Cannondale RZ120 front derailleur hitting suspension pivot

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
My wife has a size small Cannondale RZ120 and it's never had the correct front derailleur on it. The derailleur currently hits the suspension pivot for the rear swingarm before allowing the chain to drop into the smallest chainring. The shop that we purchased it from initially tried to make it work but ultimately ordered a new derailleur, I believe after discussions with Cannondale. We had some issues with the shop coordinating the repair (not so we eventually gave up and my wife just didn't use the small chainring. We're now selling the bike and I feel odd listing it with a caveat that says "Works great, but front derailleur hits the frame". Anyone have suggestions on an alternate derailleur before I attempt to contact Cannondale? I believe the chainline is correct so I'm not sure about spacing the crankset further out...believe the shop already had tried that. (I'll replace the frayed cable if I ever get the right part).

IMG_20200802_134152.jpg
IMG_20200802_134212.jpg
 

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you know year/model # (looks like they had 1 thru 4),
you can check what is originally spec'ed at bikedpedia:

The 2012 level 2 in Black is the closest I could find.
Spec'ed with SLX front der.
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
Put a 1.5mm (cassette) spacer between the right retaining ring of the bottom bracket/shell. It shouldn't effect clearance of the left crank, and sound give the room you need.
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Put a 1.5mm (cassette) spacer between the right retaining ring of the bottom bracket/shell. It shouldn't effect clearance of the left crank, and sound give the room you need.

Thanks, I'll take another look. That definitely makes sense, although I recall the shop originally trying that.

Edit: Also, I think it's a BB30. Ugh.
 
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jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Ooops- forgot- Ladies bike:
No image at Bikepedia, but image search matches details in your pics:

OEM Spec'ed with Deore FD.
So that doesn't help. Sorry.

I assume LBS checked this, but is there room to raise the derailleur enough to clear the bolt?

Aha, that is it. I wasn't certain there there were women's versions. I wouldn't necessarily want those graphics, but it doesn't scream ladies bike.

Yeah, definitely not enough room to raise the derailleur. The middle of the inside plate is fully contacting the pivot. I hate front derailleurs.
 

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
Only other thing I can think of is it might have been spec'ed for top-pull only,
and it shipped with a dual pull (or vice versa, but it looks like your is dual pull).
Google-fu coming up short though.

Or maybe the circlips (?) weren't installed,
and Karate's suggestion will solve it
Page 19 exploded diagram

That bike almost assuredly has an English bottom bracket, given the crank fixing bolts. I would assume that there is a combination of spacers, or even a different bottom bracket cartridge (that would space the crank farther out) to clear the problem. The issue then becomes one of whether or not the chainline is acceptable for the rear end.

No real good answers without physically touching the bike...
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestions. Agree with what you're saying regarding the crank bolts...Cannondale does like to throw on random BB stickers sometimes. I'll mess around with it tonight. It was definitely giving the shop that we bought it from serious problems (one of the better represented shops on this forum), so I'm not tremendously hopeful but maybe I can get something to work.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
I would start from the beginning and measure the bb shell width on the frame. Find out if it’s 68mm or 73mm and check if the correct spacers are installed. From the pictures none seem to be installed so that could be your problem, but it depends n the bb specs. Also measure the distance of the center ring from the center of the bb to get an idea where your chain line is and compare to the crank specs.
 
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