what should i shim my front mech with?

[jax13]

the final piece of the puzzle.

i got a new sram x7 front mech (from taiwan hence it not being an option to send it back) that should have included shims down to 28.6. as it stands, it isn't anywhere close so i need to add another shim to the setup.

so - where would one acquire a suitable sram mech shim or alternatively, what have you used to shim in the past? I did use a length of innertube but it isn't perfect as there is a little too much give in the rubber. also tried some plastic (plastic tub lid) but it didn't have the required purchase to grip the tube.

any help much appreciated!

 

[epptx]

What about a small section of metal cut from an aluminum can? (Or several...as many as it takes to build up the required thickness.)

Note: I cannot take credit for thinking of this. There is a wonderful section in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," by Robert Pirsig, that includes an anecdote along these very lines.

 

[legrandefromage]

use shimano shims

 

[dbmtb]

+1. It's fiddly to get them to keep still long enough to tighten them up, but it does work.

 

[JeRkY]

Go to your LBS and ask if they have any spare. They are the sort of things that get left over after a shop installs a new FD on a customers bike.

 

[orange71]

I use a strip of old inner tube or rim tape (the rubber kind).

 

[letmetalktomark]

The rubber bits everyone has in their tool boxes from fitting lights/speedos to handlebars etc.

Its now my preferred method of fixing front mechs

 

[FMJ]

+1 on the Shimano shims at the LBS. There's always ones on fleabay, too.

That said, I made the world's most expensive set of derailleur shims on one of my WEDM machines at work when I was bored last week.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Shoudl be plenty to choose from here, from the modern Shimano stick on one's to the cheaper deore simple bits. Also the SRAM proper one http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Cate ... goryID=662

 

[jax13]

all sorted - lbs had a set of alloy ones that required minimal fettling to fit the clamp and have locked up nice and snugly on the tube.

the biggest problem was that the mech bolt itself wasn't long enough to bite the nut with the spacers in place so a little midnight bodge work with a small file, a sprung washer, nyloc nut & longer 'normal' bolt has now left me with a perfectly positioned, perfectly functioning mech.