[ire]

I'm having issues with my training bike's shifting and I need some help. This bike is my main work horse and I put a lot of miles on it. The chain newish while I've had the cassette and chainrings for a year. The shifters were raced for a season of cross and have now been on this bike for two years. The issue I"m having is that the bike shifts great going up the cassette, but shifts like crap going to higher gears. I've disassembled and cleaned the shifter gears, replaced the cables/housing, and even tried changing the der. I also checked the hanger and it's even. Could it be the shifter that is causing the issue? Or do I need to bite the bullet and replace the cassette and chainrings? The delayed/crappy shifting is really starting to annoy me.

 

[sanjuro]

I doubt a slow shift to the small cogs is from cog/chainring wear. Skipping, yes, shifting to the small, no.

I would think it something to do with the shifters. I wondering though did you miss something with the housing, like you re-used a piece or had a crink in the ferrule...

 

[BikeMike]

Check the ends of the housing, under the ferrules. Bends in the housing tends to push the wires out of the plastic encasing; these wires aren't very stable w/o the plastic to keep them in line, so they mush around, especially under pressure. If you have wires sticking out, make a nice new cut and you're good to go (best use the same housing--as long as it's not jankified your wire extension issue will be basically solved.)

 

[crohnsy]

What derailleur did you change to? A new one or a used one? If both are used maybe the springs have lost their strength or the pivots are seizing.

Is the cable on the correct side of the pinchbolt?

how much side to side play is in the chain?

 

[ire]

Well, its official, I'm an idiot. I spent a bunch of time on this issue, including swapping ders and shifters. I had replaced the cable/housing not that long ago and I thought everything was okay...turns out I was wrong. I've ridden in some foul weather since changing the cable/housing and it needed to be replaced. The parts are all pretty worn (and they're not top tier) so it doesn't shift fantastic, but good enough. It shifts better on the top 5 cogs than the lower 5...which is fine by me.

 

[Banshee Rider]

Well, its official, I'm an idiot. I spent a bunch of time on this issue, including swapping ders and shifters. I had replaced the cable/housing not that long ago and I thought everything was okay...turns out I was wrong. I've ridden in some foul weather since changing the cable/housing and it needed to be replaced. The parts are all pretty worn (and they're not top tier) so it doesn't shift fantastic, but good enough. It shifts better on the top 5 cogs than the lower 5...which is fine by me.

FWIW, after riding in nasty conditions I use a drip-bottle of Tri Flow to apply lube to every cable end, then cycle the shifting a half dozen times to force the lube inside the housing. Same concept as lubing your chain after a wet ride before putting your bike away; if you forget the lube you'll wake up to a rusted chain. For a temporary immediate fix, pulling the housing out of their stops, apply lube to the cable, and moving the housing back and forth over the lube should free up any binding and get you those lower 5 gears back.

 

[OGRipper]

...maybe the springs have lost their strength or the pivots are seizing.

You already resolved some of your issues but this poster may be on track to solve the rest of your problems. If it's not pulling down to your bigger cogs and your cables are clean, something is probably up with your derailleur. Don't know what der you have but some actually have the ability to adjust spring tension, so you might try that. At the very least, try a few drops of lube on the parallelogram pivots and then work it in by shifting through all your gears a few times. (People routinely miss the fact that those little pivots need some love from time to time.)

Note also that if you knocked your der at some point , you could be getting some binding due to a squashed pivot or two. That's a bigger problem for mtb's, but still.

 

[ire]

You already resolved some of your issues but this poster may be on track to solve the rest of your problems. If it's not pulling down to your bigger cogs and your cables are clean, something is probably up with your derailleur. Don't know what der you have but some actually have the ability to adjust spring tension, so you might try that. At the very least, try a few drops of lube on the parallelogram pivots and then work it in by shifting through all your gears a few times. (People routinely miss the fact that those little pivots need some love from time to time.)

Note also that if you knocked your der at some point , you could be getting some binding due to a squashed pivot or two. That's a bigger problem for mtb's, but still.

Your second point may be spot on. It's an Ultegra der. and I raced a season of cross on it, not to mention I took one spill on the pavement on the right hand side. The der. may not be fully functional. It works good enough for the training bike where a delay in shift isn't a big deal.

 

[OGRipper]

Your second point may be spot on. It's an Ultegra der. and I raced a season of cross on it, not to mention I took one spill on the pavement on the right hand side. The der. may not be fully functional. It works good enough for the training bike where a delay in shift isn't a big deal.

Yep. Your issues could also arise from your der or your hanger simply being bent. The usual symptom of those problems is inconsistent shifting, i.e., it works fine for half the cassette but not the other - exactly what you're experiencing. You should probably check your hanger alignment.

 

[ire]

Yep. Your issues could also arise from your der or your hanger simply being bent. The usual symptom of those problems is inconsistent shifting, i.e., it works fine for half the cassette but not the other - exactly what you're experiencing. You should probably check your hanger alignment.

I've actually checked it twice...the spill happened on a different frame. The der prolly isn't straight or has some other issue. I have to say all the tips have been helpful....I now have a list of things to run through the next time I have this issue