Index, you barsteward!
- Thread starter Karlt
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
It does on 7 speed.
Had another bash at it today. It's like it's moving a little bit too far every click of the shifter, so if it's right for 1-2, then by 4 it's actually between 4 and 5, and by 5 it's on 6. I'm personally going for bent hanger on this; I do recall before now it's hit the spokes when on 1.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
i assume you have adjusted the high/low / and b screws correctly ?
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
7-speed
5.0 mm 1.85 mm 3.15 mm 31.9 mm
"Regular" 6-speed
5.5 mm 2.0 mm 3.5 mm 29.5 mm
OP - please can you tell us what make/model of right hand (ie rear) shifter you have? Has it got 6 clicks? The symptoms you describe, whilst they could be @screenman RHA, are a bit as if you are index shifting 5.5mm each time, so by the 4 clicks - and the chain goes on your 6 (which on a 7 speed cassette is 25mm from 'zero') a 6 speed has given 22mm and if the zero's a bit out . . . it 'prefers' the 6 to the 5. And of course at present your 6 will guide the chain to 7 - not that you want that. When you get to 7, with the limit screws loosened out, will the last click throw the chain off?
Last edited:
shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
If it's hitting the spokes it implies something bent and/or the hi/lo screws need attending to, but as you suggest it is pulling/loosing the wrong amount of cable, where was it indexing properly to when you could shift it into the spokes? It could be a symptom of having a mismatched shifter vs cassette gaps, The incremental de-indexing as you shift further from the sweet spot suggests a cable movement problem too.
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
Have a look at the section in Sheldon on alternate cable routings/attachment arrangements. 'Control + End and then up a bit. Might be a workaround, if it's not RHA.
"The other alternate cable routing, suggested by Brian Jenks, proprietor of Hubbub Cycles, decreases the derailer travel for each click. . . . . . It is also useful when you want to use . . . an 8-speed cassette with 7-speed shifters. . " Or decrease the derailleur travel with a 7-speed cassette with 7-speed shifters which are pulling more cable than they should (perhaps).
"The other alternate cable routing, suggested by Brian Jenks, proprietor of Hubbub Cycles, decreases the derailer travel for each click. . . . . . It is also useful when you want to use . . . an 8-speed cassette with 7-speed shifters. . " Or decrease the derailleur travel with a 7-speed cassette with 7-speed shifters which are pulling more cable than they should (perhaps).
Ajax Bay put me on the right track - I had somehow got the cable securing tag thingy rotated 180 degrees, so the cable was held on the wrong side of the bolt, if you catch my drift - effectively in position B on the pictures on St Sheldon's. That's what was doing it. Indexes beautifully now. Thanks to all for clues and suggestions!
gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
Excellent.
I suspect however two things...assuming i'm reading the original post correctly.
You had the cable off originally perhaps ...but omitted to mention it. Ive had exactly that problem, mis-clamped cable, wrong side of the bolt, causes no end of faff. Its always a huge clue, what exactly did you do, look back and double check. (even then, sometimes you won't realise it.)
If you didn't have the cable off originally, it wouldnt have caused your problem, something else did.
I suspect its all compounded itself as you went along.
Its all good skill building.
Actually, on mental rewind, I think the sequence of events was:
For the record now the indexing works I've also replaced the chain and it's pretty sweet, as positive as you're going to get from a >10 year old Tourney mech anyway. Fortunately because of the indexing I hadn't ridden the cassette far on the old chain.
- Put new wheels in; unsurprisingly indexing is off. Adjusted. It worked, but not well. This I now think was because of a worn chain; I'd find that if the limit screw on the largest cog was in enough to avoid losing the chain in the spokes I couldn't actually engage 1st - rather than actual indexing issues, but I think the skipping wasn't serious enough for me to recognise it for what it was.
- Refitted the cable. I have a vague memory that I'd turned the adjuster as far as it would go one way or another trying to get the shifting sweet and decided that I needed to adjust the point the cable was clamped. That's where it must have got reversed. I didn't mention this because I'd forgotten it; it's only in restrospect that you see the significance.
- Played silly buggers trying to index the un-indexible. I realised at this point the chain was worn (c. 1/8" at 12"), but because indexing issues aren't generally chain wear related, I didn't bother replacing the chain at this point.
For the record now the indexing works I've also replaced the chain and it's pretty sweet, as positive as you're going to get from a >10 year old Tourney mech anyway. Fortunately because of the indexing I hadn't ridden the cassette far on the old chain.
Last edited:
