Gear Change

[on the road]

I have to confess to fiddling around with the adjusting screws (pre service) and got the d/r to shift up - but then it wouldn't shift back easily + the screws are made of cheese which made me reluctant to fiddle any more.

Try using a pozidrive, but not a pointy one.

 

[accountantpete]

Apologies S'pea - I don't venture into the Fixies area of the forum that often

 

[swee'pea99]

Apologies S'pea - I don't venture into the Fixies area of the forum that often

Oh dear, another SP99 attempt at humour falls on its arse.
No apologies required old chap. I never suspected offense intended and none was taken.

 

[philipbh]

There should be an adjusting knob on the left side of the down tube, or maybe the H screw needs adjusting.

Turned (no pun intended) to be a combination of the two.

Adjusted the H screw to allow a bit more travel on the front d/r and then adjusted the tension on the cable with the knob on the downtube (turning it the wrong way first of all gave me a clue why it wasn't going the whole way across)

Finally adjusted the d/r again with the limit screws to stop it rubbing the chain in either postion on the chain rings

Job done - at least it works when hand turning the cranks, full test at the weekend if the weather holds

Thanks for the advice and support which gave me the confidence to do the task myself

 

[mistral]

I read this with interest as I'm having similar issues with my Xenon 9 speed l/h shifter & Mirage triple front mech.

I'm getting really unpleasant down shifts on the front, I too get unpredictable behaviour, can be really jumpy and stiff to change. I've had it checked/adjusted by lbs but no real improvement.

I would echo the view that the strength of the springs are too much for the changer. I tried changing the Mirage front mech for a Centaur - it was worse. Only did a few changes, but changing down felt as though the ergo inners were being put under too much pressure and I didn't want to risk damaging it.

It's something I think I may just have to live with, but not really happy about it, specially as the r/h changes really well.

It's not that I use the small ring much, but I can't believe it should be like this?

 

[philipbh]

I can't believe it should be like this?

It shouldn't be

I didn't get the satisfaction out of the bike shop that I hoped for (Evans in this case) and had to find out myself what to do.

It was a pretty easy task TBH - backed off the tension on the cable and then adjusting the d/r position

Have a look at Sheldon Browns description of adjusting the derailleur - something along the lines of " the worst that can happen is the derailleur goes to far and the chain comes off - you can always put the chain back on and re- tighten the screws"

 

[swee'pea99]

One final tip on this one - if your cables route, as is the case with most bikes, particularly older ones, under the bottom bracket, that's a classic point for the cables to get a bit sticky. Try dribbling a little oil into the groove or tube or whatever, where the cable goes round the BB - it can make all the difference!

 

[philipbh]

Oh yes - mine has a nice plastic "guide" for the cables - right over the frame number stamped on the underside BB

Dare i ask - what sort of oil?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Dare i ask - what sort of oil?

3 in 1 <ducks>

 

[swee'pea99]

3-in-1 is what I use for all basic lubing other than chain.

 

[bad boy]

well done mate, atleast you now know the principles etc yourself and can tweak it from there if need be but sounds like you solved the problem yourself which is always a good thing.

 

[philipbh]

tweak it from there

The saga continues....

Found that the hand cranked shift test doesn't match the pedal variety - needless to say more tweaking was required as the d/r cage (?) was rattling against the chain when on the small chain ring

Shifting remains unpredictable and erratic

 

[Chrisc]

The saga continues....

Found that the hand cranked shift test doesn't match the pedal variety - needless to say more tweaking was required as the d/r cage (?) was rattling against the chain when on the small chain ring

Shifting remains unpredictable and erratic

Exactly what I found. Perfect on the stand, crap on the road. Sorted now and absolutely spot on shifting, crisp clatter free both ways and from anywhere on the cassette. Pm'd you with the methodology that worked for me.