Gear barrel adjuster won't budge!

Bassjunkieuk

After my recent bout of fettling I'm really happy with the new chain and cassette but am finding that the gears are jumping and ghost shifting. I was anticipating having the adjust the indexing but can't get the barrel adjuster to turn successfully.

What appears to be causing it IMO is the fact that the metal end of the cable outer appears to have become gunked to the barrel adjuster meaning that as the barrel adjuster is twisted the cable outer tries to move with it which means it just returns to it's original position :-(

I've just tried taking the cable off the rear mech so I could try and free up the cable outer but it's still not budging, even when trying (gently) with pliers. I've given the whole area a good spray with WD40 and will give it ago after dinner but wanted to check if anyone else has any suggestions, asides from clean the bike more regularly/take it to the LBS!

desweller

Since you will be reindexing the gears anyway, release the derailleur cable clamp. This will reduce the axial load of the gear cable outer on the barrel adjuster and make it easier to turn. If it still resists, try gripping it with a pair of pliers (to protect the adjuster body, use a piece of cloth between the pliers and the barrel).

CarlosDSanchez

Lift the plastic part of the adjuster up as far as it will go and then get a pair of needle nosed pliers on the metal part underneath. You should then be able to unscrew it.

If I were you I'd unclamp the cable first and unscrew the adjuster all the way out. Give the threads a good clean and then smear some grease on them before reassembly.

I had the same problem at the end of the winter, all the grit and salt on the road had gunged it up pretty bad, but a clean and some grease later and it's like new.

Bassjunkieuk

Thanks for the tips chaps. I'd already figured that releasing the cable would free up some slack as once I've done that I can remove the cable outer from the mounting point on the chainstay and get a lot more room to move it around. I was thinking earlier (whilst on the quiet residential streets of this weeks commute!) about seeing if I could get more purchase on that metal bit.

A clean is certainly in order!

Oddly and I only noticed this the other day and could replicate it with the bike upside down, the gears only really feck around on the big cogs? The bottom half of the cassette seems to behave quite well, but still takes a while to shift, but if I go into the bigger ones for getting up hills then it's just jumping and slipping all over the place!