Poor front shifting - Shimano

psychle

Recently bought the girlfriend her first road bike, a Trek 1.2 W '08.
I thought she was just struggling to get used to the gears until I tried them myself.

Shifting from small to middle is dreadful it requires a full double click throw and even then it doesn't always catch.
Another single click takes it from middle to large, this isn't so bad. But then large to middle requires an exceptional amount of force on the thumb lever before it releases with a mighty clunk and the chain moves. It's then just another heavy thumb clunk to move to the small ring, though this often results in unshipping the chain.
So, three clicks to get from small to large and two hefty clunks from large to small.

The shifters are not branded with a model, ie Tiagra or Sora.

I made slight changes to the cable tension using the frame adjusters, to no real effect.

So my question is, does this sound normal? Is it a case of just putting up with it or is there something wrong.

I have 10-year old Campag ergo on one bike and cheap Shimano STI on another, both of which give far superior and easier shifting.

alfablue

My girlfriend has a Trek 1.2 (not WSD model though, also her first road bike). It was equipped with Sora (I am surprised they are not Sora on your g/f's bike, the 09 model has Sora). Anyway, front shifting was clunky and difficult. I got some 9 speed Ultegra shifters secondhand from the classifieds section of the forum for £25 and changed the cassette from 8 to 9 speed (getting a wider range of gears at the same time), and it has transformed the bike and her enjoyment. She is amazed at how easy and smooth shifting is now. The Ultegra are not only smoother but require less throw, which also has stopped the interference with he bar bag, which she insists on having. I bought some Specialized Slim Shims (£4) to make the brake lever reach less (the Sora's were adjustable for reach, Ultegra not).

She loves the bike, and it has been great for fast road rides and tours.

If you can get hold of some s/h 105 or Ultegra shifters she will be very grateful to you every time she rides 8)

redddraggon

10spd Campag ergos index perfectly with 8spd Shimano drivetrains - I suggest getting some Veloce shifters as they are far cheaper than the Shimano equivalent (and better)

psychle

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I resent the idea of replacing components which have only done 50 miles and which have been chosen to be suitable for womens shorter reach so I'm taking the bike back to the shop this afternoon to see what they have to say about it.

MrChuck

Just sounds like they're badly adjusted, especially if it throws the chain fairly regularly. The shop should sort it without needing to replace anything.

kieronymous

I'm having the exact same problem of super stiff big to middle shifting with my g/f's new bike, which has Sora.

Another dubious shop build: the 'shifter to down tube' outer cables were too long, and the cables were crossed on the down tube. So I pulled it apart. When I put it all back together the above issue mainfested itself. Poo.

So, two things you could do:

1: Make sure all your outer cables are running smoothly, and give them some lube for good measure. You need to pull it all apart to check this really - plus you'll need a real cable cutter (i.e. Park Tool) and some end caps - so you might want to just take it to the shop.

2: Check the cable routing at the deraillieur. There's a little tab on the body of the deraillieur, next to the cable clamp. I believe the cable should run OUTSIDE this tab, ie on the left hand side of the bike. This gives the cable that little more leverage, which can make all the difference to your upshifts.

I did no. 2, and it improved the upshifts. Did a little for the downshift, but not much. So I'm going to do the whole thing again from scratch, with a fresh cable, cos the present one is now mangled and fraying. PM me next week if you want to know how it went.

BTW, I did the exact same operation on my bike, and its Tiagra shifters are smoother than the day I bought it - 3 months ago. So maybe Sora are a bit temperamental?

The 'small to middle' upshift issue sounds like you just don't have enough cable tension. Ensure the routing at the deraillieur is correct first, then try the barrel adjusters again.

Hope this helps. Good luck! If the bike shop fixes all the issues, could you please PM me to tell me what they did? Cheers.