30-odd quid transformed my bike

964cup

My Mekk was supplied with a 105 front mech. Ever since I got the bike I've been fighting front gearchange problems - excessive lever effort, uncertain change, change thumping in, chain rub etc. Eventually I gave up and bought an Ultegra 6700 front to match the rest of the bike. Fitted it last night. Now, it may be that I took more care with fitting than the hamfisted monkeys at the original supplier, but that notwithstanding the drivetrain is transformed. No chain rub, silky-smooth changes, light brifter effort. It's all good.

tl;dr: fitted new front mech; pleased with myself.

migrantwing

964Cup wrote:

My Mekk was supplied with a 105 front mech. Ever since I got the bike I've been fighting front gearchange problems - excessive lever effort, uncertain change, change thumping in, chain rub etc. Eventually I gave up and bought an Ultegra 6700 front to match the rest of the bike. Fitted it last night. Now, it may be that I took more care with fitting than the hamfisted monkeys at the original supplier, but that notwithstanding the drivetrain is transformed. No chain rub, silky-smooth changes, light brifter effort. It's all good.

tl;dr: fitted new front mech; pleased with myself.

Apparently, mix and match groupsets can cause shifting problems and technical difficulties. It's all to do with pull ratios and all other stuff that I'm no expert with. That being said, I have found my 105 front DR to be 'tricky' at times. Others have said that 105 front DR's are great. I think they are just fiddly to set up correctly, as opposed to other front DR's I've used in the past. I was going to replace the 105 front with an Ultegra front, but haven't gotten around to it, yet.

napoleond

Nowt wrong with a 105 front mech, it will just have been badly set up...

migrantwing

NapoleonD wrote:

Nowt wrong with a 105 front mech, it will just have been badly set up...

Yeah.

You reckon there's much difference between 105 and Ultegra regards shifting smoothness, NapD?

desweller

Derailleurs are like any other moving part. You need to service them from time to time.

Chances are all your old mech needed was a clean and a bit of oil.

migrantwing

double post

napoleond

migrantwing wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Nowt wrong with a 105 front mech, it will just have been badly set up...

Yeah.

You reckon there's much difference between 105 and Ultegra regards shifting smoothness, NapD?

Not on its own. If you changed the whole lot then (front mech/chainrings/shifters/chain) then yes.

colin267

Have to agree with NapD. Previous bike was full 105 and front changes were good (if occasionally a bit clunky). New bike is full Ultegra and the front change is a revelation, much slicker than on the 105.

964cup

DesWeller wrote:

Derailleurs are like any other moving part. You need to service them from time to time.

Chances are all your old mech needed was a clean and a bit of oil.

It was new. <100 miles. Rest of the groupset (except chainset) was already ultegra (brifters, rear mech, chain, cassette).

napoleond

It is highly likely that, as with any newly fitted mech, the cables needed adjusting. The cables stretch over the first few miles after installing. Most LBS offer a free 'tune up' on new bikes, usually about 8 weeks after purchase for this very reason...

rolf_f

NapoleonD wrote:

It is highly likely that, as with any newly fitted mech, the cables needed adjusting. The cables stretch over the first few miles after installing. Most LBS offer a free 'tune up' on new bikes, usually about 8 weeks after purchase for this very reason...

+1. The new mech was a completely unneccessary expense (unless you only did it to complete the groupset ).

You should re-title the thread "Adjusting my cables for stretch transformed my bike"

964cup

Like all upgrades, I did it because I could

I had tuned the 105 (repeatedly), including retensioning the cable and checking both limit screws; I think the actual problem was that it was mounted too high. When I fitted the Ultegra, I marked the frame where the clamp-on from the 105 had been, assuming they'd be in the same place. Setting the Ultegra to have a 1mm of clearance at the forward end meant dropping it more than 5mm from my mark. So in fact I paid £30 for the instruction label on the new front mech that showed me how much clearance there should be. Worth every penny.

Anybody want a barely-used 105 front mech?

Pituophis

I think you are probably right about the fitting.
I have just put a 105 on, and merely used the sticker as my fitting guide, and it is shifting perfectly compared to the old Tiagra thing I had on before.

rolf_f

964Cup wrote:

So in fact I paid £30 for the instruction label on the new front mech that showed me how much clearance there should be. Worth every penny.

Lol - a very fair assessment of the situation I suspect! FWIW, it's always worth looking up instructions online - certainly Campag have all the component instruction and fitting manuals on line.