sluggish shifting

sloxam

hi, i had a problem with sluggish shifting down in gears (to a smaller cog). i'd move the sti and there'd be a lag of a couple of turns before the gear changed. i changed the cables as they were pretty old (2 yrs) but the problem is still there.
i've degreased and relubed, no joy. its fine moving the other way (to a larger cog).
how can i fix this?

Mike67

Is your rear mech moving freely/not gunked up inside?

If it is then could be the spring tension is weak....is it getting on a bit?

sloxam

its about 5 years old and seems to move ok. i degreased that too!

Mike67

5 years could be that the spring in the mech is getting weak, especially if you done a lot of mileage.

It's the spring that pulls it back down the cogs. It's also under tension when you're in the bigger cogs too.
In other words, it does a lot of work.

Only other things I can think of if you've already changed the cables (inners AND outers?) are:

Are your shifter internals clean, i.e not sticking
Is the final cable curve around to your rear mech wide enough so as not to restrict the internal cable movement.

I'd bet on your mech though.

sloxam

thanks mike, i'll check it out before i go out tomorrow.

dave noble

most likely is outer cables clogged up - many folk just change the inners.
dave

dennisn

Could be out of adjustment. I've had my rear mech be sort of hesitant in shifting because
it was a bit out of adjustment. There seems to be a certain "sweet spot" that, once you find it, the rear D shifts both ways, as smooth as silk.