Another newbie Sora question (sorry!)

[Pointy boy]

Hi, new here.

Long time mountain biker, but just switched over to a Felt road bike with Shimano Sora shifters. All seems to work ok. My question is about the left-hand shifter. I've (just about) sussed-out the extra-click trim function, but when shifting-down the lever makes a much louder 'clunk' and is much stiffer than when down-shifting on the right lever. I understand the extra stiffness is normal? Is the louder clunk normal too? The right shifter is so silky-smooth, that the left feels a bit wrong... is this just the way it works? The actual shift works perfectly every time, it's just the noise and stiffness that concern me.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Shut Up Legs]

The stiffness and loud noise when shifting typically means that the cable tension is too high. You may be able to release the tension slightly by turning the barrel adjuster for the front shifter cable a bit. The adjuster I'm referring to is the one where the front shifter cable meets the down tube. However, this depends on the overall state of the shifter adjustment at the moment, so reading any guide on derailleur adjustment (e.g. http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustments) may be better (if you don't already know it, that is) .

 

[Pointy boy]

Thanks Victor. I'll take a look at that. Am I right in thinking that down-shifting the front derailleur is always going to be a little louder and stiffer than the rear because of the larger drop from one chainring to the next?

Cheers,

A.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Thanks Victor. I'll take a look at that. Am I right in thinking that down-shifting the front derailleur is always going to be a little louder and stiffer than the rear because of the larger drop from one chainring to the next?

Cheers,

A.

That's the impression I get when adjusting them. Not that I'm any expert on derailleur adjustment, because I haven't done a lot of them.

 

[jack smith]

DONT adjust it if it all shifts fine. That big clunk is normal for sora on the left shifter the left shifter is always stiffer and more clunky even on the higher end groups

 

[Cookie56]

My caad8 is similar with the front sora derailleur with a compact crank. A very definite and positive shift down to the smaller cog with a loud clunk. I just figured "they all do that" . I've fettled quite a bit but never removed the type of shift. As the OP stated the rear shifting is much smoother but I guess there are 9 steps there !

 

[jack smith]

I thought mine was odd at first so I went into a bike shop to fiddle with the left shifters on every group I could find they are all the same even dura ace and super record are abit clunky

 

[Pointy boy]

Thanks guys. That's good to hear. As someone with a loooong track record of only making things worse by fiddling, leaving well alone sounds like a good plan! Now I know it's normal I'll concentrate on just riding :-)
Thanks again, much appreciated.

A.

 

[uclown2002]

Thanks Victor. I'll take a look at that. Am I right in thinking that down-shifting the front derailleur is always going to be a little louder and stiffer than the rear because of the larger drop from one chainring to the next?

Cheers,

A.

I have 105's on 2 different bikes and they both shift down in the way you describe.

 

[Cyclopathic]

In some instances I still favour a non indexed left hand changer as it allows for easy trimming. However not much use for an sti set up. Soz.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Hey everyone, I do understand that the front shifter will always be a bit louder and more abrupt to change than the rear shifter . I also never claimed to be any expert on derailleur adjustment. All I know is that the front shifter on my Vivente touring bike which (I think) has Tiagra-series shifters, sometimes shifts the front derailleur fairly smoothly if it's been setup just right. That's why I recommended to @Pointy boy that he have a read of some derailleur adjustment tutorials, because knowing all the things you can do to fine-tune the shifting is handy knowledge, and although you might make mistakes along the way (which I've done), eventually you get used to it (still in progress for me, though...). Anyway, that's all from me, because it looks like most of you disagree with me, and I don't wish to offend anyone.

 

[Pointy boy]

Hey Victor,
No worries - that link you sent me was really useful anyway - I learnt a lot from it, whether or not I apply it in this case :-)

All and any advice is genuinely appreciated. The beauty of forums like these is that you'll always get a wide range of opinions.

thanks again.

A.