I have a 2000-ish model year Raleigh C30 hybrid, and I love this bike. It has served me and my fat ass well over the years.
I rode it to work Tuesday after a long winter in the shed, and I soon discovered that the front derailleur is jammed. I believe that some yard fertilizer fell on it from the spreader that hangs above the bike, and it corroded the derailleur to the point of causing a seizure.
A quick use of my Google-fu showed that the derailleur is a Shimano Tourney TY-32, which apparently is no longer made. Is there a web resource available that I can use to find an equivalent replacement should my efforts to clean, polish, and lube the incumbent back to functionality fail?
Or, you can bring it to a local bike shop and ask them about some options. They may have a box of used, but not used-up, parts from people who upgraded components.
Front derailleurs are one of the most low-tech components of the drive train. They’re basically just a metal plate that shoves the chain sideways. Unless it’s totally corroded then a decent soaking in WD-40 and some judicious waggling ought to get it moving.
If you do need to replace it - is your front shifter indexed? If not, I should think just about any front mech will work. If it is, it might be a little more tricky but all you really need to look at is the number of teeth on your chainrings and check that against the capacity of the one your replace it with.
Alternatively, if you do want like-for-like, eBay brings up three new TY-32s for $15 each.
Well, I wouldn’t say just any one would work. For instance, if he’s got a granny gear on the front, he’s going to need a longer cage and possibly more travel.
But once you narrow it down a tiny bit, yeah, there’s not going to be a whole lot of difference if there’s no index shifting. If there is, it’s more tricky, but I suspect you still don’t need a very exact match.
This should definitely be fixable. The nice thing about the better bikes (cheap Chinese (not Taiwan) crap) is that interchangeability is built into the bikes. Standards are set and bikes of many makes adhere to them. Companies like Shimano drive the standards. That’s not to say that standards don’t change over time. Still a lot of parts can be swapped.
As for your front derailleur, call a tech at Nashbar if you want to do it yourself. It been some years since I called them but I had a good experience. They should have a derailleur in stock that will swap out quite nicely. Do you need to change out the crank? If it’s a 2000ish and you’ve ridden it a lot you might want to upgrade the whole front drive. It will probably work a lot more smoothly and be worth the money. You primary considerations (which the techie will ask you) are 1.) How the derailleur mounts to the frame (is the mount part of the frame or is it just a clamp. 2.) The size of the bottom bracket (the part of the frame that in which the crank turns. You need to know the diameter and the length). 3.) How many gear are on the front crank. If you have indexed shifter it will matter. If the shifters are not indexed it will not matter.
Word of warning. Front derailleurs look deceptively simple. Yet, they can be one of the trickiest parts of a bike to properly adjust. It’s about the least favorite thing even experienced mechanics like to tackle.
If the frame is in good shape and the bike is comfortable for you it might just be a good idea to take it to a good, reputable bike shop and they can fix your bike. You will be very happy and it will ride better than what you were used to. Yes, you might spend a little more. If you have problems, just take it back to them for further adjustment.
I am confident in my skills to repair or replace the front derailleur. It is a clamp mount, and is on an indexed shift. My knowledge is of the higher end bicycle technologies of the 70s, and things have changed in the intervening 35 years.
There is a local mechanic that is pretty good, but he does annoying stuff like adjust out the oddball saddle position I use without my permission, then expect accolades for doing so. I will take it to him if I get in over my head.
Pieces if information you will need to order the correct derailleur:
Clamp diameter(measured in metric).
Top pull or bottom pull?
Top swing or bottom swing?
Mountain or road? You will need a mountain bike style derailleur most likely.
Double or triple crankset? Most likely you have a triple.
Shimano generally works best with Shimano.
Cage width should be appropriate for drive train. Probably you need 8 speed.
If you get all of these specs right, you should be OK, although there are a couple other things to consider. For most of these specs, if it is not correct, the part will not work at all with your drivetrain. I can look it up the part for you tomorrow if you do not know the answers.
A front derailleur is not a necessity. It is just a convenience.
I’ve ridden an old rain beater bike with a triple chainring for years without a front derailleur. You can just change front gears with your finger.
Just stop the bike, bend down and push the chain towards the chainring you want and SLOWLY move the pedals to change gears. Takes only a few seconds.
You most likely won’t even need to change gears since your bike has a middle 38t chainring which is fast enough for commuting and low enough to climb most hills.
Gears are like golf clubs. If you are not going to use them get rid of them and don’t drag them around with you. Sorry, but your idea of getting off the bike and manually manipulating the chain sounds, with all due respect, pretty stupid. I don’t know how to say it more politely. Fix the damn thing, make it do what it is suppose to do and get on with it.
After all, a bike is not a necessity, it is a convenience.
There is a bit of a safety issue with riding an externally geared bike without a front derailleur, the chain has a tendency to come off - especially when going over bumps.