New gears not as good as my old ones

appleday2

Hello

I revamped my 1980s bike mostly because the parts were so worn out and not replaceable. I had a 6 speed freewheel and Suntour shifters at the end of my drop handlebars. I decided to get straight handlebars with the revamp (that is another issue). The bike shop did a really good job with my bike, except for the gear shifters and (possibly) derailleurs.

My new gears are Deore 9 speed cartridge with Deore mega drive shifters and Deore derailleurs.

I don't mind the 9 speed but the shifters are really slow and feel squelchy. I could quickly change down several gears with my Suntours but I have to click, click, click (really squelch, squelch, squelch) with the "Mega" drive shifters.

Also the shifters and/or the derailleurs are not really responsive, and I might be riding a half block when my chain shudders into another rear gear. Not impressed.

I left the choice of gear shifters to the bike shop people - unfortunately. :?

Does anyone have suggestions for better/faster shifters and derailleurs, preferably shifters that are on the handlebars, though I may have to go for shifters that are elsewhere. Please advise.

My bike is a low-geared touring frame (Reynolds 531), but has MTB hybrid aspects. Mostlty used for travel around town with aspirations for country touring.

Many thanks for any help

alfablue

appleday2 wrote:

Also the shifters and/or the derailleurs are not really responsive, and I might be riding a half block when my chain shudders into another rear gear. Not impressed.

This is odd, I presume they must have fitted new cables, but this is what you get when there is drag or friction in the cables, usually when they are old or dirty. The mechs and shifters should work fine. Are the cable runs okay? Is there a very tight loop to the rear mech? Are the cables properly tensioned? Deore kit is obviously not the best but millions of people use the stuff quite happily, and it is often fitted to touring bikes that travel thousands of miles without problem. The other thing it could be is that the mech springs are tired, but this is very unlikely on new gear (in fact, I have had mechs for many years and they have still worked fine). Take it back to the bike shop, they should sort it out. I don't think you need new shifters.

cougie

I think its just a set up problem - shop will fix it in ten minutes.

salsarider79

I'm confused. Do you have drop bars still, or are you running flat bars? Deore stuff is very plasticy, but should not give you a problem. It sounds like a set-up issue. Take it back to the shop you got the work done and ask them to ride the bike. Bikes behave differently in the stand to when they are ridden...

appleday2

Hello

Thanks for the replies.

I have just been to the bike shop and they have adjusted the gears a bit, but they cannot do anything about the shifters except change them, and the crucial people for that were not in.

No, I am not using drop bars anymore. I am using straight ones. Still getting used to the enormous width of them. I'll be checking out other types of handlebars as soon as I get the time and have sorted out the more crucial thing of my shifters (maybe derailleurs - as the mechanic today did note that, yes, they were slow to change).

I don't think the shifters can be adjusted. They have a squidgy response and seem to be made for much longer thumbs than I have. They are really uncomfortable for me.

Does anyone know if the Schram shifters (twisters) are any quicker and if they come in 3 speed for front and 9 speeds for back.

Any other suggestions for shifters? I have noticed a metal Shimano set which cost around $50 to £60.

Thx

John.T

You can not use Sram as they have a different cable pull ratio. You should be able to change down 3 gears at a time with one push (quite a long push) of your thumb. Changing up can only be done one click at a time. This is assumeing you have a top normal mech. That is when the cable is slack you are on the smallest cog. If high normal then reverse what I said above.
Deore kit should work fine if it is set up correctly.

yoadius

John.T wrote:

You can not use Sram as they have a different cable pull ratio.

You can use Sram, but only 'Attack' or 'Rocket' shifters, which are designed for use with Shimano rear mechs. Any sram shifter will work with your front mech.

John.T

I live and learn.