No barrel adjuster on my front mech

BigG67

I decided to have a go at replacing my cables, break and gear, last night and it went well except, for the first time, I've realised there's no barrel adjuster for my front mech (it's always worked just fine so no reason I should have looked for one).

So two questions:

1) Is this normal?
2) How do I adjust my Ultegra front mech without one?

It's a bit baffling really, all the guide and posts on here seem to indicate I should have one. The bike is a 3 years old Look 586 with full Ultegra kit and was put together by my LBS who have a really good rep.

Thanks in advance

amaferanga

So there isn't a barrel adjuster on either the down tube or coming out of the shifters?

BigG67

Nope

rafletcher

I've never thought about this before - I do have one of course, but can't think when I'd ever need to use it!

EDIT: I usually carry a small screwdriver to adjust the limit screws should it become necessary!

BigG67

Now I feel persecuted....I'm a withouter in a world or withers

Wamas

Just buy one and fit it yourself.

They just go into the cable guide on the downtube.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/GXT ... %28pair%29

benno68

rafletcher wrote:

I've never thought about this before - I do have one of course, but can't think when I'd ever need to use it!

EDIT: I usually carry a small screwdriver to adjust the limit screws should it become necessary!

Once the limit screws are set up correctly, you shouldn't need to tinker with them again. Cables usually stretch a little in time - it's when this happens that it's necessary to adjust the cable tension using the barrel adjusters.

@ BigG67 - even the best mechanics are human and can make a mistake every once in a while

Twostage

Was there one of the other side for the rear DR ?
I'm a wither by the way.

BigG67

There is one on the rear DR which I've used a bunch of times to tweek the shifting - esp after removing the rear DR for a flight.

Do I NEED one on the front? The LBS managed to set it up without one....or are they masters of a black art??? 8)

Twostage

BigG67 wrote:

There is one on the rear DR which I've used a bunch of times to tweek the shifting - esp after removing the rear DR for a flight.

Do I NEED one on the front? The LBS managed to set it up without one....or are they masters of a black art??? 8)

I'm talking about on the other side of the downtube. There should be an adjuster on either side for front and rear DR for in-flight tweaking and there should also be one actually on the rear DR for setting up.
You don't NEED them but they can be useful.

wombar

You can get something called an inline cable adjuster which does the same thing as a barrel adjuster. It goes mid-cable and doesn't attach to the frame. I'd fit one if you can, because it lets you trim the cable tension if necessary.

It's possible to get it set right without one, but it can get a bit hit and miss.

Oh and Benno68 is spot on regarding the limit screws. You should only have to set your limit screws once. If your shifter was working fine before the cable change, you shouldn't need to touch them.

BigG67

Twostage wrote:

BigG67 wrote:

There is one on the rear DR which I've used a bunch of times to tweek the shifting - esp after removing the rear DR for a flight.

Do I NEED one on the front? The LBS managed to set it up without one....or are they masters of a black art??? 8)

I'm talking about on the other side of the downtube. There should be an adjuster on either side for front and rear DR for in-flight tweaking and there should also be one actually on the rear DR for setting up.
You don't NEED them but they can be useful.

Then no I don't, only one on the mech itself.

rozzer32

I don't have barrel for either of my mechs and never had a problem. It's not the end of the world not having them, they just make it easier to do little tweaks.

Berk Bonebonce

You really need an adjuster for a rear mech, but not so a front mech. You can generally set up a front mech just fine without one - its operation is a whole lot less sensitive.