2010 sram x9 rear derailleur issues

psychlust

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum malarkey but I thought it might be a good way to find some help with this issue.

So, I removed my 2009 derailleur from my Banshee scirocco hardtail and swapped it on to my D.H bike and fitted a brand spanking new 2010 x9 to the hardtail. That'll be awesome i thought, until I tried setting the thing up.
I'll point out here that I am an experienced mechanic, I know what I'm doing (though I clearly don't know enough to solve this issue!) and I must have set up hundreds of derailleurs over the 18 years or so that i've been riding and, at times, working in the industry.

The problem is this, it appears that there is some kind of design fault with this new model as it is impossible to get it to shift properly in every gear, the cable is too tight to shift smoothly on the largest sprockets and too slack for the small fellas down the bottom. Adjusting the b-tension screw so the mech sits as high as possible without the top jockey fouling improves matters but it's still a really crappy shift, and the old mech worked beautifully with the X0 shifer. The old mech also works great on my D.H bike now.
I have only encountered this problem on completely worn out low end kit and once on early X.T shadow derailleur, which, if I remember rightly was replaced for the customer by shimano under warranty. I would return the mech to the shop but it was purchased from a well known shop's E-bay store and they wouldn't even reply to my pleas for help on this matter.

Has anyone else had or heard of this problem?

Any help or advice will be very gratefully recieved!

supersonic

Is the cable routed correctly?

nicklouse

is the last outer the correct length?

psychlust

Thanks for your help guys, but like I said I am an experienced rider, and a mechanic so all that kind of stuff has been thoroughly checked.The Banshee scirocco has full length outer so It's much easier to get that side of things right.

What I'm talking about is a relatively small discrepancy between the pitch of the sprockets and the throw of the mech for each click. It will shift, and the bike is rideable but at the extremes of movement the cable appears to need conflicting adjustments. this causes vaguness in the shift quality in the largest and smallest sprockets, though it shifts beautifully in the middle of the block.

I think I will try the 2010 mech on my downhill bike too, but I'll probably end up sending it back to Fisher as the shop didn't even reply to my e-mail, and I really believe the problem lies within the mech itself, but I thought I would see if I could uncover anything on the forum first.

Dave.

nicklouse

my only other thought is, are you clamping the wire on the correct side of the bolt?

psychlust

That one has crossed my mind, and it is on the side with the groove for the cable to sit in. I have considered trying the other side but haven't actually got round to doing it yet. I'll give that one a look tonight if I get time.

Cheers, Dave.

supersonic

Yes, that was what I was thinking, as the cable entry can have marked effects on the final leverage.

Even us experienced mechanics make mistake lol. Well I do

nicklouse

psychlust wrote:

That one has crossed my mind, and it is on the side with the groove for the cable to sit in. I have considered trying the other side but haven't actually got round to doing it yet. I'll give that one a look tonight if I get time.

Cheers, Dave.

IF it is routed and clamped correctly then something is wrong with it.

psychlust

Yes, you're right there, and thats why I have posted on here, to see if anyone who is in the trade (I'm not anymore) has experienced this before with these mechs.
I'll double check the clamping and then try it on the other bike to be sure but I think it'll probably be going back. to fisher.

Cheers guys.

psychlust

O.k, so just to let you know what happenned, I swapped the mech to my other bike in the end, same problems here too so it has to be an issue with the mech itself. I haven't sent it back to fishers or even contacted them about it due to me having a lack of time, and I doubt they'd be very helpfull anyway. So i put the mech back on the hardtail, took it for a ride and crashed it, the outer cable was wrecked in the crash so new cables and a fair bit of fiddling with the b-tension screw and it works a bit better now, still not 100%, but near enough for now. I wonder how things will change as the the jockeys and everything else wear a little though, only time will tell there I guess.
Thanks for your help anyway guys, and maybe this will be usefull for other people with similar problems.

Dave.

joshtp

i know it sounds stupid, but are the limit screws set properly?

psychlust

It's not a limit issue, its similar to the effect you have if you try to run an 8 speed cassate with a 9 speed shifter, the spacings aren't quite the same so it won't index perfectly all the way through the block. I have set it so it works fine in the middle of the block bit is a bit ropey at each end, with it needing more cable tension at the larger end of the block and less tension at the smaller end - an impossibilty as you are probably aware! It is the last 2 sprockets where this is most noticable, but even the 3rd from each end isn't bang on, you can even see from the back opf the bike that the mech doesn't sit perfectly central under the sprockets.
But,it's working somewhere near, so I'm just gonna put up with it and hope it doesn't get worse as things wear.

Dave.