Shimano 105 tweaking?

arlowood

Hi guys

Just took delivery of my new Specialized Secteur Elite last night and went for an introductory "spin" this morning.

All seems to be fine apart from some niggles with the Shimano 105 drive train.

During the ride I noticed on several occasions that there was a distinct "ticking" noise coming from the rear mech. Not quite the "chatter" that you get when a chain is trying to mesh with a sprocket but still not what I was expecting. After a bit I found I was able to get rid of the ticking by changing up then back down a gear or vice versa. But then it would return after subsequent gear changes.

I also noticed that on several occasions when I operated the brake shifter to change to a lower gear on the rear mech, nothing happened unless I clicked the shifter once more.

Also a couple of times when changing up a gear using the inner lever, the chain jumped 2 sprockets rather than the one expected.

I'm sure this is down to some fine tuning of the cable or indexing adjusters but would appreciate any suggestions from those in the know.
I live a fair distance fron the Bike shop where I bought the bike so it would be a bit of a faff to haul the bike back there if a simple tweak could sort out the problem

sungod

imho most shops don't set up bikes properly

you'll find full details on adjusting here...

http://techdocs.shimano.com

click on road, then 105, then look at the documents starting si- for the various bits

new brake and gear cables can stretch in the first few weeks, so you need to tweak a bit until they settle down

arlowood

sungod wrote:

imho most shops don't set up bikes properly

you'll find full details on adjusting here...

http://techdocs.shimano.com

click on road, then 105, then look at the documents starting si- for the various bits

new brake and gear cables can stretch in the first few weeks, so you need to tweak a bit until they settle down

Hi sungod

Ta for the suggestion. Realised when I looked on the Shimano site that Leisure Lakes had provided a data sheet on the Shimano 105 that gave advice on set up and adjustment.
Tried to do it in my garage but without a proper bike stand it was nigh on impossible to turn the crank and fiddle with the shifter and cable adjusters.

Decided to ride the bike and stop at intervals and tweak the cable adjuster. This seems to have worked. After a couple of tweaks, the gears are running smoothly now without any ticking noise.

However I still find I occasionally have to click the down shifter twice before the chain will move to the lower sprocket.


Will keep monitoring and adjust as necessary.

Beats me why Leisure Lakes could not have done a thorough pre delivery check to eliminate this kind of problem

k-dog

You'll also find that in the next few weeks it'll go off again - as the cables stretch. That's perfectly normal and most bike shops offer a tuneup afew weeks after you buy the bike to fix this.

But, a few turns of the cable adjusters will also fix it.

arlowood

k-dog wrote:

You'll also find that in the next few weeks it'll go off again - as the cables stretch. That's perfectly normal and most bike shops offer a tuneup afew weeks after you buy the bike to fix this.

But, a few turns of the cable adjusters will also fix it.

Hi k-dog

Yeh - was expecting the gear train to require a little "bedding-in" but was just disappointed that it did not appear to have been set up as working from the start.

Have now done another 15 miler with a few hilly bits and the whole thing is running much better than on that first run. However I still have to "feel for" the changes when using the large shifter to change to a larger cog (lower gear). By that I mean that when I operate the shifter I hear the click but still have to keep the tension on or even nudge the lever a gnats hair further before the chain moves to the larger cog.
It has led to me squinting between my legs sometimes to check that the lower gear has engaged.

I'm sure things are not right yet and plan to make further tweaks to the cable adjuster. I'm assuming that turning the barrel adjuster anti-clockwise to lengthen the cable sheath and apply more tension to the rear mech when down-shifting should help matters.
If I've got my wires (or cables) in a twist over this , please comment

taz3611

No, you've got it right. Adjuster away from the mech to move up the cogs.

griffter18

Not sure this helps but the 105 lever have what they call a trim function.
Basically its an extra click on the levers that move the front derailleur out/in by a small amount to remove chain rub.
The sound you described sounds similar to what I had plus I also thought the levers werent changing up/down properly as I had to do the extra click.

If you have a look at the instructions youve recieved you should find the info mentioned

arlowood

griffter18 wrote:

Not sure this helps but the 105 lever have what they call a trim function.
Basically its an extra click on the levers that move the front derailleur out/in by a small amount to remove chain rub.
The sound you described sounds similar to what I had plus I also thought the levers werent changing up/down properly as I had to do the extra click.

If you have a look at the instructions youve recieved you should find the info mentioned

Hi griffter 18

Think I've sussed the rear mech adjustments now. With progressive quarter turns (anti-clockwise) of the barrel adjuster, I now find the rear changes are smooth - with the down changes ( from smaller to larger cog) working almost 100% on one click of the brake lever. Probably still a little bit more to go but I'm much happier now. The rear mech up changes are 100% OK.

However, I have still got some probs with the front mech similar to what you describe. If I am running on the middle chainring and make a change up to the large crank, the chain does not seem to want to move on the first click of the brake lever and I find myself pushing the lever further to get the chain to shift. After that if I want to shift down to the middle chainring I have to click the inner lever twice. Even then the chain sometines jumps right down to the inner chainring leaving my legs spinning like windmills until I can shift back up again.

To get the change to work smoothly I find I mostly have to click the inner lever once after an upward change to move the front mech cage back closer to the large chainring. However this can occasionally lead to some chain rubbing if I move up the rear mech gears - ie to the smaller rear sprockets.

Still pondering on what remedy might work. Anyway the bike is going back in a couple of weeks for the initial free 6 week "tune-up" so maybe I'll wait for the LBS techs to sort it out.

John.T

However, I have still got some probs with the front mech similar to what you describe. If I am running on the middle chainring and make a change up to the large crank, the chain does not seem to want to move on the first click of the brake lever and I find myself pushing the lever further to get the chain to shift. After that if I want to shift down to the middle chainring I have to click the inner lever twice

There is a half click position on the front mech shifter. This allows you to move the cage a small amount to help prevent it rubbing on the chain on the more crossed over gears. The much mentioned but not often fully understood 'Trim' function. To change rings you need to move the lever full travel.

MrChuck

Tried to do it in my garage but without a proper bike stand it was nigh on impossible to turn the crank and fiddle with the shifter and cable adjusters.

Just put the bike upside down on the floor and you can make your adjustments easily.

father_jack

nah get a bike stand. Found derailler/chain and shifting works differently upside down. Also pain in the back side, hard to use shifters. £55 should get you a stand.

Didn't bother for ages, but they are nice to have. Easy to rotate the whole bike, elevates it makes it easier to adjust and clean.

MrChuck

Father Jack wrote:

nah get a bike stand. Found derailler/chain and shifting works differently upside down. Also pain in the back side, hard to use shifters. £55 should get you a stand.

Didn't bother for ages, but they are nice to have. Easy to rotate the whole bike, elevates it makes it easier to adjust and clean.

Well, obviously a stand is better, but if you haven't got one you can manage fine with it upside down.

father_jack

Manage find and enjoy working on the bike because it's on the stand is two different things entirely. Annoying because shifters are touching the ground so hard to change gear (especially flat bar) so need to tilt up bike which means not near the chainset.

Can spin round bike quickly going from putting on wheels to upright, so can inspect gear changes in natural way round ( had loads of problems with setting up gears with bike upside down on the ground)

In a word, get a stand.

fnegroni

Father Jack wrote:

In a word, get a stand.

+1

I got myself a Topeak Flashstand: a folding stand that weighs a pound or so. Cost me £25

Handy when going for long tours and need to fiddle with bike.

Topeak claims max. weight is 14Kg. But I regularly use it for my hybrid which weighs near 18Kg and I have no problem.