slight aside but very much related to the conventional mech on these frames - The shifting into the granny ring has always been terible on this frame - mech combo. BB spacing as been the same on all frames but I can never get the mech to shift into the granny ring comfortably. Its like the mech is spaced too far out to allow the mech plate to move the chain into the granny ring even with no cable tension.....Do you understand what I mean....?

Anyone else have this issue and how have they solved it? I have 2 unused conventional mechs not doing anything after buying them and not being able to get them to work!

I fitted a mech to an inbred frame I picked up the other day and it's working fine, done about 20 mile on it so far with no issues.

Quite literally just lined it up, bolted it tight and ran the cable from the shifter to the mech, didn't need to adjust anything.

It was this one I had http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-m785-top-swing-2x10-front-mech/rp-prod69484

I am with the OP on this as I have never had any success with the conventional front mechs (like the OPs) on my 456, blue pig or my GF's inbred!

Hmmm. That's odd.

I never knew that side on which the cable attacted to made so much difference!

But that explains it.....

Would that explain the spacing issue too then?

Yes, quite possibly. If the leverage ratio is wrong the mech won't move far enough in either direction, so get it OK in the middle + big rings and it'll not have enough movement to go to granny ring.
Incorrectly routed cable is pretty much the number one cause I see with front mech problems. For rear mechs number one is bent gear hangers, by the way, followed by seized pivot bolts. 🙂

Peter, you're a genius!!

All working now, cable clamped correctly. I'm amazed it makes such a difference, but it does!!