anyone have an idea whats going on with my shimano 11 speed shifter?

[chipmetzger]

Upgrading to 1x11 so I bought a new SL-M8000 XT shifter and a new SLX 11speed derailler. The shifter seems to work normally when the cable isn't attached but when I attach it to the derailler, instead of 10 click/steps it only clicks 7 times to travel up the cassette, moving the derailler in big steps like it was 8 speed! Any ideas?
Really appreciate it!

 

[C R]

Upgrading to 1x11 so I bought a new SL-M8000 XT shifter and a new SLX 11speed derailler. The shifter seems to work normally when the cable isn't attached but when I attach it to the derailler, instead of 10 click/steps it only clicks 7 times to travel up the cassette, moving the derailler in big steps like it was 8 speed! Any ideas?
Really appreciate it!

Too much cable tension would be my first guess. Release the cable at the derailleur, make sure that the chain is in the smallest sprocket, and screw the cable adjuster all the way in. Click the shifter to the smallest sprocket too.

With the chain in the smallest sprocket the top jockey wheel of the derailleur should be under the sprocket. Now attach the cable to the derailleur so that there's as little slack as possible. Now click to the next gear up and while turning the pedals, turn the adjuster anti clockwise until the chain moves to the next sprocket. The cable tension should now be about right, and you should be able to access all the gears.

 

[figbat]

Make sure the shifter is at the highest gear with the cable attached before clamping it to the derailleur - put a bit of tension on the cable by hand and click the shifter all the way to the highest gear, then attach to the derailleur and set up.

 

[I like Skol]

Are the cable pull ratios the same for both shifter and mech? Shimano have drifted away from universal compatibility in recent years.....

 

[T4tomo]

Are the cable pull ratios the same for both shifter and mech? Shimano have drifted away from universal compatibility in recent years.....

that was my first thought, but I have no idea on MTB / flat bar stuff, but given its all 11 speed, it should all be compatible. The quirk on road bike stuff whilst pull ratio's on rear derailleurs changed from 10 to11 pseed. is the "new" tiagra 4700 10 speed has same pull ratio's as 11spd, not the older "higher group" 10 spd stuff.

 

[faster]

The 'moving the derailleur in big steps' thing happens when the cable has been attached incorrectly to the derailleur i.e. the cable has been clamped on the wrong side of the clamp bolt.

Worth checking.

 

[chipmetzger]

So thanks for all the feedback. I solved the mystery but I still don't understand why it works. Basically, the routing of the cable was the problem. I attached it to the side of the clamp on the derailler that seemed most in line with the housing stop. Moving it to the other side of that clamp post - a slightly less direct pull and a linear distance of less than a centimeter - solved the problem!

 

[Ajax Bay]

SLX 11speed derailler . . . the routing of the cable was the problem

Just adding this so someone finding this has additional info:
https://si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/dm/MBRD001/DM-MBRD001-07-ENG.pdf