barrel adjusters on shimano 105

mea00csf

I initially had problems shifting down to the smallest front chainring on my shimamo 105 chainset. Since i never had a problem shifting down on the mountain bike even when on steep hills i presumed it was set up incorrectly and have fiddled with the settings. However i now think they may well have been setup correctly and i was trying to shift down under far to great a load when i should perhaps of eased off, changed down and spun on.

|'m reasonably mechanically minded and before chucking it into the shop would like to have a bash at fixing it. I understand the basics of limit screws and cable tension but can't figure out which way to turn the barrel adjusters that are on the cable coming out of the dual brake/gear levers to tighten/loosen the cable. Anyone able to help?!

rustychisel

You unscrew them to effectively lengthen the cable pull (tighten up), and screw them in to shorten the cable pull (make looser). 'Ping' the cable with your forefinger to ascertain this is correct.

Set front mech to detente position (smallest chainwheel, less tension on cable, if at all). Adjust cable tension by 1/2 turn increments, aiming to make the cable taut but stop before the mech starts it's travel across. Good luck, they're fiddly because they''re a primitive shunt device.